Basic Surveying Terms
This type of survey measures the position of natural or man-made features on the earth's surface.
What is a topographic survey?
This basic tool is often the first instrument used by surveying students to measure straight-line distances on the ground.
What is a measuring tape?
This type of survey determines the elevation of a specific point above a reference datum, such as sea level.
What is a leveling survey?
Surveyors typically measure angles in this unit of measure, where one complete circle equals 360 degrees.
What is degrees?
A township is divided into this many sections.
What is 36 sections?
The official boundary of a property is usually determined by this type of survey.
What is a boundary survey?
This tripod-mounted instrument helps surveyors find elevation differences by reading measurements on a leveling rod.
What is an automatic level?
Surveyors use this method to measure horizontal distances by laying out measured intervals.
What is chaining or stations?
This is the basic unit of distance used in land surveying in the United States, equal to 5,280 feet.
What is a mile?
This is the standard size, in acres, of a full section.
What is 640 acres?
The act of measuring angles and distances on the earth's surface to determine the position of a point is known as this.
What is surveying?
Surveyors use this item—often made of wood or plastic—to mark important spots like property corners or control points during a field survey.
What is a survey stake?
This method involves moving from one known point to the next by measuring angles and distances to create a connected series of lines.
What is traversing?
An uncommon unit for small distances used in surveying, equal to 1/12 of a foot.
What is an inch?
This subdivision of a section contains 40 acres.
What is a quarter-quarter section?
This term refers to a professional's legal authority to perform surveying work, often granted by a state.
What is a land surveyor's license or PLS?
This satellite-based tool allows surveyors to find exact positions on Earth and is commonly used for mapping and setting control points.
What is a GPS receiver?
This survey technique is commonly used to map large areas from aerial images or satellites.
What is photogrammetry?
This unit of measurement in surveying refers also to the type of equipment they used to get this measurement. Often 66' in length.
What is a chain?
This term refers to a square parcel of land that is six miles on each side.
What is a township?
The device commonly used for measuring horizontal and vertical angles during a survey is called this.
What is a total station?
This high-tech surveying instrument uses lasers and sensors to scan and create 3D models of landscapes or structures.
What is a 3D laser scanner?
This surveying method involves setting up a series of control points across a site to serve as a framework for all future measurements.
What is establishing a control network?
This unit of measurement is commonly used in land surveying to express large areas of land, and it equals 43,560 square feet.
What is an acre?
These are the names of the 3 initial points in California.
What is San Bernardino, Humboldt, and Mt. Diablo?