John A. Yoegel, PhD, is a certified real estate instructor and former board member of the Real Estate Educators Association. You may even see a question or two about the numbering system used for sections. There are 36 sections in a township, and each section contains one square mile, which is 640 acres. The real estate exam probably wont ask you what states use the Metes and Bounds system or the Rectangular Survey System, but they may ask you which system your state uses. You got it: Tic tac toe. Just imagine you are to layout an area of land based on the geography, the meets, and bound system will show you the visible marks of the land. 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. Dummies helps everyone be more knowledgeable and confident in applying what they know. Correction lines occur at every fourth township line or every 24 miles north and south of the baseline. He decided to install sewer and underground electric for the entire subdivision, because he thinks that he will easily recoup his initial infrastructure investment. Using principal meridians and baselines as points of reference, land areas are divided by two kinds of lines, township lines and range lines. Baselines run parallel to the earths equator, from east to west. How Do You Use the Rectangular Survey System? The Rectangular Survey Method established a standard measurement and origin point for all properties to follow using a grid system. Section 1 within any township is always located at the upper right or northeast corner of the township. The section in the uppermost northeast corner of a township is section 1. It was originally proposed by U.S. President Thomas Jefferson as a means of keeping track of the ever-expanding land area of the United States. They are the starting points for describing a propertys boundaries. The township is the basic unit of measurement in the rectangular survey system. The states that use the rectangular survey system are:Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Alabama, and Florida. For the real estate exam, youll need to know the two primary survey methods. There are few subdivisions beyond the sections and quarter sections. A system of fractional sections and government lots are parts of standard practice to account for these discrepancies. In addition to the principal meridians and baselines, the land is further divided by range lines, which run north and south. I feel like its a lifeline. Guide meridians and standard parallels form quadrangles. This point will be the basis for all government surveys in the area it controls, and its latitude and longitude are fixed by astronomical observations. ","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":9566,"name":"John A. Yoegel","slug":"john-a-yoegel","description":"

John A. Yoegel, PhD, is a certified real estate instructor and former board member of the Real Estate Educators Association. 1 Square mile is equal to 640 acres. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. The strips of land they form are known as township tiers. As mentioned above, basically you can think of the US as a huge checkerboard, with vertical and horizontal lines splitting it up. It isn't used by East Coast states except, Florida, and it also isn't used by Texas. So, you can refer to the south (S) 1/2 of the northwest (NW) 1/4 of a section in a township, for example. You have 80 acres in that plot of land, and that is your answer. You may even see a question or two about the numbering system used for sections. Also Check: When Is Open Enrollment For Government Healthcare. The principal meridians are not located in equal distances from one another. 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}. The following is a list of helpful terms: Correction lines and guide meridians were established to correct this problem in the government survey system. Discover what the Rectangular Survey System is, where it is usually used, and its main purpose. Way in which the U.S. government uses to subdivide public land. 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 land is then further divided into quadrangles. Because the rectangular or government survey system was instituted when the United States was a new country, it was used to describe most of the land west of the original 13 colonies, so most of you are likely to see some questions about this system.\r\n\r\nLongitude and latitude are imaginary lines that divide the earth through the north and south poles (longitude) and run parallel with the equator (latitude). These tools will help you assess your knowledge of concepts pertaining to the Rectangular Survey System. It will serve as the basis for surveys of government in a specified area under its jurisdiction. Land Description Government Rectangular Survey For 2019 | Real Estate Exam Prep. The Rectangular Survey System is a grid system of townships and sections that is used to divide the land into manageable units. For example, you would say it is in township 3 north, range 5 east to identify a property. Dont Miss: Work From Home Government Jobs. The township is the basic unit of measurement in the rectangular survey system. Rectangular Government Survey. Also Check: Government To Forgive Student Loan Debt. 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. \"https://sb\" : \"http://b\") + \".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js\";el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el);})();\r\n","enabled":true},{"pages":["all"],"location":"footer","script":"\r\n

Each township is further divided into 36 sections of one square mile each, or 640 acres, by horizontal and vertical section lines. Baselines run parallel to the earths equator, from east to west. Sections also are numbered consecutively. Previous to the Public Land Survey System, land was surveyed using a confusing landmark-based system called metes and bounds. So how does the system describe land? So, in the example above, Township 4 South would be T4S. The lines are spaced 24 miles apart, creating squares that are around 576 square miles. [/caption]\r\n\r\nA full rectangular survey system property description might read:\r\n

The SW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of Section 6, Township 4 South, Range 5, East of the Third Principal Meridian. 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. Furthermore, how well individual surveying parties actually met the requirements or recommendations at the time, also varied. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Metes & Bounds System in Real Estate | Metes & Bounds Survey Examples & Legal Description. The range lines run north and south parallel to the principal meridians. )

Each half or quarter section can be further subdivided into halves and quarters. You can think of this system as a gigantic checkerboard, as it has a bunch of intersecting lines that form squares into a grid. 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. For example, a legal description of Missouri, Fifth Principal Meridian, T4S, R7E, sec 23 indicates a property that is 4 townships south and 7 townships east of the Fifth Principal Meridian in Missouri. Standard parallels run east to west along with the baseline. succeed. We know that there are 640 acres in one section, and we are taking a 1/4 of a 1/2 section. Note that the more detailed legal descriptions usually begin with the smallest area and work to the largest. Sections can be divided in several ways, but basically for purposes of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), they are divided in quarter sections.