Guess the spot: Utah Edition
- Thread starter Ben
- Start date
RyanP
Member
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2015
- Messages
- 634
You're up!
regehr
Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2012
- Messages
- 2,322
is this system common knowledge???? I had to look it up
RyanP
Member
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2015
- Messages
- 634
I admit I had to look it up too... but I kind of liked it
regehr
Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2012
- Messages
- 2,322
Dennis definitely wins some sort of award for "most oblique way to point someone to the Bowknot Bend area"
John Morrow
Member
- Joined
- May 22, 2015
- Messages
- 1,071
A legal description/land description is the method of locating or describing land in relation to the public land survey system, which was established by law in 1785, under the Articles of Confederation.
Land is broken down into areas called townships. Townships are for the most part 36 square miles or 6 miles square. Each township is broken down into 3 6 sections; each section is usually 640 acres.
Sections in each township are numbered consecutively beginning with number 1 in the northeast corner of the township, and counting right to left then left to right and so on weaving back and forth through the sections of the township, and ending with number 36 in the southeast corner.
Surprised it is so unfamiliar. W/O electronics it is still an excellent way to establish a coord. A section can further be reduced to quarter sections and those to quarters (1/4, 1/4 thus 1/16th). We forget but satellite coords were still scrambled by military as late as 1995. Hand held GPS units were quite inaccurate then and often struggled to reach enough satellites for good triangulation. It will burn me someday but I still don't own a GPS unit or personal smart phone.
The red lines and numbers. Bold red is a change in Township or Range. A section is exactly one square mile (except when adjusted for the fact that the earth is round). Which is also one inch on a 15 minute map.
Land is broken down into areas called townships. Townships are for the most part 36 square miles or 6 miles square. Each township is broken down into 3 6 sections; each section is usually 640 acres.
Sections in each township are numbered consecutively beginning with number 1 in the northeast corner of the township, and counting right to left then left to right and so on weaving back and forth through the sections of the township, and ending with number 36 in the southeast corner.
Surprised it is so unfamiliar. W/O electronics it is still an excellent way to establish a coord. A section can further be reduced to quarter sections and those to quarters (1/4, 1/4 thus 1/16th). We forget but satellite coords were still scrambled by military as late as 1995. Hand held GPS units were quite inaccurate then and often struggled to reach enough satellites for good triangulation. It will burn me someday but I still don't own a GPS unit or personal smart phone.
The red lines and numbers. Bold red is a change in Township or Range. A section is exactly one square mile (except when adjusted for the fact that the earth is round). Which is also one inch on a 15 minute map.
Last edited:
- Joined
- May 31, 2015
- Messages
- 3,248
As you'd suspect, we use it in the legal system so we have a precise way to refer to tracts of land, usually when they're being transferred. I've never met anyone who knew the legal description for their own real estate though. Haha.
Udink
Still right here.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2012
- Messages
- 1,726
No, but you're in the right general area...
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2017
- Messages
- 4,464
I see maybe Bottleneck Peak, Mexican Mtn, the Books, and some of the Tavaputs in the far distance. Are you on Limestone Bench?
Udink
Still right here.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2012
- Messages
- 1,726
Exactly! This was taken on the far eastern end of Limestone Bench, above Oil Well Draw and looking toward Mexican Mountain.
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2017
- Messages
- 4,464
