Page 270 - Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology

PUBLIC LAND SURVEY SYSTEM (PLSS)

A. The Township-and-Range Grid.
The grid is made of E-W township strips of land and N-S range strips of land (columns of land) surveyed relative to
a principal meridian (N-S line) and its base line (E-W line). Township strips are 6 miles high and numbered T1N,
T2N, and so on north of the base line and T1S, T2S, and so on south of the base line. Range strips (rows) of land
are 6 miles wide and numbered R1E, R2E, and so on east of the principal meridian and R1W, R2W, and so on west
of the principal meridian. Each intersection of a township strip of land with a range strip of land forms a square,
called a township. Note the location of Township T1S, R2W.

6 miles

T2N

PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN
T1N
BASE LINE (surveyed)

Township
T1S 6 miles
T1S, R2W

T2S

T3S
N
R5W R4W R3W R2W R1W R1E R2E R3E R4E R5E R6E

6 miles 1 mile

6 5 4 3 2 1
N
NW NE

7 8 9 10 11 12
Section 11 1 mile

NW NE
18 17 16 15 14 13 Z
SW
T 1 S
6 miles
SW SE
19 20 21 22 23 24 X
C. How Sections are Subdivided.
Sections are subdivided according to
a hierarchy of square quarters listed in
30 29 28 27 26 25
order of increasing size and direction.
For example, point X is located in the
southeast quarter, of the southeast
quarter, of the southwest quarter, of
31 32 33 34 35 36 the southeast quarter, of section 11.
N This is written:
SE ¼, SE ¼, SW ¼, SE ¼, sec. 11,
R 2 W
T1S, R2W
B. A Township Contains 36 Sections.
Each township is 6 miles wide by 6 miles long (36 square miles)
and subdivided into 36 sections. Each section is 1 square mile
(640 acres), called a section, and numbered as shown here.

FIGURE 9.8 U.S. Public Land Survey System (PLSS). This survey system is based on grids of square townships, which are identified

relative to principal meridians (N-S lines) of longitude and base lines (E-W lines, surveyed perpendicular to the principal meridian) that are
unique to specific states or regions.
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