Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM)

The Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) is an international plane coordinate system developed by the US Army that extends around the world from 84°N to 80°S. The world is divided into 60 zones, each covering six degrees longitude. Each zone extends 3 degrees eastward and 3 degrees westward from its central meridian. Zones are numbered consecutively west to east from the 180° meridian.

The Transverse Mercator projection is then applied to each UTM zone. Transverse Mercator is a transverse form of the Mercator cylindrical projection. The projection cylinder is rotated 90° from the polar axis and can then be placed to intersect at a chosen central meridian. The UTM system specifies the central meridian of each zone. With a separate projection for each UTM zone, a high degree of accuracy is possible. If the map to be projected extends beyond the border of the UTM zone, the entire map may be projected for any UTM zone specified by you.

UTM Zones and Parameters