|
There are a number of Spanish units of measurement of length or area that are now virtually obsolete (due to metrication). They include the vara, the cordel, the league and the labor. The units of area used to express the area of land are still encountered in some transactions in land today. For example, the 'vara' is still used in Costa Rica when ordering lumber. ==Vara (unit of length)== A vara (meaning "rod" or "pole", abbreviation: var) is an old Spanish unit of length. Varas are a surveying unit that appear in many deeds in the southern United States, and varas were also used in many parts of Latin America. It varied in size at various times and places; the Spanish unit was set at about in 1801. In Argentina, the vara measured about , and typical urban lots are wide (10 Argentine varas). At some time a value of was adopted in California. thumb In Texas, a vara was defined as , or 1 yard = 1.08 vara. The vara and the corresponding unit of area, the square vara, were introduced in the 19th century to measure Spanish land grants. In Texas, Stephen F. Austin's early surveying contracts required that he use the vara as a standard unit. The vara can be seen in many deeds as late as the mid to late 1900s. is equivalent to 5,645.376 Texan square varas. A league is equivalent to 5,000 varas squared or . To convert varas to feet, take the varas and divide by 0.36. Standardization of measurement in Texas came with the introduction of varas, cordels, and leagues. A measure of 100 varas by 100 varas (Spanish) is almost 7000 square meters, and is known traditionally throughout Latin America as a ''manzana'' (''i.e.'', a "city block"). As well, lumber is still measured in Costa Rica using a system based on 4 vara, or 11 feet, for both round and square wood. With square wood, using inches, the width is multiplied by the depth to get a measurement which they call ''pulgadas'', or inches. The lumber is charged 'per inch', which is a measurement 11/12 of a board foot. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Spanish customary units」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|
