Explanation:

A nautical mile is based on the circumference of the planet Earth. If you were   to cut the Earth in half at the equator, you could pick up one of the halves and look at the equator as a circle. You  could divide that circle into 360 degrees.  You could then divide a degree into 60 minutes. A minute of arc on the planet Earth is 1 nautical mile. A nautical mile is1.1508 miles or 6,076 feet.