As we mentioned earlier, two primary survey methods are used in the United States, the Metes and Bounds System, and the Rectangular Survey System. Whenever properties have irregular boundaries, the land may be further described using one of the two other systems described in this section. Correction lines occur at every fourth township line or every 24 miles north and south of the baseline. This process continues, creating a smaller and smaller grid that can be used to identify the specific location of any property. For example,Lot _ Block _ of Subdivision __ in the County of ______, State of ______________. Sections are numbered from the northeast (top right) corner, running first horizontally to the west and then down and back to the east in a serpentine pattern. For instance, a quarter section always contains 160 acres, or a fourth of the total 640 acres in a section. Guide meridians run north to south, parallel with principal meridians. The government survey system is known by a few different names. That could be further divided into quarters, such as the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 18 of a township would be 40 acres. The squares created by range and township lines are known as townships and are identified by their location from the baseline and principal meridian lines. Those quadrangles are divided into smaller squares called townships. In addition to the principal meridians and baselines, the land is further divided by range lines, which run north and south. As each territory or state opened new public lands, the government identified a meridian (running north and south) and a base line (running east and west) to guide all future land surveys in that area. Congress created it in 1785 as a more straightforward, faster and more accurate way to identify land. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Half sections have an area of 320 acres. Same as term government rectangular survey: Way in which the U.S. government uses to subdivide public land. It isn't used by East Coast states except, Florida, and it also isn't used by Texas. We have Quarter sections, Half sections, township sections, townships, quadrangles, and principal meridians with baselines. Township lines, which run east and west, parallel to baselines, are horizontal parallel lines that form township tiers. Principal meridians run perpendicular to the earths equator, north to south. These townships are not the same as political subdivisions. The first is the Metes and Bounds surveythe second is the Rectangular Survey System, also known as the Government Survey System or Public Lands Survey System. Since the earth is not flat like a checkerboard, there needed to be some adjustments made along the way to make sure everything worked out. Townships have an area of 36 square miles, more or less, and are each further divided into 36 sections.\r\n \t

  • Sections: The divisions of a township, sections, are one mile square and have an area of one square mile, or 640 acres. View Rectangular Government Survey System.pdf from PLST 222 at Liberty University. Township locations are identified by tier or township lines and ranges. Range lines are equally located six miles apart, and the columns of land they create are known as ranges. [/caption]\r\n

    Each half or quarter section can be further subdivided into halves and quarters. Manage Settings document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); Sign up for the newsletter to get exclusive real estate exam tips that I don't share anywhere else. One section is 1 mile or 640 square acres, so it still covers a large piece of land and must be divided again.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'realestatelicensewizard_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_4',690,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-realestatelicensewizard_com-large-leaderboard-2-0'); Sections are further broken down into half and quarter sections repeatedly until you identify the exact location of a property. For instance, a quarter section always contains 160 acres, or a fourth of the total 640 acres in a section. If you want to define smaller properties, we can take the southeast of section 3, which will only be 160 acres. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. All township locations are defined by referencing how from they are from the principal meridian and baseline. Concepts will include principal meridians, the PLSS, and how sections of a township are. The Rectangular Survey System, also known as the Government Survey System or Public Land Survey System, is a method of plotting land boundaries in the United States using a large grid made up of rectangles. We have Quarter sections, Half sections, township sections, townships, quadrangles, and principal meridians with baselines. The system became official with the Land Ordinance Act of 1785. Standard parallels run east to west along with the baseline. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9566"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":33793,"title":"Real Estate Licensure Exam","slug":"real-estate-licensure-exam","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33793"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":274757,"title":"How to P-R-E-P-A-R-E for the Real Estate License Exam","slug":"how-to-p-r-e-p-a-r-e-for-the-real-estate-license-exam","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","study-skills-test-prep","real-estate-licensure-exam"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/274757"}},{"articleId":274752,"title":"Real Estate License Exam: 10 Things to Find Out About State Real Estate Law","slug":"real-estate-license-exam-10-things-to-find-out-about-state-real-estate-law","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","study-skills-test-prep","real-estate-licensure-exam"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/274752"}},{"articleId":274740,"title":"How to Make Mortgage Calculations without a Fancy Calculator","slug":"how-to-make-mortgage-calculations-without-a-fancy-calculator","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","study-skills-test-prep","real-estate-licensure-exam"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/274740"}},{"articleId":244375,"title":"Real Estate License Exam: Measuring Area and Volume","slug":"real-estate-license-exam-measuring-area-and-volume","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","study-skills-test-prep","real-estate-licensure-exam"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/244375"}},{"articleId":207902,"title":"Real Estate License Exams For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"real-estate-license-exams-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","study-skills-test-prep","real-estate-licensure-exam"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/207902"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":true,"relatedBook":{"bookId":282532,"slug":"real-estate-license-exams-for-dummies-with-online-practice-tests-4th-edition","isbn":"9781119724858","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","study-skills-test-prep","real-estate-licensure-exam"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1119724856/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1119724856/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/1119724856-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1119724856/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1119724856/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://catalogimages.wiley.com/images/db/jimages/9781119724858.jpg","width":250,"height":350},"title":"Real Estate License Exams For Dummies with Online Practice Tests","testBankPinActivationLink":"https://testbanks.wiley.com","bookOutOfPrint":true,"authorsInfo":"\n

