So, you can refer to the south (S) 1/2 of the northwest (NW) 1/4 of a section in a township, for example. The Public Land Survey System is the surveying method developed and used in the United States to plat, or divide, real property for sale and settling. The guide meridians occur every 24 miles east and west of the principal meridian. Also Check: When Is Open Enrollment For Government Healthcare. The grid is divided into smaller sections known as quadrangles, townships, sections, half-sections, and quarter-sections, used to describe property boundaries in most of the United States. Remember that although these correction lines and guide meridians are the way the government deals with the issue of the earths curvature, it isnt the way the government survey system describes land. The rectangular survey describes property location as fractions of sections, which are part of townships, and provide distance measurements from principal meridians, base lines and range lines. For example, you can say the east of section 3. That means the property is 320 acres and located on the east half of that section. Were not done yet. There may also be questions about how much land is in a specific plot or section. A system of fractional sections and government lots are parts of standard practice to account for these discrepancies.\r\n\r\nSo how does the system describe land? Baselines run parallel to the earths equator, from east to west. Sections also are numbered consecutively. The boundary of each township is 6 miles long, so a township contains 36 square miles and is described as being 6 miles square. In reality, because of this earth curvature issue, many sections and townships vary from their exact area measurements. He teaches pre-licensing and continuing education courses for salespeople, brokers, and appraisers. When identifying property locations, you will always reference which principal meridian it is located near. A government check represents an area that measures 576 square miles. You have 80 acres in that plot of land, and that is your answer. The land is then further divided into quadrangles. Where the two range lines and two township lines intersect, they form a township. You may even see a question or two about the numbering system used for sections. Imagine trying to draw straight lines on a rubber ball. Where the two range lines and two township lines intersect, they form a township.\r\n\r\nNow, the way it really works is for this page to be filled with the lines going up and down and right to left so that you have many townships. PLSS The Public Land Survey System is a way of subdividing and describing land in the United States. The rectangular survey or government survey describes land by reference to a. ","description":"The rectangular survey system, often referred to as the government survey system, is based on a system of lines that form rectangles and squares throughout the United States. The numbering continues in this manner like a snake, until ending in the far southeast corner with section 36. Way in which the U.S. government uses to subdivide public land. He teaches pre-licensing and continuing education courses for salespeople, brokers, and appraisers.
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John A. Yoegel, PhD, is a certified real estate instructor and former board member of the Real Estate Educators Association. Which States Use the Rectangular Survey System. These sections are referred to as fractional sections. It is a rectangular approach to surveying the land breaking the district down to quadrangles of 24 miles. It can be a quick and relatively straightforward way of dividing large areas of land into manageable, legally identifiable sections from the very large to the fairly small. Additionally, the terms used in the Rectangular Survey System can have different meanings under other systems of measurement and governmental designations. Land is designated as either a base line (East-West) or principal meridian line (North-South). For example,Lot _ Block _ of Subdivision __ in the County of ______, State of ______________. (The figure below shows a variety of divisions in a quarter section. | 16 Putting the above description into words is half of a quarter section. [/caption]\r\n
Each half or quarter section can be further subdivided into halves and quarters. It uses the 37 principal meridian lines that run north to south across the U.S. and baselines that run east to west. So, you can refer to the south (S) 1/2 of the northwest (NW) 1/4 of a section in a township, for example. \"https://sb\" : \"http://b\") + \".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js\";el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el);})();\r\n","enabled":true},{"pages":["all"],"location":"footer","script":"\r\n
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Since the lines that create them are six miles apart, they are 24 miles around and include an area of 36 square miles, which is 23,040 acres. It is known that Jefferson proposed a rectangular survey system, although his system was based on the decimal system -- townships 10 miles by 10 miles. The boundary of each township is 6 miles long, so a township contains 36 square miles and is described as being 6 miles square. (The figure below shows a variety of divisions in a quarter section. Note that the more detailed legal descriptions usually begin with the smallest area and work to the largest. The grid creates six-mile square townships that can then be further divided into 36 sections of one square mile each. Lines that are parallel to the Base Line are called the standard parallels which run at 24-mile intervals north and south of the Base Line. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. These townships are not the same as political subdivisions. Congress created it in 1785 as a more straightforward, faster and more accurate way to identify land. flashcard sets. The legal description includes the state name, the meridian name, the township and range directions, and usually the section number. Livable, Rentable & Usable Area: Definition & Examples. Each township is further divided into 36 sections of one square mile each, or 640 acres, by horizontal and vertical section lines. The lines are spaced 24 miles apart, creating squares that are around 576 square miles. Using the Fifth Principal Meridian in Missouri, the description would look like this: The W 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of Section 14, Township 2 South, Range 3 West of the Fifth Principal Meridian, Missouri. Learn the basic methodology, and real-world adjustments. Remember, there are 36 square miles in a township, and each section is 1 square mile. The section in the bottom left corner, the southwest corner, is section 36. A rectangular survey is read based on the state and meridian line and the property's location, directionally, to that line. Course Hero is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university. What Is the Rectangular Survey System Used For? There are two separate and distinct systems of land surveys in the United States: System of metes and bounds in which each parcel of land is . We know that there are 640 acres in one section, and we are taking a 1/4 of a 1/2 section. The rectangular survey or government survey describes. There is more than one type of legal description you must know for your exam. The rectangular survey system was enacted by the Land Ordinance Act of 1785. Moreover, the astronomical observations will then determine the areas latitude and longitude. The Base Line in United States Rectangular Survey System meets its principal meridian at the point of origin, or initial point, for the survey of the land. Half sections have an area of 320 acres. The lot and block survey system is a method used in the United States and Canada to locate and identify land, particularly for lots in densely populated metropolitan areas, suburban areas, and exurbs.