The Universal Transverse Mercator, or UTM, coordinate method uses a grid to specify locations on the Earth's surface. The grid was originally created for use by the U.S. military and uses only horizontal grid positions. It consists of 60 zones that are based on a specific secant transverse Mercator projection. Each of these zones is 6 degrees longitude wide. The State Plane Coordinate System, or SPC, uses 124 geographic zones that apply to particular regions of the United States. Converting the meters used in UTM to the feet used in SPC requires a computer with global positioning system, or GPS, conversion software.
Instructions
1. Locate your state's specific UTM northing and easting coordinates online (see Resources). UTMs are divided by zones either going east-west or north-south that are centered over a meridian of longitude and contain 6 degrees of longitude in width. It depends on the shape and size of the state. For example, any geographic point can be found by its distance east of an origin point (easting measurement).
2. Open your GPS conversion software. Click the "Preferences" tab, and then click on the "My Coordinate Formats" tab. Click the "Add Format" tab.
3. Enter your state at the end of the "Add Format" dialog box. For example, if you were in Florida, the format would read "World/North America/United States/Florida." The coordinate formats used in your state will come up in the dialog box in the upper right of the screen.
4. Select your "Base Unit" as meters. Select the appropriate "Datum" in the lower box labeled "Datum." Next, choose "SPC" as your export format. You can now use the SPC coordinates, in feet, for spreadsheets or for use on your portable GPS.
Tags: your state, conversion software, degrees longitude, State Plane, United States, zones that
