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    EPSG reference

    EPSG:20538 — Afgooye / UTM zone 38N

    Afgooye / UTM zone 38N (EPSG:20538) — a Projected (metres) system on the krass datum, used in Somalia. Parameters, proj4, WKT, accuracy ±0.1 m, plus a free converter to…

    At a glance

    EPSG
    20538
    Name
    Afgooye / UTM zone 38N
    Kind
    Projected (metres)
    Family
    Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM)
    Ellipsoid
    krass
    Accuracy
    ±0.1 m (vs PROJ)
    Countries
    Somalia
    Convert from this system now

    Area of use

    West42.00°
    South0.00°
    East48.00°
    North11.52°

    Projection parameters

    Projectionutm
    UTM zone38
    Ellipsoidkrass
    Unitsm
    Helmert shift to WGS84-43,-163,45,0,0,0,0
    proj4
    +proj=utm +zone=38 +ellps=krass +units=m +no_defs +towgs84=-43,-163,45,0,0,0,0
    WKT (ESRI)
    PROJCS["Afgooye / UTM zone 38N",GEOGCS["GCS_Afgooye / UTM zone 38N",DATUM["D_Krassowsky_1940",SPHEROID["Krassowsky_1940",6378245,298.3],TOWGS84[-43,-163,45,0,0,0,0]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Transverse_Mercator"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",500000],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",45],PARAMETER["Scale_Factor",0.9996],PARAMETER["Latitude_Of_Origin",0],UNIT["Meter",1],AUTHORITY["EPSG","20538"]]

    Sample conversion

    Somalia capital: WGS84 45.31820, 2.04690 → EPSG:20538 535470.053, 226202.130

    Values are within ±0.1 m at the test point.

    About the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) family

    Afgooye / UTM zone 38N is a Universal Transverse Mercator zone — a 6°-wide belt of the worldwide UTM system, in metres, centred on a meridian carefully chosen so distortion stays low across the zone. It is the everyday working grid for GPS-derived surveying in Somalia.

    The classic field mistake with UTM is using the wrong zone: a point one zone away is easily hundreds of kilometres off. Always confirm the zone number (and the hemisphere) before importing coordinates, and remember that UTM eastings are offset by a 500 km false easting so they never go negative.

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    FAQ

    What is EPSG:20538?
    It is the coordinate system “Afgooye / UTM zone 38N”, a Projected (metres) system in the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) family, identified worldwide by the code EPSG:20538.
    What datum does it use, and how accurate is it?
    It is based on the krass ellipsoid and it carries Helmert parameters to WGS84. The residual at the test point is about ±0.1 m versus PROJ; for centimetre work use a geodetic adjustment service.
    Where is this system used?
    It is used in Somalia. This page shows its area of use as a coordinate rectangle above.
    How do I convert EPSG:20538 to WGS84?
    Use the free coordinate converter above (preloaded with this system) to convert to WGS84, UTM, or any other system, within a ±0.1 m residual.

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