Unit 5 - Land Description Flashcards
Acre
A measure of land equal to 43,650 square feet, 4,840 square yards, 4,047 square meters, 169 square rods, or 0.4047 hectares.
Air lots
Designated airspace over a piece of land. An air lot, like surface property, may be transferred.
Base line
The main imaginary line 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 rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
Benchmark
Permanent reference marks or points established for use by surveyors in measuring differences in elevation.
Datum
A horizontal plane from which heights and depths are measured.
Government survey system
Rectangular survey system; a system established in 1785 by the federal government, providing for surveying and describing land by reference to principal meridians and base lines.
Legal description
A description of a specific parcel of real estate complete enough for an independent surveyor to locate and identify it.
Lot-and-block (recorded plat) method
A method of describing real property that identifies a parcel of land by reference to lot and block numbers within a subdivision, as specified in a recorded subdivision plat.
Meridian
One of a set of imaginary lines running north to south and crossing the base line at a definitive point, used in the rectangular (government) survey system of property description.
Metes-and-bounds method
A method used to describe a parcel of land that begins at a well-marked point and follows the property’s boundaries, using directions and distances around the tract, back to the place of beginning.
Monument
A fixed natural or artificial object used to establish real estate boundaries for metes-and-bounds description.
Point of beginning (POB)
In a metes-and-bounds legal description, the starting point of the survey, situated in one corner of the parcel; all metes-and-bounds descriptions must follow the boundaries back the the point of beginning.
Plat map
A map of a town, section, or subdivision indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties.
Principal meridian
The main imaginary line running north and south and crossing a base line at a definitive point; used by surveyors for reference in locating and describing land under the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
Range
A strip of land six miles wide, extending north and south and numbered east and west according to its distance from the principal meridian in the rectangular (government) survey system of legal land description.
Recorded plat
A map of a subdivision filed as a public record showing the location and boundaries of the individual parcels.
Rectangular (government) survey system
A system established in 1785 by the federal government, providing for surveying and describing land by reference to principal meridians and base lines.
Government survey system.
Section
A portion of a township under the rectangular (government) survey system. A township is divided into 36 sections, numbered 1-36. A section is a square with mile-long sides and an area of one square mile, or 640 acres.
Spot survey
A survey that shows the location, size, and shape of buildings on the lot, in addition to the lot’s legal description.
Subdivision plat
Plat map; a map of a town, section, or subdivision indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties.
Survey
The process by which boundaries are measured and land areas are determined; the on-site measurement of lot lines, dimensions, and position of a house on a lot, including the determination of any existing encroachments or easements.
Tiers
Strips of land that are six miles wide, extending east and west and numbered north and south according to their distance from the base line in the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
Township
The principal unit of the rectangular (government) survey system. A township is a 6-mile square of 36 square miles.