Public Land Survey System

Front 1

2. Which of the following authorities supervised the first surveys of public lands?

(A) the General Land Office
(B) the Department of the Interior
(C) the Bureau of Land Management
(D) the Geographer of the U.S.

Back 1

Answer is (D)

Front 2

10. Which of the following lengths is equal to 0.28 chains? .

(A) 19.50 ft
(B) 3 links
(C) 12.00 ft
(D) 28 links

Back 2

Solution: Gunter's chain is composed of 100 links. One hundredth of a chain is
1 link.

Answer is (D)

Front 3

9. The chain has been the standard unit of length in the Public Land Surveying
System since its beginning and is still the standard prescribed by law. One of the reasons for its durability is its convenient relationship with the description of land in acres. Which of the following equations correctly describes this relationship?

(A) 1 sq chain = 1 ac
(B) 80 sq chains = 40 ac
(C) 10 sq chains = 1 ac
(D) 100 sq chains = 1 ac

Back 3

Solution: One of the reasons for the eventual rejection of Thomas Jefferson's
proposal that the nautical mile be used in the public land surveys was that it
was not evenly divisible into chains. The statute mile, equal to 80 chains, was
preferred. Under this system, 10 sq chains is equal to 1 ac.

Answer is (C)

Front 4

6. In 1849, the General Land Office became part of the Department of the Inte
rior. What department of government had jurisdiction over public land surveys
before then?

(A) the Department of Commerce
(B) the Department of the Treasury
(C) the Department of Agriculture
(D) the Department of Defense

Back 4

Solution: One of the initial purposes of the sale of public lands was to raise
revenue. After the Revolutionary War, the U.S. had a great deal of land but little money. The sale of public lands provided a method for paying the huge foreign debt, among other things. Therefore, it was natural that the Department of the Treasury was in charge of the early public land surveys.

Answer is (B)

Front 5

PUBLIC LAND SURVEYING SYSTEM
HISTORY OF PUBLIC LANDS

1. The first surveys of public lands in the U.S. were conducted under the provi-
sions of which of the following laws?

(A) the Greenville Treaty
(B) the Act of February 11, 1805
(C) the Virginia Charter
(D) the Land Ordinance Act

Back 5

Solution: Passed by Congress under the Articles of Confederation in 1785, the
Land Ordinance Act established many elements of the Public Land Surveying
System that remain virtually unchanged today. The Act created 640 ac sections
(which were called lots) and 6 mi townships, and required that public lands be
surveyed before they were sold.

Answer is (D)

Front 6

12. Gunter's chain was invented by Thomas Gunter in eighteenth century England.
The instrument was used in public land surveys throughout the nineteenth
century. These chains tended to increase in length with extended use. Why?

(A) the constant repairs required by frequent breaks
(B) the elasticity of the materials from which the chains were made
(C) the wearing down of the links and the rings that joined them together
(D) all of the above

Back 6

Solution: The earliest Gunter's chains were constructed of iron (later, steel)
links joined together by rings. The deterioration of the metal-on-metal joints
caused the chains to gradually increase in length.

Answer is (C)

Front 7

11. Early field notes from public land surveys sometimes refer to a two-pole
chain. What is a two-pole chain?

(A) A two-pole chain is a chain that is equipped with two long wooden handles.
(B) The phrase two-pole chain is simply another term used to describe a 1
standard-length Gunter's chain.
(C) A two-pole chain is 132.00 ft long.
(D) A two-pole chain is one-half of a standard Gunter's chain, or 33.00 ft long.

Back 7

Solution: A pole, also known as a rod or a perch, has a length of 16.5 ft. Therefore, a two-pole chain is a chain that is 33.'00 ft in length.

Answer is (D)

Front 8

20. The 1973 Manual establishes a limit regarding the maximum acceptable
adjustment in measurement between regular corners. Which limit must not be
exceeded if a section is to be considered regular?

(A) 25 links in 40 chains
(B) 5 links in 80 chains
(C) 10 links in 20 chains
(D) 15 links in 40 chains

Back 8

Solution: The distance between regular corners in a public lands survey cannot
exceed 25 links in 40 chains if the section is to be considered regular.

