![]() ![]() The problem is fundamentally different from the measurement of other, simpler edges. Various approximations exist when specific assumptions are made about minimum feature size. Since a landmass has features at all scales, from hundreds of kilometers in size to tiny fractions of a millimeter and below, there is no obvious size of the smallest feature that should be taken into consideration when measuring, and hence no single well-defined perimeter to the landmass. ![]() The measured length of the coastline depends on the method used to measure it and the degree of cartographic generalization. ![]() Although the "paradox of length" was previously noted by Hugo Steinhaus, the first systematic study of this phenomenon was by Lewis Fry Richardson, and it was expanded upon by Benoit Mandelbrot. This results from the fractal curve-like properties of coastlines i.e., the fact that a coastline typically has a fractal dimension. The coastline paradox is the counterintuitive observation that the coastline of a landmass does not have a well-defined length. With 50 km (31 mi) units, the total length is approximately 3,400 km (2,100 mi), approximately 600 km (370 mi) longer. If the coastline of Great Britain is measured using units 100 km (62 mi) long, then the length of the coastline is approximately 2,800 km (1,700 mi). ![]()
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