Land surveying is the technique of determining position of points on the earth and using them to define boundaries and draw maps. It divides the land into parcels by providing correct descriptions, which is then assigned for ownership and other purposes.
The original charter group from England brought the “Metes and Bounds” system of describing land or real estate to U.S. where it had been used for many centuries. It was used in the original thirteen colonies that became the United States based on the English common law.
This system defined the boundaries of a parcel of land by using physical features of the local geography along with directions and distances. The boundaries are described in running prose style, working around the parcel in sequence from a beginning point and returning back to the same point. Features like rivers, tress, unusual rocks, stone walls, roads, etc. were used to describe the boundary.
One important landscape that resulted from this system is the topographic road patterns where routes are often controlled by the contours of the land rather than the regularity of a geometric survey. …show more content…
For example, the trees may die or new tress may be planted and the rivers or streams may meander. When natural markers were absent, artificial stone markers were used and these could be moved on purpose to alter the boundary. There were lots of court cases to settle boundary disputes based on this system.
Due to these problems, after independence the United States replaced this system in central and western states with the Land Ordinance of 1785 and started using Public Land Survey System (PLSS) also called Rectangular survey system. This was used to survey the public domain land in rural and undeveloped areas before assigning ownership. This established survey lines along the cardinal directions and divided the land into townships 6 miles square, which were further subdivided into sections 1 mile on a
The original charter group from England brought the “Metes and Bounds” system of describing land or real estate to U.S. where it had been used for many centuries. It was used in the original thirteen colonies that became the United States based on the English common law.
This system defined the boundaries of a parcel of land by using physical features of the local geography along with directions and distances. The boundaries are described in running prose style, working around the parcel in sequence from a beginning point and returning back to the same point. Features like rivers, tress, unusual rocks, stone walls, roads, etc. were used to describe the boundary.
One important landscape that resulted from this system is the topographic road patterns where routes are often controlled by the contours of the land rather than the regularity of a geometric survey. …show more content…
For example, the trees may die or new tress may be planted and the rivers or streams may meander. When natural markers were absent, artificial stone markers were used and these could be moved on purpose to alter the boundary. There were lots of court cases to settle boundary disputes based on this system.
Due to these problems, after independence the United States replaced this system in central and western states with the Land Ordinance of 1785 and started using Public Land Survey System (PLSS) also called Rectangular survey system. This was used to survey the public domain land in rural and undeveloped areas before assigning ownership. This established survey lines along the cardinal directions and divided the land into townships 6 miles square, which were further subdivided into sections 1 mile on a