    John A. Yoegel, PhD, is a certified real estate instructor and former board member of the Real Estate Educators Association. a rectangular system of land survey that divides a district into 24-square mile quadrangles from the meridian (north-south line) and the baseline (east-west line); the tracts are divided into 6-mile-square parts called townships, which are in turn divided into 36 tracts, each 1 mile square, called sections. Think about two more lines running up and down the page on top of the first two lines, also about an inch apart. Specific directional references are needed in the actual description to locate a particular piece of property, but for finding out how large a particular piece of property is, only the fractions matter. The image does not specifically designate which meridian or state, but as they are all divided and labeled the same, this could represent any section of land along any meridian that would be identified in the legal description. These are known as correction lines and guide meridians. These smaller parcels are identified by their directional location within the section. Prior to the land ordinance of 1785 and the Rectangular Survey System, the state lands state which would be the 13 colonies, surveyed their land with meets and bound system. Running east to west every six miles between the baselines are the township lines. Simply multiply 640 by or 0.25, which equals 160, then multiply 160 by 1/2 or 0.5, which equals 80. To learn more about these land descriptions, view our Real Estate Principles course, which provides information on ethics of practice, titles to and conveyance of real estate, deeds encumbrances and liens, distinctions between personal and real property, appraisal, finance and regulations, and more. This version has a more visual interface, which was optimized to explore the dataset. -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, The rectangular government survey system is used in 30 western and southern states. Sections can be further subdivided into quarter sections, quarter-quarter sections, or irregular government lots. Base lines The township is the basic unit of measurement in the rectangular survey system. Water & Littoral Rights Concept & Purpose | What are Water Rights? Since nothing is perfect, some sections of land ended up being larger or smaller than they should. As mentioned above, basically you can think of the US as a huge checkerboard, with vertical and horizontal lines splitting it up. You got it: Tic tac toe. So, there can be the north, south, east, or west half section.

    • \r\n\r\nBecause of the curvature of the earth, the lines in the government survey system are only theoretically straight. The strips of land they form are known as township tiers. It is also known as the rectangular survey system and geodetic survey system. Metes and bounds were used as the primary survey method before 1785 and were fairly inaccurate, especially before GPS technology. What Is the Rectangular Survey System Used For? The principal meridians are not located in equal distances from one another. - The system, which was adopted in 1785, is also called the U.S. System of Rectangular Surveys or the rectangular method. So how does the system describe land? Monuments are also placed at quarter-section corners and at other important points, such as the corners of government lots. Sections can be divided in several ways, but basically for purposes of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), they are divided in quarter sections.\r\n \t
  • Quarter sections: The divisions of a section, quarter sections, are formed by dividing a section into fourths that are delineated by their direction from the center of the section (northwestNW, northeastNE, southeastSE, and southwestSW). The rectangular survey system devised for the PLSS is often credited to Thomas Jefferson. Now known as the Public Land Survey System, this system divided the western lands into grid-shaped townships and sections. In legal documents, such as a lien, deed, trust deed, mortgage, and sales contract, courts require an exact description of where a piece of land is located. Guide meridians run north to south, parallel with principal meridians. Where the two range lines and two township lines intersect, they form a township. The Rectangular Survey System provides for a unit of land approximately 24 miles square, bounded by base lines running east and west, and meridians running north and south. TRID Guidelines & Compliance Checklist | What is TRID? There may also be questions about how much land is in a specific plot or section. He teaches pre-licensing and continuing education courses for salespeople, brokers, and appraisers. Dummies has always stood for taking on complex concepts and making them easy to understand. 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 system was created by Thomas Jefferson in 1785. [/caption]\r\n\r\nEach section of 640 acres can be divided into halves and quarters called, get this, half sections and quarter sections. In other words, after section number 6, it drops down to 7 on the next tier then goes left to right to number 12. They are the starting points for describing a propertys boundaries. 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. Using principal meridians and baselines as points of reference, land areas are divided by two kinds of lines, township lines and range lines. 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. Principal meridians, quadrangles, townships, then sections its that easy, dont overthink it.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'realestatelicensewizard_com-leader-1','ezslot_6',691,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-realestatelicensewizard_com-leader-1-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'realestatelicensewizard_com-leader-1','ezslot_7',691,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-realestatelicensewizard_com-leader-1-0_1');.leader-1-multi-691{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:15px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:15px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:250px;min-width:250px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9566"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/282532"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"

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