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?
This is the point where a straight section of a road or alignment ends and a curve begins.
What is the Point of Curvature (PC) or Beginning of Curve (BC)?
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 point at the center of a horizontal curve, where the radius of the curve is measured from.
What is the Radius Point?
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 term refers to the distance along the curve from the PC to the PT.
What is the length of curve (L)?
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?
his unit of measurement in surveying refers to a one-sixtieth of a degree and is commonly used in angular measurements.
What is a minute?
This term refers to the straight line connecting the point of curvature (PC) and the point of tangency (PT) in a horizontal curve.
What is the long chord?
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?
This term refers to the distance from the center of a horizontal curve to any point along the curve, and it is crucial for determining curve characteristics like length and degree.
What is the radius of the curve?