Unit 4

Base line

The main imaginary line running east and west and crossing a principal meridian at a definite point; used by surveyors for reference in locating and describing land under the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.

Call

In surveying, a reference to a course, distance, or monument when describing a boundary.

Government (rectangular or geodetic) survey system

A system established in 1785 by the federal government, providing for surveying and describing land by reference to principal meridians and base lines; used mainly west of the Mississippi River.

Legal description

A description of a specific parcel of real estate complete enough for an independent surveyor to locate and identify it.

Metes and bounds (boundary) description

A legal description of a parcel of land that begins at a well-marked point and follows the boundaries, using directions and distances around the tract, back to the place of beginning.

Monument

A fixed natural or artificial object used to establish real estate boundaries for a metes-and-bounds description.

Plat map

A map of a subdivision indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties. Generally shows lots, blocks, easements, streets, floodplains, etc. Usually requires official approval before recordation.

Point of beginning (POB)

In a metes-and-bounds legal description, the starting point of the survey, situated in one corner of the parcel; all metes-and-bounds descriptions must follow the boundaries of the parcel back to the point of beginning.

Principle meridians

The main imaginary line running north and south and crossing a base line at a definite point; used by surveyors for reference in locating and describing land under the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.

Range

A strip of land six miles wide, extending north and south and numbered east and west according to its distance from the principle meridian in the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.

reference to a recorded plat (lot-and-block or recorded plat system)

A method of describing real property that identifies a parcel of land by reference to lot and block numbers within a subdivision, as specified on a recorded subdivision plat.

Section

A portion of township under the rectangular (government) survey system. A township is divided into 36 ( ), numbered 1 through 36. A ( ) is a square with mile-long sides and an area of one square mile, or 640 acres.

Survey

The process by which boundaries are measured and land areas are determined; the on-site measurement of lot lines, dimensions, and position of a house on a lot, including the determination of any existing encroachments or easements.

Tier (township strip)

A strip of land six miles wide, extending east and west and numbered north and south according to its distance from the base line in the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.

Topographic survey

A survey that measures the features of the earth's surfaces such as hills and valleys plus the location of roads.

Township

The principal unit of the rectangular (government) survey system. Is a square with six-mile sides and an area of 36 square miles.