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The State Plane Coordinate System

The State Plane Coordinate System (SPS or SPCS) is a set of 124 geographic zones or coordinate systems designed for specific regions of the United States. Each state contains one or more state plane zones, the boundaries of which usually follow county lines. There are 110 zones in the continental US, with 10 more in Alaska, 5 in Hawaii, and one for Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands. The system is widely used for geographic data by state and local governments. Its popularity is due to at least two factors. First, it uses a simple Cartesian coordinate system to specify locations rather than a more complex spherical coordinate system (the geographic coordinate system of latitude and longitude). By thus ignoring the curvature of the Earth, "plane surveying" methods can be used, speeding up and simplifying calculations. Second, the system is highly accurate within each zone (error less than 1:10,000). Outside a specific state plane zone accuracy rapidly declines, thus the system is not useful for regional or national mapping.

Most state plane zones are based on either a Transverse Mercator projection or a Lambert conformal conic projection. The choice between the two map projections is based on the shape of the state and its zones. States that are long in the east-west direction are typically divided into zones that are also long east-west. These zones use the Lambert conformal conic projection, because it is good at maintaining accuracy along an east-west axis. Zones that are long in the north-south direction use the Transverse Mercator projection because it is better at maintaining accuracy along a north-south axis. The panhandle of Alaska, whose maximum dimension is on a diagonal, uses an Oblique Mercator projection, which minimizes the combined error in the X and Y directions.


All State Plane zones in Michigan

Click here to go back to the list off all State Plane grids

County or City SPCS27 Code SPCS83 Code
Alcona 12112 2112
Alger 12111 2111
Allegan 12113 2113
Alpena 12112 2112
Antrim 12112 2112
Arenac 12112 2112
Baraga 12111 2111
Barry 12113 2113
Bay 12113 2113
Benzie 12112 2112
Berrien 12113 2113
Branch 12113 2113
Calhoun 12113 2113
Cass 12113 2113
Charlevoix 12112 2112
Cheboygan 12112 2112
Chippewa 12111 2111
Clare 12112 2112
Clinton 12113 2113
Crawford 12112 2112
Delta 12111 2111
Dickinson 12111 2111
Eaton 12113 2113
Emmet 12112 2112
Genesee 12113 2113
Gladwin 12112 2112
Gogebic 12111 2111
Grand Traverse 12112 2112
Gratiot 12113 2113
Hillsdale 12113 2113
Houghton 12111 2111
Huron 12113 2113
Ingham 12113 2113
Ionia 12113 2113
Iosco 12112 2112
Iron 12111 2111
Isabella 12113 2113
Jackson 12113 2113
Kalamazoo 12113 2113
Kalkaska 12112 2112
Kent 12113 2113
Keweenaw 12111 2111
Lake 12112 2112
Lapeer 12113 2113
Leelanau 12112 2112
Lenawee 12113 2113
Livingston 12113 2113
Luce 12111 2111
Mackinac 12111 2111
Macomb 12113 2113
Manistee 12112 2112
Marquette 12111 2111
Mason 12112 2112
Mecosta 12113 2113
Menominee 12111 2111
Midland 12113 2113
Missaukee 12112 2112
Monroe 12113 2113
Montcalm 12113 2113
Montmorency 12112 2112
Muskegon 12113 2113
Newaygo 12113 2113
Oakland 12113 2113
Oceana 12113 2113
Ogemaw 12112 2112
Ontonagon 12111 2111
Osceola 12112 2112
Oscoda 12112 2112
Otsego 12112 2112
Ottawa 12113 2113
Presque Isle 12112 2112
Roscommon 12112 2112
Saginaw 12113 2113
St. Clair 12113 2113
St. Joseph 12113 2113
Sanilac 12113 2113
Schoolcraft 12111 2111
Shiawassee 12113 2113
Tuscola 12113 2113
Van Buren 12113 2113
Washtenaw 12113 2113
Wayne 12113 2113
Wexford 12112 2112

Click here to go back to the list off all State Plane grids