Topic 7 Flashcards
Methods of Land Description
The most common, as well as the least formal way of describing land, is by…
street address
From a legal point of view, street addresses are the least acceptable form of property description.
Three more formal, precise ways of describing land which are used in the United States today..
- ) Metes and bounds
- ) Rectangular (government) survey
- ) Lot, block, and tract
Before the development of the 3 modern systems of land descriptions, the _____ was used. It is still used occasionally today, primarily in inaccessible or undeveloped rural areas. Method uses natural and artificial landmarks and features as points of reference for property descriptions. The results are often more colorful than precise. Works fine as long as creeks aren’t re-channeled, trees cut down, boulders removed, lands regraded, and cowpaths paved over with asphalt.
monuments and markings method
The earliest form of legal descriptions used in the United States, directly descended from the monuments and markings method. Makes use of the boundaries and measurements of the land in question. A typical description reads like a directional travelogue, an exact inventory of directions taken and distances traversed in an imaginary walk along a property boundary. The primary system of description in 21 states and the District of Columbia, and is used elsewhere to supplement the prevailing descriptive form.
metes and bounds
Fixed objects, called _______, are often used to establish real estate boundaries.
monuments
_____ refers to the units of linear measure used to determine distances.
metes
Such a legal descriptions usually begins, and finally ends, at a definite designated place called _______.
the point of beginning, or POB
Directions in metes and bounds descriptions are given in ________
conventional compass terms
Property boundaries are described as running so many degrees east or west of true north or south. North and south are 0 degree references; east and west are 90 degree references. This method of describing directions is called the _______. It makes use of the degrees in a circle to calculate direction. A circle has 360 degrees. A degree can be broken down into 60 minutes, and a minute can be broken down into 60 seconds for more specific measurements. There are 90 degrees in a quarter circle.
bearing method
divides surveyed land into a checkerboard of rectangular parcels. With the exception of the eastern seaboard states and Texas, the system is used today throughout most of the United States.
Rectangular (government) survey
The rectangular gridwork pattern of the method is based on a system of intersecting vertical and horizontal lines laid out across a map of the United States. The vertical lines are called __________ and they run north and south. The horizontal lines run east and west and are called ______.
principal meridians
baselines
- In LA, we have two principal meridians, the Louisiana and the St. Helena, and one baseline.
There are ___ principal meridians and __ baselines in all.
36
32
In any given area, one principal meridian and one baseline will provide the necessary reference points for all survey measurements. The area in the square created by the meridians and baselines is further divided by _____ and ______.
range lines and township lines
_____ run at six-mile intervals on either side of and parallel to each principal meridian.
Range lines
The six-mile strips of land between the range lines are known as _____. Used to determine how far east or west of the principal meridian a specific area of survey lies.
ranges
Numbered outward from the principal meridian in the manner R1E, R2E, that is Range 1 East, Range 2 East, and so forth.
____ run at six-mile intervals on north and south of, and parallel to baselines.
Township lines
The six-mile wide strips of land between the township lines are known as______.
township rows or tiers
Rows are numbered outward from the baseline in the manner of T1N, T2N, that is, Township 1 North, Township 2 North, and so forth.
_____ are formed by the intersection of range lines and township lines. Is the basic unit of subdivision in the rectangular survey system. Identified according to their location in a specific range and a specific township row or tier. Thus, every _____ has a two-part identity. The tier location always precedes the range location.
Townships