Answer is (A)

Front 9

5. In 1807, Surveyor General Jared Mansfield ordered that another baseline be
established 24 mi from the first in the Vincennes District to compensate for
distortions in the survey. In 1818, the same idea was used to compensate for the
effect of convergence. Which of the following terms is currently used to refer to such lines?

(A) correction lines
(B) guide meridians
(C) standard parallels
(D) both A and C

Back 9

Solution: From the beginning, the contradictory rules that townships be both
6 mi square and bounded by cardinal lines plagued the public land surveys. Com
pensation for convergence of meridians finally was addressed under instructions
from Edward Tiffin for the survey in Indiana. The standard parallel, or correction line, was used.

Answer is (D)

Front 10

THE QUADRANGLE

21. Which of the following statements is not correct regarding the use of the
term initial point in the Public Land Surveying System?

(A) Principal meridians and baselines originate at initial points.
(B) The positions of the initial points of the Public Land Surveying System
are given in geographical coordinates in the 1973 Manual.
(C) Eight public lands surveys have no initial point.
(D) There is an initial point in each of the public lands states.

Back 10

Solution: The initial point is the origin of the principal meridian and baseline
that control the public lands surveys of an area. However, some public lands
states have no initial point within their borders (Minnesota, for example), and
others have more than one.

Answer is (D)

Front 11

THE SOLAR COMPASS

14. William Burt invented his true Meridian Finding Instrument in 1833. Which
of the following statements about Burt's invention is correct?

(A) Burt found that the iron ore deposits in Michigan made surveying with a
magnetic needle nearly impossible. This led him to invent a solar compass.
(B) Burt's invention provided an instant mechanical solution of the astro-
nomic triangle for the establishment of direction.
(C) Using Burt's invention, the magnetic declination of a compass can be
determined.
(D) A, B, and C are true.

Back 11

Solution: In 1844, the townships of Saginaw Bay were resurveyed under special
appropriations from Congress, and the solar compass was the instrument specified
for the work. The instrument's faculty for avoiding the hazards of local magnetic attraction made it a valuable tool in areas with high concentrations of mineral deposits.

Answer is (D)

Front 12

17. Which of the following cannot be found in the 1973 Manual of Surveying
Instructions?

(A) a summary of the federal statute laws governing the surveying of the
public domain
(B) instructions on the adjustment and use of a solar attachment for a transit
(C) rules and procedures for the meandering of swamp and overflowed lands
(D) procedures for the reestablishment of lost corners

Back 12

Solution: Unlike navigable waters, swamps and overflowed lands are not subject
to meandering, so the Manual provides no instructions for them.

Answer is (C)

Front 13

7. The Act of May 10, 1872, sometimes called the Mining Act, established the
legal size of a lode claim in the public lands. Which of the following sizes correctly represents this provision of the Mining Act?

(A) 200.00 sq ft
(B) 1320.00 ft by 600.00 ft
(C) 40 chains by 40 chains
(D) 600.00 ft by 1500.00 ft

Back 13

Solution: Under the 1872 Mining Act, a patented lode claim is 300 ft on each
side of the vein for a maximum length of 1500 ft.

Answer is (D)

Front 14

22. Under current instructions, which of the following types of corners are not
to be monumented during the original survey of the principal meridians and
baselines?

(A) section corners
(B) quarter-section corners
(C) meander corners
(D) closing corners

Back 14

Solution: The procedure for running the principal meridians and baselines of
the Public Land Surveying System calls for the monumentation of all quarter
section, section, and township corners along the lines. Meander corners are to be monumented as well when these standard lines intersect meanderable bodies of
water. Closing corners are set during subsequent surveys.

Answer is (D)

Front 15

19. A section may be considered regular, that is, not outside the rectangular
limits set down in the 1973 Manual, if its boundaries do not depart from cardinal directions by more than what prescribed limit?

(A) 00°01'
(B) 00°10'
(C) 00°12'
(D) 00°21'

Back 15

Solution: Sectional boundaries cannot be considered regular if they depart by
more than 00°21' from cardinal directions. This limit, among others, is considered in determining whether lines within a survey are defective.

