Level 4 Chapter 2: Rectangular Survey System Flashcards
(14 cards)
Rectangular Survey System
Which is also called the government survey system, was developed by the federal government to improve, simplify, and standardize surveying. Dependent on a refined version of the longitude and latitude system of mapping. It involves a surveyed grid of meridians, base lines, townships, and ranges to describe a piece of land.
Longitude Lines (Meridians)
Longitude lines, called meridians, run north to south. They segment the globe along Earth’s poles.
Latitude Lines (Parallels)
Latitude lines, called parallels, run east to west, parallel to the equator.
Range Lines/Colums
Run parallel to the principal meridian, running north and south. Range lines are spaced six miles apart from one another. The area of land between two consecutive range lines are called ranges, which are six miles wide.
Principal Meridians
A true meridian running through an initial point, which, together with the baseline, forms the highest level framework for all rectangular surveys in a given area
Baselines
A parallel of latitude, referenced to and established from a designated initial point, upon which all rectangular surveys in a defined area are based
Township lines
Run west and east, parallel to the baseline and, like range lines, are six miles apart from one another. When intersected with range lines it’s 36 square mile area for a township
Tiers
The areas of land that township lines create. Six miles wide.
Fixed Point of Beginning
Sections of a Township
Beginning in the upper right-hand corner. Each square mile contains 640 acres, and every acre has 43,560 square feet.
Numbers on a township map represent the different sections. They begin in the top right corner. From there, numbering goes from right to left on the top row, down to the second row, where numbering goes from left to right. On the third row, numbers move from right to left, alternating until every section is numbered. This pattern is called a “snaking” pattern, an alternative to traditional left-to-right numbering.
Important Measurements
1 township = 36 sections
1 section = 640 acres (a square mile)
1 acre = 43,560 square feet
1 mile = 5,280 linear feet
1/2 of 1/4 of 1/4 of 1/4 of 640 acres, times them, =acreage
Example:
N 1⁄2 of SW 1⁄4 of NE 1⁄4.
640 acres x 1⁄2 x 1⁄4 x 1⁄4 = Lot acreage
43,560 sq. ft. x 20 acres = 871,200 sq. ft.
Ranges
A measure of the distance east or west from a referenced principal meridian, in units of six miles
Sections
Approximately one-square-mile blocks of land (640 acres); there are 36 sections in a survey township. Can then be divided into halves (320 acres) and quarters (160 acres). Those halves and quarters can then be halved and quartered again. Also recall that each 36-square-mile township is then divided into 36 individual square mile areas (or 640 acre areas) called sections
Township
Also known as a survey township; a square parcel of land of 36 square miles, or a measure of the distance north or south from a referenced baseline, in units of six miles
