A nautical mile a unit of distance defined as the angular measurement equal to 1/60th of a degree of latitude. A knot was equal to the speed of one nautical mile per hour.
When Nyota Uhura aboard the HMS Bounty in 1986 Earth finally located the humpback whales George and Gracie in the Bering Sea, she determined their bearing to be 372, at a range of 600 nautical. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
Another measurement that was often used in nautical terminology – league – was mentioned in a roundabout reference through the title 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; where, 1 league was equal to 3 nautical miles, or in the case of this title, '60,000 nautical miles under the sea'.