Rod (unit) - Modern Use

Modern Use

The rod was phased out as a legal unit of measurement in the United Kingdom as part of a ten-year metrication process that began on 24 May 1965.

In the USA, the rod, along with the chain, furlong, and statute mile (as well as the survey inch and survey foot) are based on the pre-1959 values for United States customary units of linear measurement. The Mendenhall Order of 1893 defined the yard as exactly 3600/3937 meters, with all other units of linear measurement, including the rod, based on the yard. In the post-1959 system, the fundamental unit of length is the inch, defined as exactly 2.54 centimeters. The above-noted units, used in surveying, retain their pre-1959 values.

Despite no longer being in widespread use, the rod is still employed in certain specialized fields. In recreational canoeing, maps measure portages (overland paths where canoes must be carried) in rods; typical canoes are approximately one rod long. The term is also in widespread use in the acquisition of pipeline easements, as the offers for an easement are often expressed on a "price per rod".

In the United Kingdom, the sizes of allotment gardens continue to be measured in square poles in some areas, sometimes being referred to simply as poles rather than square poles.

In Vermont, the default right-of-way width of state and town highways and trails is three rods (15.0876 m). Rods can also be found on the older legal descriptions of tracts of land in the United States, following the "metes and bounds" method of land survey; as shown in this actual legal description of rural real estate:

LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Commencing 45 rods East and 44 rods North of Southwest corner of Southwest 1/4 of Southwest 1/4; thence North 36 rods; thence East 35 rods; thence South 36 rods; thence West 35 rods to the place of beginning, Manistique Township, Schoolcraft County, Michigan.