Title: United States National Grid - Wikipedia
Headings: United States National Grid
United States National Grid
Contents
Overview
Description: How the USNG works
History
Advantages over latitude/longitude
Limitations and tradeoffs
Adoption and current applications
Standards
Gridded maps
Software applications
Search and rescue (SAR)
Emergency Location Marker (ELM)
First responders
Emergency Management
Asset Identification and Mapping
Recreation and other uses
Future direction and initiatives
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Content: here to 10 meter precision)
Without 100 km Square Identification: 233 065 (when local area is understood; here to 100 meter precision)
Thus in practical usage, USNG references are typically very succinct and compact, making them convenient (and less error prone) for communication. History
Rectangular, distance-based ( Cartesian) coordinate systems have long been recognized for their practical utility for land measurement and geolocation over local areas. In the United States, the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), created in 1785 in order to survey land newly ceded to the nation, introduced a rectangular coordinate system to improve on the earlier metes-and-bounds survey basis used earlier in the original colonies. In the first half of the 20th Century, State Plane Coordinate Systems (SPCS) brought the simplicity and convenience of Cartesian coordinates to state-level areas, providing high accuracy (low distortion) survey-grade coordinates for use primarily by state and local governments. ( Both of these planar systems remain in use today for specialized purposes.) Internationally, during the period between World Wars I and II, several European nations mapped their territory with national-scale grid systems optimized for the geography of each country, such as the Ordnance Survey National Grid (British National Grid). Near the end of World War II, the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate system extended this grid concept around the globe, dividing it into 60 zones of 6 degrees longitude each. Circa 1949, the US further refined UTM for ease of use (and combined it with the Universal Polar Stereographic system covering polar areas) to create the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS), which remains the geocoordinate standard used across the militaries of NATO counties.