Survey Flashcards
To determine the exact form, boundaries, extent, and position of a tract of land by linear and angular measurements and the application of the principles of geometry and trigonometry.
Survey
The direction of the north pole from a given point.
True North
North as indicated by the north-seeking pole of the magnetic needle in a compass.
Magnetic North
A horizontal direction expressed in degrees east or west of a true or magnetic north or south direction.
Bearing
The angle of horizontal deviation, measured clockwise, of a bearing from a standard direction, as from north or south.
Azimuth
A survey in which curvature of the earth’s surface is ignored, and all distances and horizontal angles are assumed to be projected onto a horizontal plane.
Plane Survey
A survey made to establish the length and bearing boundary lines and the area of the tract bounded by these lines.
Land Survey
A survey showing boundaries and property lines, usually made to create land units suitable for transfer of title.
Cadastral Survey
A legal term for the boundary lines of a parcel of land as used in deeds and titles.
Butts and Bounds
A plan or map of land in a city, town, section or subdivision, indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties.
Plat
A legal document describing the location, boundaries and dimensions of a tract or parcel of land, including zoning and planning commission approvals, easements and restrictions, and, for a subdivision, the dividing lines of street, blocks, and lots and the numbering and dimensions of each lot.
Survey Plat
A written description of the location and boundaries of a specific parcel of land, based on metes-and-bounds survey or a rectangular system of survey, or made with reference to a recorded plat.
Legal Description
The property lines or boundaries of a parcel of land.
Metes and Bounds
A system of land survey in which the course and length of each boundary line of a parcel of land are called out starting at a known reference point and working around the periphery of the plat until returning to the place of beginning.
Metes-and-bounds survey
The compass direction from one reference point to the next for each leg of metes-and-bounds survey, stated in degrees, minutes, and seconds as an angular deviation east or west of due north or south.
Course
A sequance of intersecting surveyed lines whose lengths and angles of intersection are recorded graphically on a map and as data in a table.
Traverse
The starting point for a metes-and-bounds survey.
Place of beginning
A system of land survey based on a modified grid of north-south principal meridians and east-west baselines.
Rectangular System, Government system
One of a series of divisions numbered east or west from a guide meridian in the rectangular system of survey and consisting of a row of townships that are numbered north or south from a baseline.
Range
A unit of land area in the rectangular system of survey, approximately 6 sq. mi (93.2 sq. km) containing 36 sections.
Township
One of the 36 numbered subdivisions of a township, each approximately one square mile (2.59 sq, km or 640 acres) and further subdivided into halves, quarters and quarter quarters.
Section
In the rectanuglar system of survey, a north-south reference line established at a substantial landmark for a large area of land.
Principal Meridian
In the rectangular system of survey, a north-south reference line located between correction lines at 24-mile intervals to the east and west of principal meridians.
Guide Meridian
The principal east-west reference line for an area in the rectangular system of survey.
Baseline
The principal east-west reference line for an area in the rectangular system of survey.
Baseline
An east-west reference line located at 24-mile intervals to the north and south of a baseline in the rectangular system of survey, established to correct for the convergence of merdians and equalize east-west distances.
Correction Line
In the rectanuglar system of survey, a north-south reference line located at 6-mile intervals between guide meridians.
Range Line
A method for determining the relative positions of three or more points by treating these points as vertices of a triangle or triangles of which the sides and angles can be measured.
Trilateration
A trigonometric method for determining the position of a point by taking bearings from the end points of a baseline of known or measurable length.
Triangulation
A line of known length and position from which points or other lines may be established, such as a corner of a building structure or a propertly line.
Baseline
A device for determining true horizontal or vertical directions by the centering of a bubble in a slightly bowed glass tube filled with alcohol or ether.
Level, Spirit Level
A level, such as that defined by a surface of mercury.
Artificial Horizon
A surveying instrument, such as a theodolite, having a telescope that can be reversed by turning in a vertical plane, used for measuring horizontal and sometimes vertical angles.
Transit
A precision instrument having a telescopic sight for establishing horizontal and sometimes vertical angles.
Theodolite
The entire upper part of a transit or theodolite, including the telescope, its supports, spirit level, horizontal circle, leveling devices, and the spindle.
Alidade
A circular plate, graduated in degrees, minutes, and seconds, and fixed to the base of a transit for measuring horizontal angles.
Horizontal Circle
A device for centering a transit or theodolite over a reference point, used in place of a plumb bob in a strong wind.
Optical Plummet
A method of surveying in which distances are read by noting the interval on a graduated rod intercepted by two horizontal cross hairs mounted in the telescope of a surveying instrument.
Stadia
A red and white disk on a leveling rod that facilitates the sighting and reading of the rod.
Target
A straight pole or bar, conspicuously marked with graduations, and used in measuring the vertical distance between a point on the ground and the line of sight of a surveyor’s level.
Rod, Levelling Rod, Stadia Rod
A distance-measuring device consisting of 100 metal links of equal length.
Chain
A distance-measuring device consisting of 100 metal links and a total length of 66ft (20m).
Gunter’s Chain, Surveyor’s Chain
A distance-measuring device consisting of 100 metal links and a total length of 100ft (30m).
Engineer’s Chain
A procedure for determining the difference in elevation between two points by means of a level or transit and a rod.
Levelling, Differential Levelling
The vertical distance above or below a datum.
Elevation
The elevation of a certain point relative to a specified datum.
Spot Elevation
A vertical section of the ground surface taken parallel to a survey line.
Profile
A marked point of known or assumed elevation, usually on a permanent object, from which other elevations may be established.
Bench Mark
A precisely located reference point over which a surveying instrument is centered.
Station, Instrument Station, Set-up
A point temporarily located and marked in order to establish the elevation or position of a surveying instrument at a new station.
Turning Point
Any level surface, line, or point used as a reference from which elevations are measured.
Datum
