There are different types of Leagues

There are a few different types of League. On this site we have conversions for US Leagues and UK Leagues. In addition, there are also Nautical Leagues which can be found on this site. Please either select the appropriate unit on the selection above of click the required unit in the links below:

US Leagues

UK Leagues

Nautical Leagues

What is a League?

A league was originally roughly the distance a person could walk in an hour, about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers). The exact length varied with the country and the period.

A league is an old unit of length, usually around 3 miles or 5 kilometers, though the exact figure varied by country and period. Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is about distance travelled, not depth – 20,000 of his 4 kilometer leagues is 80,000 kilometers, twice around the Earth.

What is a US league?

A US league is three miles or 15,840 feet. The word comes from the Late Latin leuca, a Gaulish measure traditionally taken as an hour's walk.

The league was used for the distance between towns and for a ship's run at sea. The mile and the kilometer replaced it, and it now mostly turns up in older books. A US league of three miles is about 4.83km.