When we hear 30 meters (m), it can sound abstract and difficult to picture in everyday life. To put it into perspective, 30 meters equals 98.4 feet or about the length of three school buses parked end to end. That’s quite a stretch!
In this guide, we’ll explore 7 common and surprising things that measure around 30 meters long so you can better visualize this distance.
7 Things That Are About 30 Meters (m) Long
1. A Blue Whale (the Largest Animal on Earth)
The blue whale, the largest creature to ever live on Earth, can reach up to 30 meters in length. That’s nearly the size of a basketball court! Imagining this massive marine giant is one of the easiest ways to picture 30 meters.
2. Three London Double-Decker Buses
Each London red double-decker bus is about 10 meters long. Park three of them end to end, and you’ll have almost exactly 30 meters. This makes buses a handy reference for understanding the length.
3. A Basketball Court
A standard basketball court is 28–30 meters long, depending on international or NBA regulations. If you’ve ever stood at one end of a court and looked across to the other, you’ve basically seen how long 30 meters looks.
4. Ten Cars Parked in a Row
The average car is about 3 meters long. Line up 10 cars bumper-to-bumper, and you’ll get approximately 30 meters. Perfect for a real-world comparison you can see in a parking lot.
5. A Large Telephone Pole Row
A single telephone pole averages around 9–10 meters in height. If you placed three tall poles horizontally in a line, you’d have a good visualization of 30 meters.
6. A Small Commercial Airplane
Some regional airplanes, such as the Embraer 120 or Bombardier Dash series, are around 30 meters long. The length of these planes helps travelers instantly grasp how big 30 meters really is.
7. A Swimming Pool (Olympic Size is 50m, Half-Size About 25–30m)
Most competitive swimming pools are 25–30 meters in length. Swimmers who do laps in these pools experience firsthand how far 30 meters stretches in water.
FAQs About 30 Meters
Q1: How many feet are in 30 meters?
30 meters = 98.4 feet.
Q2: How many yards are in 30 meters?
30 meters = 32.8 yards.
Q3: How many stories of a building equal 30 meters?
Since one building story is about 3 meters high, 30 meters equals a 10-story building.
Q4: How long is 30 meters compared to a football field?
A standard football field is 100 meters long, so 30 meters is about one-third of a field.
Final Thoughts
Now you know that 30 meters (m) is about the size of:
- The length of a blue whale
- Three double-decker buses
- A basketball court
- Ten cars in a row
- A row of telephone poles
- A small airplane
- Or a swimming pool
Understanding measurement comparisons like this makes distances easier to visualize. Next time someone mentions 30 meters, you’ll be able to picture it clearly in real-world terms.