Chapter 3

Question 1

Site inventory

Answer 1

process of documenting various site data.
-starts with site visit, may also involve reviewing basic site data, such as an existing survey of the site
-landscape architect would then develop a base map.

Ex:
- Identifying the locations of specimen trees
- Acquiring topographic data of the site
- Cataloging the soils found on the site

Question 2

Site analysis

Answer 2

follows the site inventory, and it requires the landscape architect to interpret the site inventory data to make conclusions relevant to the design process
any conclusions drawn from site data is analysis

Ex:
- Suggesting that site access occur in locations without specimen trees
- Conducting a slope analysis to site a building
- Determining that the site’s soils cannot support stormwater infiltration

Question 3

community resource inventory

Answer 3

inventories map wetlands, archeological sites, scenic views and significant wildlife habitats as well as ecological and cultural resources such as forests, floodplains, farmland, aquifers and historic structures

Question 4

where are base maps generated from?

Answer 4

generated from an ALTA (American Land Title Association) survey

Question 5

what is on a base map/ ATLA (American Land Title Association) map?

Answer 5

Property boundary***
*Public rights-of-way
*Easements
*Topography
*Existing buildings
*Existing utilities
*Flood zone classifications
*Adjacent property uses and owners

“title survey”
common survey used to record a property for a real estate transaction

Question 6

what basic information is on a base map?

Answer 6

Site location map (a small-scale map showing the site within its community context)
*Title information (i.e. project name, location, designer, consultants)
*North arrow
*Graphic map scale
*Data sources (date of site boundary survey, name of surveyor, and other source data)

Question 7

when are USGS topographic maps used?

Answer 7

-project site is large (e.g., 500 acres)
-multiple project sites are being investigated simultaneously
-free, publicly available
-generally available at 1:24,000 scale

Question 8

what’s shown on USGS topographic maps?

Answer 8

Topography (typically at 40’ contour intervals)
Township, range and section information
Transportation infrastructure
Rivers, floodplains, wetlands and basic physiographic data
Buildings and new construction since the last printing (for rural areas)

Question 9

what happened to USGS topographic maps?

Answer 9

maps stopped being printed in 2006
now updated and made available as GIS data sets that can be downloaded free of charge
USGS printed maps (from 1884-2006) have been scanned and input into GIS and are now referred to as the Historical Topographic Map Collection (HTMC)

Question 10

Public Land Survey System (PLSS)

Answer 10

method of dividing land (for the purpose of sale) that is specific to the United States.
not all regions

Question 11

townships

Answer 11

six-by-six-mile squares

Question 12

sections

Answer 12

one-by-one-mile squares, or 640 acres
primary unit of this PLSS nested grid system

Question 13

quarter sections

Answer 13

160 acres

Question 14

quadrangle

Answer 14

24-by-24-miles square
largest unit of the PLSS system

Question 15

As-Built Survey

Answer 15

document a final built work and ensure that a project was constructed according to the construction documents
generally conducted over the course of construction to fully document all site elements as they exist in the real world, and the location and nature of these site elements may differ from that shown on a landscape architect’s site plans due to a variety of factors

Question 16

Boundary Survey

Answer 16

used to define the boundaries of a parcel of land
typically conducted before subdividing, improving, or building on land, and they are often incorporated into other scopes of survey work, including an ALTA survey.
Property boundaries are described using a system of bearings established at specific survey-located points (e.g. property corners)

Question 17

Topographic Survey

Answer 17

topographic information is often conducted as part of the scope of an ALTA survey
client or designer needs updated or higher resolution topographic information

Question 18

what’s on a topographic survey?

Answer 18

Topographic contours with contour intervals determined by the client/designer. Most design work uses 2’ contour intervals with additional spot elevations
Spot elevations (highly accurate measurements of specific site elements – for example the top of a wall or the bottom of a staircase)
Vegetation and physical attributes including streams, rock outcroppings and wooded areas
Utilities

Question 19

Aerial Photography

Answer 19

used for documenting static, high-contrast and large-scale phenomena, such as buildings and differences between vegetated and non-vegetated areas

Question 20

Backsight

Answer 20

a point used to determine the elevation and/or angular orientation of the surveying instrument

Question 21

Chaining

Answer 21

or chain surveying, is a type of basic surveying in which only linear measurements are made and is suitable for the survey of small, relatively flat areas

Question 22

Infrared Aerial

Answer 22

typically used to track the growth of vegetation over time. Color infrared imagery can be used to track tree diseases (e.g., oak wilt blight) and insect damage (e.g. tent caterpillar infestations) and are often supplemented with data collected afterward on-site by a specialist such as an arborist

Question 23

Leveling

Answer 23

a process of determining the height of one level relative to another. It is used in surveying to establish the elevation of a point relative to a datum, or to establish a point at a given elevation relative to a datum

Question 24

LIDAR

Answer 24

Light Detection And Ranging, is an imaging technology often used for aerial site surveys. LIDAR sensors can ‘‘see’’ through vegetation to detect topography and can provide more complete and accurate topographic information than aerial photography and at a lower cost and within a shorter period than a field survey

Question 25

Stadia Measurement

Answer 25

survey technique that uses the observed height of a graduated, upright rod (often 6’ in height) to infer horizontal distance

Question 26

Traversing

Answer 26

survey technique that maps an area of land using a series of interconnected lines. A traverse may be considered “open” if it does not form an enclosed area (e.g. a straight road) or “closed” if it does (e.g., a property boundary). Lines in a traverse have both a bearing and a distance.