Eye4Software Hydromagic

  Hydrographic Survey Software


Download free demo version



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 Oregon

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

County or City SPCS27 Code SPCS83 Code
Baker 13601 3601
Benton 13601 3601
Clackamas 13601 3601
Clatsop 13601 3601
Columbia 13601 3601
Coos 13602 3602
Crook 13602 3602
Curry 13602 3602
Deschutes 13602 3602
Douglas 13602 3602
Gilliam 13601 3601
Grant 13601 3601
Harney 13602 3602
Hood River 13601 3601
Jackson 13602 3602
Jefferson 13601 3601
Josephine 13602 3602
Klamath 13602 3602
Lake 13602 3602
Lane 13602 3602
Lincoln 13601 3601
Linn 13601 3601
Malheur 13602 3602
Marion 13601 3601
Morrow 13601 3601
Multnomah 13601 3601
Polk 13601 3601
Sherman 13601 3601
Tillamook 13601 3601
Umatilla 13601 3601
Union 13601 3601
Wallowa 13601 3601
Wasco 13601 3601
Washington 13601 3601
Wheeler 13601 3601
Yamhill 13601 3601

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