(UTM) a widely used planar coordinate system, extending from 84° north to 80° south latitude and based on a specialized application of the transverse Mercator projection —note 1. the extent of the coordinate system is broken into sixty 6° (longitude) zones; within each zone, coordinates are usually expressed as meters north or south of the equator and east from a reference axis —note 2. for locations in the northern hemisphere, the origin is assigned a false easting of 500,000 and a false northing of 0; for locations in the southern hemisphere, the origin is assigned a false easting of 500,000 and a false northing of 10,000,000 This definition last updated 08/17/2008