Chapter 10 - Legal Descriptions Flashcards
Acre
A measure of land area equal to 43,560 square feet.
Base lines
Imaginary lines running east and west and crossing a principal meridian at a definite point; used by surveyors for reference in locating and describing land under the government survey system.
Check
Formed when two guide meridians and two correction lines intersect to form a 24-by-24-mile square.
Government survey system
A type of land description, developed by the federal government for subdividing lands utilizing surveying lines.
Legal description
A series of boundary lines on the earth’s surface to identify the boundaries of a parcel of land.
Lot and block
A type of legal description used to identify lots within a recorded subdivision plat map.
Metes-and-bounds description
The most accurate method of land description that is used to describe both regular and irregular shaped parcels.
Monument
A fixed object (marker) used to identify the POB and the corners of a parcel.
Patent
A certificate issued by the federal or state government that transfers land to a private individual.
Point of beginning (POB)
The starting reference point in the metes-and-bounds method of property description.
Principal meridians
Imaginary lines running north and south and crossing a base line at a definite point; used by surveyors for reference in locating and describing land under the government survey system.
Range
A six-mile-wide vertical (north/south) strip of land enclosed between two range lines.
Section
A section is one mile square and contains 640 acres.
Survey
A drawing of a parcel of land showing the boundary lines and including a legal description of the property.
Township (or tier)
An east/west strip of land on either side of a base line (think of a tiered wedding cake); township also refers to the square formed by the intersection of two range lines and two township lines.
Township lines
Township lines are six miles apart, run east and west, and are parallel to the base line.
