Legal Descriptions Quiz

Street address
Street addresses are not legally precise enough to define property boundaries.

Which of the following is not a type of legal property description?

Measurements, directions, and monuments
It describes property using distances, angles, and physical landmarks.

The metes and bounds system uses which of the following?

6 miles by 6 miles
A township is a square measuring 36 square miles (6×6).

In the government survey system, a township is:

36
Each township contains 36 numbered 1-mile-square sections.

How many sections are in a township?

640
One section is 1 square mile, which is 640 acres.

How many acres are in one section?

Lot and block
Common in subdivisions and urban areas using recorded plats.

A legal description that reads “Lot 5, Block A, Green Meadows Subdivision” is using which system?

To locate a property precisely and uniquely
It ensures accurate identification in legal documents.

What is the primary purpose of a legal description?

A fixed object used to establish boundaries
Monuments can be natural (trees, rivers) or man-made (iron pins, stakes).

What is a “monument” in the metes and bounds system?

East-West
Baselines run east-west, and meridians run north-south.

What direction is the baseline in the government survey system?

1
Sections are numbered starting in the northeast corner, snaking back and forth.

A section located at the northeast corner of a township is which section number?