What does the UTM mean on the Cache pages?

[avslpfan81085]

When I am at the Geocaching website, and I'm looking at the page for the cache, it has the coordinates in bold, but under it it says UTM and a bunch of numbers... what does it mean?

[+StarBrand]

Just a different system for listing that spot on the planet. Univeral Transverse Metric (or something like that) - same as Latitude and longitude - just a set of numbers to describe a given position.

Edited January 10, 2007 by StarBrand

[mtbikernate]

Universal Transverse Mercator. It's one of dozens of methods to project a more or less spherical globe onto a flat piece of paper.

 

It splits the globe into vertical strips (the strip I'm located in is 17) and each strip is subdivided into segments depending on your latitude (I am in segment T of Zone 17). Running down the middle of each strip is a central meridian, which is arbitrarily set at 500,000. The first set of numbers is the easting (or westing), and the second set of numbers is the northing (for those of us in the northern hemisphere). The numbers correspond to ACTUAL ground measurements in meters, so it's VERY easy to measure distances and area. For the easting/westing, numbers less than 500,000 are west of the central meridian.

 

There are typically two coordinate systems displayed in the margins of a USGS topographical quadrangle. One would be typical lat/long. The other is UTM. Lat/long tends to be more frequently used by civilians, while UTM is more commonly used in academia and industry. The government tends to be split in its usage, but seems to be slowly coming around to using UTM coordinates more often.

[+DavidMac]

Here's the obligatory link to a Wikipedia article that explains more about the UTM coordinate system than you probably ever wanted to know.

[+Markwell]

This is for members of the Flat-Earth Society.

 

:ph34r:

[+Prairie Dog]

UTM is a different datum or number set for the exact same location on Earth. UTM is still a longitude and latitude, but it is a different way of displaying the coordinates. Geocaching.com uses the WGS84 datum.

However I can't tell you why this is or why different datums exist. Just wait a few minutes and someone on here can explain the technical stuff.

I'll keep checking back because I want to know too.

[+sbell111]

University of Tennessee at Memphis?

[+TrailGators]

UTM - Universal Transverse Mercator Geographic Coordinate System

 

A mercator projection is a 'pseudocylindrical' conformal projection. Say that 5 times fast!

 

Here is another great article that explains UTM very well!

[+tozainamboku]

UTM is a different datum or number set for the exact same location on Earth. UTM is still a longitude and latitude, but it is a different way of displaying the coordinates. Geocaching.com uses the WGS84 datum.

However I can't tell you why this is or why different datums exist. Just wait a few minutes and someone on here can explain the technical stuff.

I'll keep checking back because I want to know too.

UTM is not a datum. Datum and coordinate formats are two different things. Basically, the format depends on what type of grid you used. Longitude/Latitude use an angular grid - Longitude measuring the angle from a reference or prime meridian and latitude measuring the angle between a line perpendicular to the surface of the earth and the plane of the equator. UTM as stated above divides the planet into 60 segments like the sections of an orange. Each section is flattened out (causing some minor distortion) Northing measure the distance in meters from the equator and Easting measured the distance in meters from the central merdian of each segment. Datum is a reference that determines the size and shape of the earth. Depending on the datum used you will get a different value for latitude and longitude for the same point on the earth surface and also different UTM coordinates for the same point.

 

Both the latitude/longitude and the UTM coordinates on the cache page use the WGS-84 datum. If you have topomaps that use NAD-83 datum the UTM value will be very close. If you have older topomaps that use the NAD-27 datum, you will need to convert the coordinates to that datum using the link to jeeep.com on the cache page.

Edited January 11, 2007 by tozainamboku

[+stoneswivel]

UTM is not a datum. [snip]

Wow. How very concisely and completely put. I wish I could have explained it that well.

[+Big Matt and Shell]

UTM is a lot more easily used by map users. We used to use when I was a kid at school doing orinteering and rogaining. If you divide a map into a grid it is far easier to break up each square into denominators of 10 that break it into 60 second lots.

 

Hope that helps.

[+Prairie Dog]

[+Prairie Dog]

I pity the fool who doesn't know the difference in a datum and coordinate format.

[Tahosa and Sons]

UTM is basically used to find most of my good hides. One must go Up The Mountain!!

[+TrailGators]

UTM is basically used to find most of my good hides. One must go Up The Mountain!!

Then those must be the UTMost caches from the trailhead!