Hectometers

The hectometer (symbol hm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 100 metres. It uses the SI prefix hecto- with the base unit metre. Although the hectometer is a valid unit within the SI framework, it is seldom used in everyday measurement; metres and kilometres are far more common.

In metric terms, 1 hm equals 100 metres and therefore 1 hm equals 0.1 kilometres; conversely, 1 kilometre equals 10 hectometres. In relation to the base unit, 1 metre equals 0.01 hectometres.

Usage of the hectometer tends to occur in fields such as surveying, cartography, or civil engineering, where distances are conveniently expressed in hundreds of metres. It can be useful for describing stretches of roads, parks, or river segments that are too long for metres but too short for kilometres. For example, 5 hm equals 500 metres, while 12 hm equals 1.2 kilometres. Because of its limited practicality, the hectometer is not widely used in daily life or in most scientific disciplines, and metres and kilometres remain the standard units for most length measurements.