# Miles to Chains (mi to ch) Source: https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/length/miles-to-chains/ **1 mi = 80 ch** One mile equals exactly 80 chains. This clean ratio exists because Gunter designed his chain (66 feet) so that 10 chains = 1 furlong and 80 chains = 1 mile. The chain was the imperial system's hidden decimal unit. ## Formula Convert Miles to Chains ## Conversion Table | Miles (mi) | Chains (ch) | |---|---| | 0.1 mi | 8 ch | | 0.25 mi | 20 ch | | 0.5 mi | 40 ch | | 1 mi | 80 ch | | 2 mi | 160 ch | | 5 mi | 400 ch | | 10 mi | 800 ch | | 26.2 mi | 2096 ch | | 50 mi | 4000 ch | | 100 mi | 8000 ch | | 200 mi | 16000 ch | | 500 mi | 40000 ch | ## Units ### Mile (mi) An imperial unit of length equal to 5,280 feet or approximately 1.609 kilometers. The standard unit for road distances in the US and UK. ### Chain (ch) Exactly 66 feet or 4 rods (20.1168 m). Invented by Edmund Gunter for land surveying. 80 chains make one mile. Still used in US public land surveys. ## Background A mile is 80 chains. A furlong is 10 chains. An acre is 10 square chains. Gunter's 1620 design made the chain the backbone of English land calculation: multiply and divide by 10 within an otherwise non-decimal system. ## Good to Know The mile-to-chain ratio of 80:1 is Gunter's masterpiece. By making 1 furlong = 10 chains, he created a decimal island in the imperial ocean. This single design decision made land surveying calculable for 300 years. The metric system gets credit for decimals, but Gunter did it first, locally. ## FAQ ### How many chains are in 1 mile? One mile contains exactly 80 chains (8 furlongs x 10 chains/furlong). ### How many miles is 1 chain? One chain equals exactly 1/80 of a mile (0.0125 miles). ### Why is a mile 80 chains? Because 1 mile = 8 furlongs and 1 furlong = 10 chains. 8 x 10 = 80. Gunter designed the chain to fit the existing furlong-mile relationship with a decimal multiplier. ## Non-Frequently Asked Questions ### Is 80 chains the only round number in the imperial system? Nearly. 80 chains per mile, 10 chains per furlong, 10 square chains per acre - these are the only base-10 relationships in imperial length. Gunter smuggled decimal math into the imperial system 170 years before the metric system existed. He was a mathematical revolutionary disguised as a surveyor. ### How long would it take to chain-measure a mile? Laying a 20-meter chain 80 times takes about 80 measurements at 1 minute each = 80 minutes. That is faster than walking the mile (about 60 minutes). Chain measuring is slightly slower than walking. Surveyors were not fast, but they were accurate. ### If I drove at 80 chains per hour, how fast am I going? 80 chains per hour = 1 mile per hour. That is extremely slow - barely faster than a slow walk. At 80 chains per hour, you would be overtaken by joggers, cyclists, and particularly motivated squirrels. Speed limits in chains per hour would have much larger numbers: highway speed would be about 5,600 chains per hour. ## Related Articles - [Why We Measure: The Deepest Urge in Human Civilisation](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/why-we-measure) - [The Map Is Not the Territory: Why Every Measurement Is Wrong](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/the-map-is-not-the-territory) - [Zero: The Most Dangerous Number in Measurement](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/zero-the-most-dangerous-number-in-measurement) - [The Body as a Ruler: Every Measurement Unit That Came From Us](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/the-body-as-a-ruler) - [The Speed of Everything: How We Measure From Glaciers to Light](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/the-speed-of-everything) - [15 Obscure Measurement Units You've Never Heard Of (But Still Need)](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/obscure-measurement-units-guide) - [When Measurements Go Wrong - Disasters, Blunders and Happy Accidents](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/when-measurements-go-wrong) - [The Surprising Stories Behind Everyday Units of Measurement](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/stories-behind-measurement-units) - [Metric vs. Imperial - The Complete Guide to the World's Two Measurement Systems](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/metric-vs-imperial-complete-guide) - [Length & Distance Conversion Guide - Meters, Feet, Miles & Kilometers](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/blog/length-and-distance-guide) ## See Also - [Chains to Miles](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/length/chains-to-miles/)