Length and distance conversions

About length and distance

Length is a physical property that expresses (quantitatively) how long something is; distance shows how far away something is.

The base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI) is the metre (or meter, US spelling). Common units of length / distance currently in use include nanometers, micrometers, millimeters, centimeters, kilometers, miles, inches, feet, yards and light-years.

Common length conversions

• 1 meter = 100 centimeters = 1,000 millimeters
• 1 kilometer = 1,000 meters
• 1 mile = 1,609.344 meters = 5,280 feet
• 1 nautical mile = 1,852 meters = 1.852 kilometers
• 1 mile = 0.868976 nautical miles
• 1 foot = 0.3048 meters = 12 inches
• 1 yard = 0.9144 meters = 3 feet
• 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters = 0.0254 meters
• 1 angstrom = 10^-10 meters = 0.1 nanometers
• 1 light-year = 0.306595 parsecs