An important Spanish and Portuguese unit of length. One meaning of the word is rod or pole. It is sometimes spelled bara or bar.
In 1568 Phillip II made the prototype of the vara kept in Burgos the official standard for Spain and all its possessions; to distinguish this vara from the many others it is often referred to as the vara of Burgos.
The square vara was an important land measure, and in some areas the vara itself became a unit of area.
Contents
vara as a unit of length
vara as a unit of area
vara as a unit of mass
vara as a unit of dry capacity
History
| Argentina | 86.6 centimeters (about 34.09 inches). | |
| Spain | 83.52 centimeters | |
Brazil ){kind=small} |
1.10 meter (about 43.31 inches) | |
| Chile | 83.59 centimeters (about 32.91 inches) | |
| Colombia | 80 centimeters (about 31.5 inches) | |
| Costa Rica | 83.600 centimeters
[Costa Rica. Ministerio de formento.] Page 29. |
|
| Cuba | 84.800 centimeters | |
| Dominican Republic | 83.6 centimeters | |
| Ecuador | 84.0 centimeters | |
| El Salvador | 83.82 centimeters | |
| Guatemala | 84 centimeters | |
| Honduras | 83.5 centimeters (about 32.87 inches) | |
| Mexico | exactly 83.8 centimeters (approximately 32.99 inches), 
but see history of the vara in Mexico |
|
| Nicaragua | 84 centimeters | |
| Panama | 80 centimeters (about 31.5 inches) | |
| Paraguay | 86.66 centimeters (approximately 34.12 inches) | |
| Peru | vara peruana | approximately 83.82 centimeters |
| vara española | approximately 83.598 centimeters (about 32.91 inches.) | |
| Portugal | 1.10 meter (about 43.31 inches) legal vara |
|
| Uruguay | 85.9 centimeters (about 33.63 inches) | |
| United States (see also U.S. v. Perot) |
California | 33.3720 inches, except in San Francisco, where it was 33.0 inches |
| Florida | ||
| Texas | exactly 33 1/3 inches
(approximately 84.667 centimeters), but see history of vara in Texas |
|
| São Tomé and Principe | 4.84 meters. | |
In the Cape Verde Islands, 1.21 square meters.
In the Venezuelan 
province of Aragua, 20th century, 0.86 square
meters.
In the provinces of Bolivár, Guárico, and Monegas in Venezuela, 20th century, the vara was a unit of mass used for tobacco, = 250 grams.
United Nations, 1966.
In Spain, 15th century?, a unit of dry capacity for grain, perhaps about 630 liters (18 U.S. bushels).
Staia vj in sei e un quarto di grano di Venegia fanno in Sybilia varra una.
Six to 6¼ staia of grain in Venice make in Seville one vara.
Chiarini, 1481.
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Last revised: 22 June 2000.