Definition of Vara

A vara (the “Spanish yard”) is a traditional Spanish and Portuguese unit of length, historically used in land measurement, particularly in Latin America and the southwestern United States. Vara values can vary regionally, but it typically ranges between 32.9 inches (83.5 cm) and 43.2 inches (109.7 cm), with the most common value being 33 inches (83.8 cm).

Related Real Estate Terminology

• Acre: A unit of land area used in the United States, equal to 43,560 square feet or 4,840 square yards.
• Hectare: A metric unit of land area equivalent to 10,000 square meters or 2.471 acres.
• Land surveying: The technique, profession, and science of determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them.
• Chain: A unit of length formerly used in land measurement, equivalent to 66 feet (20.12 meters) or 100 links.
• Rod: A unit of length historically used for land measurement, equal to 16.5 feet (5.03 meters) or 5.5 yards.
• Perch: A unit of area used in land measurement, equivalent to 1 square rod (272.25 square feet or 25.29 square meters).

References

1. United States. National Bureau of Standards. (1964). Weights and Measures Standards of the United States: A brief history. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards.
2. Gutierrez, J. (2015). Spanish Texas and Borderlands Historiography in Transition: Implications for United States History. Journal of American History, 102(2), 415-438.