Surveys and Maps

Question 1

Boundary Survey

Answer 1

the process of locating property lines by establishing property corners of a parcel for building permit purposes, or locating easement lines, or to resolve property disputes. Boundary surveys are made by traversing.

Question 2

Cadastral Surveys

Answer 2

are made to resurvey or retrace the boundaries of municipalities and of state, federal jurisdictions and other public lands within the Public Land Survey Systems of the United States.

Question 3

Geodetic Survey

Answer 3

when surveys are of such wide extent that the curvature of the earth is a matter of importance, they are called geodetic surveys. They generally make use of a coordinate system to locate points on the earth.

Question 4

Metes and Bounds

Answer 4

this survey describes land by boundary dimensions and shape.

Question 5

Record Surveying

Answer 5

route surveys are made to locate and construct linear routes and gradients such as roads, canals, pipelines and transmission lines.

Question 6

Stadia Measurements

Answer 6

a way of determining a distance based on the height observation of a 6 ft object.

Question 7

Subdivision survey or plat

Answer 7

recording document that establishes property ownership, utility easements and public right of way

Question 8

Topographic Survey

Answer 8

area made for the purpose of representing difference in elevation or relief of the earth’s surface on maps or models. The features shown include both man made as well as natural objects such as streams, lakes, roads and buildings. The distinguishing characteristic of a topographic survey is that is results in a map, which shows not only the horizontal dimensions but also the third dimension of space.

Question 9

Traversing

Answer 9

a survey technique that describes an area of land by means of a series of connected lines. A traverse may be either open or closed depending on what is being surveyed.

Question 10

Bench marks

Answer 10

reference points of known height, above sea level and are used to determine the heights of other points for a given area, used for both horizontal and vertical controls.

Question 11

Ordinance Bench marks

Answer 11

permanent bench marks established by the ordinance survey at a known height above the ordinance datum.

Question 12

Temporary Bench mark

Answer 12

may take arbitrary level as a reference point

Question 13

Horizontal Control

Answer 13

in topographic surveying it is necessary to establish over the area a network of instrument stations from which all the necessary details may be observed. This system of horizontal controls can be established by traverse or by triangulation.

Question 14

Vertical Control

Answer 14

consists of a system of benchmarks used to establish heights above the average sea level.

Question 15

Quadrangle maps

Answer 15

show the topographically of general wetland areas, lakes and streams as well as township, range, and section information.

Additionally, new construction since the last printing will generally be shown in purple.

Question 16

Azimuth

Answer 16

the horizontal direction of a celestial object, measured from the north or south point of the horizon.

Question 17

Elevation

Answer 17

the angel of the telescope with the horizontal.

Question 18

Forsighting

Answer 18

(related to leveling) a process to determine elevation of an object. It is the vertical distance from the line of sight to the object.

Question 19

Backsighting

Answer 19

(relates to leveling) the vertical distance from the line of sight to the bench mark. It helps check for accuracy during the process of leveling.

Question 20

Bearing

Answer 20

a unit of direction of a boundary line recorded by the means of angular measurement in degrees, minutes and seconds. It is recorded by:

a. whole circle bearing: taking north ass zero
b. quadrantal bearings: dividing the whole circle into four quadrants of 90 degrees

Question 21

Chain/chaining

Answer 21

the chain survey will enable features to be plotted on a plan from the direct measurement of horizontal distances and may be used to produce a plan of a small area.

The principal equipment for linear measurement is the steel or galvanized iron chain, a length of 66’, which is suitable for low accuracy work.

Question 22

Leveling

Answer 22

process used for determining the height of a point on the earth’s surface or difference in elevation between two or more points.

Question 23

Parcel

Answer 23

the ordinance survey is divided into parcels of land for identifying the area of land plots, etc. Each parcel is given a reference number and is used to describe the property in legal documents.

Question 24

Traverse

Answer 24

a traverse is formed by measuring the angular relationships and the linear distance between two adjacent stations.

Question 25

Closed Traverse

Answer 25

the closed traverse forms a closed polygon like in the case of property boundaries or plats.

Question 26

Open Traverse

Answer 26

an open traverse is a survey which does not form a close loop.

Question 27

Bearings of Lines

Answer 27

is the horizontal angle between the direction of the line and a line pointing to true north. Bearings are measured from either north or south only (never east or west) with angular value <90 degree.

Question 28

Land Parcels in the U.S. are located relative to a grid system organized in categories:

Answer 28

1. Base lines and principal medians
2. Townships and ranges
3. Sections
4. Land Parcels

Question 29

Townships

Answer 29

numbered north and south of the baseline, six miles on a side, are comprised of 36 sections, each approx. 1 mile square.

Question 30

Ranges

Answer 30

numbered east and west of the principal median

Question 31

Sections

Answer 31

are subdivided into squares and quadrants.

Question 32

Land Parcel

Answer 32

are described relative to their position within the section.