Answer is (D)

Front 16

13. Which of the following lengths is equivalent to 79.52 chains?

(A) 1600.00 m
(B) 5248.32 ft
(C) 320.00 rods
(D) 1920.41 varas

Back 16

Solution: A chain is 66.00 ft; (79.52 chains)(66.00 ft) = 5248.32 ft

Answer is (B)

Front 17

4. Thomas Hutchins was the surveyor in charge of the work now known as the
Seven Ranges in Ohio, the first public land surveys done under the auspices of
the Land Ordinance Act of 1785. He personally ran the line extending east and
west from the Ohio River that is known as the Geographer's Line. Lines that
serve the same function as the Geographer's Line are now found throughout the
Public Land Surveying System. What are such lines called?

(A) sectional guide meridians
(B) guide meridians
(C) sectional correction lines
(D) baselines

Back 17

Solution: The baselines in the Public Land Surveying System are lines that
follow a parallel of latitude from an initial point.
Answer is (D)

Front 18

8. In 1847, Richard Young, commissioner of the General Land Office, instructed
Charles Morse in the sectional subdivision of a township that had a particularly
crooked eastern boundary. Young's solution was unpopular with Morse, but
it limited the alignment problem to only one row of sections by the use of a
procedure still used in similar circumstances. What is the procedure?

(A) the establishment of a sectional guide meridian
(B) the establishment of a sectional correction line
(C) subdivision by protraction
(D) a completion survey

Back 18

Solution: When the alignment of the governing east boundary of a township is
irregular, the first meridional line west from the defective boundary is extended north to its intersection with the north boundary of the township. This line is called a sectional guide meridian. It allows the subdivision of the sections to its west in accordance with standard practice. East of the sectional guide meridian, fractional portions of the latitudinal section lines are placed in the east halfmile.

Answer is (A)

Front 19

3. Rufus Putnam, the Surveyor General in 1797, established the contract system,
which continued until 1910. Which statement best characterizes this system?

(A) The contract system provided for credit purchases of public lands by the Solution: The
highest bidders. follow a parallel
(B) The contract system allowed those wishing to purchase land within a township to make a deposit with the government to cover the surveying costs.
(C) The contract system abolished the credit system of purchase of public lands. Under the contract system, buyers were required to pay with hard currency.
(D) The contract system allowed the Surveyors General to arrange contracts with deputy surveyors for the execution of public land surveys.

Back 19

Answer is (D)

Front 20

MANUAL OF INSTRUCTIONS

15. The Manual of Surveying Instructions for public lands has been published
in profoundly different versions periodically since 1855. Which of the following
dates corresponds to the version of the Manual now in force?

(A) 1947
(B) 1972
(C) 1930
(D) 1973

Back 20

Solution: The current Manual was published in 1973 by the Bureau of Land
Management. The previous Manual was published in 1947.

Answer is (D)

Front 21

18. Under the 1973 Manual, what is the maximum allowable error of closure of
a perimeter in either latitude or departure for public land surveys?

(A) 1 part in 5000
(B) 1 part in 2000
(C) 1 part in 10,000
(D) 1 part in 1280

Back 21

Solution: The error of closure must be calculated after the completion of one or
more full or fractional township exteriors, and must not exceed 1 part in 1280.
Answer is (D)

Front 22

16. Which of the following statements correctly describes the applicability of the Manual of Surveying Instructions with regard to lands that have passed from the public domain into private ownership?

(A) All lands once in the public domain are under the jurisdiction of the
Bureau of Land Management.
(B) Lands that have passed from the public domain into private ownership
are under the jurisdiction of state law.
(C) Many states have adopted the principles and rules laid down in the Manual
of Surveying Instructions through state court opinions and statute laws.
(D) Both Band C are true.

Back 22

Solution: The rules in the 1973 Manual of Surveying Instructions are the guide ,
lines by which the Bureau of Land Management must survey public lands today. i
Original surveys of public lands are presumed to have been in accordance with
the Manual or special instructions in force at the time. However, such instruc
tions are only advisory to land surveyors in private practice retracing privately held land, unless the instructions have been adopted by a state statute or state court. Many states have adopted the instructions published by the Bureau of Land Management, making these procedures mandatory in the retracement of public lands within their boundaries.

Answer is (D)