How many acres are in a standard section?

A standard section of land, as defined by the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) in the United States, contains 640 acres. This measurement comes from the division of land into sections, which are typically one mile by one mile in size. Since there are 5,280 feet in a mile, the area of a section is calculated as follows: 5,280 feet x 5,280 feet = 27,878,400 square feet. When converted into acres, where one acre is defined as 43,560 square feet, this results in 640 acres per section (27,878,400 square feet divided by 43,560 square feet per acre).

This standardized measurement is utilized in various applications such as land surveying, real estate, and agriculture, making it crucial for professionals in those fields to understand the dimensions and area associated with a section of land.