How many acres are contained in a section?

A section contains 640 acres, which is a fundamental unit of land measurement in the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) used in the United States. This system divides land into townships, each of which is further divided into sections of one square mile. Since there are 640 acres in one square mile (defined as 5,280 feet on each side), it directly follows that a single section equates to this measure.

Understanding this measurement is crucial in agricultural contexts, such as land assessment and crop insurance calculations, where accurate land size is necessary for evaluating risks and determining coverage. The other figures presented do not represent a full section in this standardized land system, as 320 acres would represent half a section, 480 acres is not a standardized division, and 720 acres exceeds the dimensions of a section.