I did read somewhere that the "vara" was a unit of land measure in Texas, having been acquired from the Spanish and Mexicans. I have never found out whether or not Louisiana traditionally used metric units, having been a French colony until 1803. (The metric system would only have been four years old at the time of the Louisiana purchase).
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Pierre Abbat Sent: 27 July 2007 13:32 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:39204] RE: Pure SI for area in UK? On Friday 27 July 2007 01:48, Martin Vlietstra wrote: > How much are the 10 acre lots used in the "Original 13 states", or in > states like Texas and Louisiana which were originally Spanish or French > colonies respectively? In the original 13, they aren't used. Parcels, no matter how big, are defined by metes and bounds. In the Public Land states, a legal description would be something like "the southwest quarter of the northeast quadrant of the third section of the twenty-fourth township" (I don't know the right terms yet; I start classes next month). In North Carolina, this would be meaningless. Parcels are all sorts of random shapes. I don't know what they do in Texas and Louisiana. A few days ago I drew a survey on a plat which includes part of I-485, which was being built during my earlier years in Charlotte. I-485 is 100 meters wide there (the right of way, not the road). Pierre
