What Is Vara?
A vara is an old unit used to measure length. It came from Spain and Portugal and later spread to Latin America and places like Texas. People used varas to measure land, streets, and buildings. Today it is not used in daily life, but it is still important when we read old documents, maps, and land titles.
Definition
A vara is a unit of length from traditional Spanish and Portuguese systems. It is close to the length of a yard.
The exact length of a vara was not the same everywhere. It changed from place to place. To keep things simple, people often use these common values today:
- Spanish Castilian vara about 0.8359 meters, about 2.74 feet
- Texas vara about 0.8467 meters, about 2.78 feet
In general, you can remember:
- 1 vara is a little shorter than 1 meter
- 1 vara is a little longer than 2 and a half feet
History / Origin
The word vara comes from a Latin word that meant stick or pole. Long ago, many people measured things using the length of sticks or a person’s arm. Over time, these rough lengths became fixed units, like the vara.
In the Middle Ages and later, Spain and Portugal used the vara in trade, building, and land measurement. Each large city could have its own official standard stick that showed exactly how long a vara was. Because of this, varas in one city or region were not always the same as in another place.
When Spain and Portugal built colonies in the Americas, they took the vara with them. It became common in Mexico, Central America, South America, and in parts of the United States that were once under Spanish or Mexican control, such as Texas and California.
In the 1800s and 1900s, many countries slowly changed to the metric system. The meter became the main unit of length, and the vara stopped being used in new laws and new building plans. Still, the vara remained in old land records, so surveyors and historians still need to understand it.
Symbol & Abbreviation
The vara does not have a single worldwide symbol like the meter or second. Different places used different short forms. Common ways to write it include:
- vara written in full
- var as an abbreviation
- v sometimes used in old Portuguese documents
- varas for the plural form, especially in Texas land records
Modern scientific writing almost always shows the value in meters as well, for example:
100 varas about 84.67 m
Current Use Around the World
Today the vara is no longer a standard unit in most legal and scientific systems. The meter is used instead. However, the vara is still important in a few special areas:
- Spain and Portugal old buildings, city plans, and land titles sometimes use varas
- Latin America historical records, older maps, and some traditional land descriptions may use varas
- Texas, USA many old land grants and property deeds are written in varas. Surveyors often work with varas when they update or check these old boundaries
Because of this, surveyors, historians, and lawyers often need to convert varas into meters or feet to compare old and new measurements.
Example Conversions
Since the length of a vara changed in different places, it is important to know which type you are using. Below are two common examples.
1. Using the Spanish Castilian vara
Take 1 Castilian vara as 0.8359 meters.
- 1 vara about 0.8359 m about 2.74 ft
- 10 varas about 8.359 m about 27.4 ft
- 100 varas about 83.59 m about 274 ft
2. Using the Texas vara
In Texas, the law defines 1 vara as exactly 33 and one third inches. This is 33.333… inches.
We can convert this to other units:
- 1 inch 0.0254 m
- 1 Texas vara 33.333… in × 0.0254 m per in about 0.8467 m
Now convert to feet and meters.
- 1 Texas vara about 0.8467 m about 2.78 ft
- 10 Texas varas about 8.467 m about 27.8 ft
- 100 Texas varas about 84.67 m about 278 ft
Quick rounded rule for everyday use
If you only need an estimate and do not need exact survey work, you can remember:
- 1 vara about 0.84 meters
- 1 vara about 2.75 feet
- To go from varas to meters, multiply by about 0.84
- To go from meters to varas, divide by about 0.84
Related Units
The vara belongs to a group of traditional Spanish and Portuguese length units. These units were often based on parts of the human body, such as a foot or a span.
- Pie Spanish foot. Several pies make one vara. Roughly like the English foot
- Palmo a span or handbreadth. Smaller than a foot
- Codo an ell or cubit, based on the forearm. Used in some older systems
- Legua or league a much larger unit for long distances. Several thousand varas could equal one league, depending on the region
- Yard an English unit close in size to the vara, 1 yard is 3 feet or 36 inches
- Meter the main modern unit of length in the metric system. Used today to replace the vara in almost all countries
FAQs
Is a vara the same length everywhere?
No. The length of a vara changed between countries and even between cities. That is why it is important to know which region or law your document is using. For example, a Texas vara is slightly longer than the usual Spanish Castilian vara.
How long is 1 vara in meters and feet?
It depends on the type of vara. A common rounded value is:
- 1 vara about 0.84 meters
- 1 vara about 2.75 feet
For more exact work, use 0.8359 m for the Castilian vara or 0.8467 m for the Texas vara.
Do people still use the vara today?
People do not use the vara in normal shopping or building anymore. But it is still used in old land records, old maps, and history books. Surveyors, lawyers, and historians often need to convert from varas to meters or feet when working with these documents.
Why are varas important for land in Texas?
Many early land grants and property descriptions in Texas were written when the area was under Spanish or Mexican rule. These documents used varas instead of feet or meters. When people check or change property lines today, they must understand varas to match the old descriptions correctly.
What unit replaced the vara?
The meter replaced the vara in most countries. The metric system became the main system for science, trade, and law, so older units like the vara slowly stopped being used in new measurements.
How can I convert varas to meters quickly?
For a quick estimate, you can use this simple rule:
- meters about varas × 0.84
- varas about meters ÷ 0.84
For legal or survey work, always check which local value of the vara is required and use the exact number given by that law or standard.