The Rectangular Government Survey System Flashcards

The Rectangular Government Survey System Flashcards The PLSS system is actually a series of surveys that divide land into townships that are six miles by six miles square (for a total area of 36 square miles or 23,040 acres).Townships are further subdivided into 36 one-mile-square (640 acres) sections (each section is one square mile or 640 acres) then intoquarter sections,quarter-quarter sections, or irregular government lots.Beginning at an initial point, townships are surveyed in all directions. The north-south line that runs through the initial point is a true meridian called theprincipal meridian.There are 37 principal meridians in the United States, each referred to by name or number. For example, all land in Missouri is referenced to the Fifth Principal Meridian. The east-west lines that cross the principal meridians are calledbase lines;the north-south lines that run parallel to the principal meridians in six-mile-wide strips are calledrange lines.Lines that run east and west, parallel to the base line and six miles apart, are calledtownship lines.The township lines form strips of land known

astiers.Here's an example:A township might be identified

as Township 3 North, Range 4 East, which would mean that it was the 3rd tier of townships north of a base line and in the fourth column of townships east of a principal meridian.The Rectangular Government Survey System The rectangular government survey system (also known as the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), because it was originally used to survey federally owned blocks of land) is regulated by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management.The rectangular government survey system is only used in 30 western and southern states;it is not used by east coast states except Florida; it is also not used by Texas. Some states, like Missouri, used this method of land surveying in their original land surveys, as opposed to the metes and bounds method.Look at the highlighted parcel of land in the fictional township of Clarkson. This would be described asS½ SE¼ NW¼ Section 2, Township Clarkson.If you were saying it

out loud, you'd say: "The southern half of the southeast

quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 2 of Township Clarkson."When land is mapped on the rectangular survey system, you read the directions beginning from right to left.Therefore, in Section 2, we look for the northwest 14, and from that we find the southeast 14, and from there we find

the south 12, which is the highlighted portion.Note:Legal

descriptions using the PLSS system include the State, Principal Meridian name, Township and Range designations with directions and the section number.How large is this parcel?If we know that each side of a section is 1 mile long (1×1=1 square mile), then the NW 14 is 0.5×0.5 miles, or 0.25 square miles.One-fourth of that (the SE 14 of the NW 14) would be 0.0625 square miles.One-half of 0.0625 square miles (the S 12 of the SE 14) would be 0.03125 square miles, or 20 acres.One acre

is 0.0015625 of a square mile, so:0.03125 sq mi ÷

0.0015625 = 20 acres

Here's a simple layout showing how a township is designated. Note that the numbers do not read left to right, but start at the northeastern corner and follow a zigzag pattern. You may see an exam question or two about this, so be sure you understand how the grid is laid out..