Unit 6: Land Description

Question 1

air lots

Answer 1

designated airspace over a piece of land. An air lot, like surface property, may be transferred.

Question 2

base lines

Answer 2

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

Question 3

benchmarks

Answer 3

permanent reference marks or points established for use by surveyors in measuring differences in elevation

Question 4

datum

Answer 4

a horizontal plane from which heights and depths are measured.

Question 5

legal description

Answer 5

a description of a specific parcel of real estate complete enough for an independent surveyor to locate and identify it.

Question 6

lot-and-block (recorded plat) method

Answer 6

a method of describing real property that identifies a parcel of land by reference to lot and block numbers within a subdivision, as specified on a recorded subdivision plat.

Question 7

metes-and-bounds method

Answer 7

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 place of beginning.

Question 8

monuments

Answer 8

a fixed natural or artificial object used to establish real estate boundaries for a metes-and-bounds description.

Question 9

plat map

Answer 9

a map of a town, section, or subdivision indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties.

Question 10

point of beginning (POB)

Answer 10

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 of the parcel back to the point of beginning.

Question 11

principal meridians

Answer 11

the main imaginary line running north and south and crossing a baseline at a definite point; used by surveyors for reference in locating and describing land under the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.

Question 12

ranges

Answer 12

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 description.

Question 13

rectangular (government) survey system

Answer 13

a system of established in 1785 by the federal government providing for surveying and describing land by reference to principal meridians and base lines.

Question 14

sections

Answer 14

a portion of a township under the rectangular (government) survey system. A township is divided into 36 sections numbered 1 through 36. A section is a square with mile-long sides and an area of one square mile, or 640 acres.

Question 15

survey

Answer 15

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

Question 16

tiers

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

township lines

Answer 17

all the lines in a rectangular survey system that run east and west, parallel to the base line and six miles apart.

Question 18

townships

Answer 18

the principal unit of the rectangular (government) survey system. A township is a 6-mile square of 36 square miles.