Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM)

Classification: Transverse cylindrical, conformal

Available forms: Forward and inverse, ellipsoidal only

Defined area: Within the used zone, but transformations of coordinates in adjacent zones can be accurate

Alias: utm

Domain: 2D

Input type: Geodetic coordinates

Output type: Projected coordinates

Projection String

+proj=utm
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Required Parameters

• +zone=<value>: Select which UTM zone to use. Can be a value between 1-60.

Optional Parameters

• +south: Add this flag when using the UTM on the southern hemisphere.
• +approx: Use a faster, less accurate algorithm for the Transverse Mercator. (added in PROJ 6.0.0)
• +algo=auto/evenden_snyder/poder_engsager: Selects the algorithm to use. Defaults to poder_engsager. (added in PROJ 7.1)
• +ellps=<value>

Usage Examples

Convert geodetic coordinates to UTM Zone 32 on the northern hemisphere:

$ echo 12 56 | proj +proj=utm +zone=32
687071.44       6210141.33
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Convert geodetic coordinates to UTM Zone 59 on the southern hemisphere:

$ echo 174 -44 | proj +proj=utm +zone=59 +south
740526.32       5123750.87
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Show the relationship of UTM to TM:

$ echo 121 24 | proj +proj=utm +lon_0=123 | proj -I +proj=tmerc +lon_0=123 +x_0=500000 +k=0.9996
121dE 24dN
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Further Reading

• Wikipedia