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Survey (Subscribe) Terms, definitions, and concepts used in land surveying.

Land Terms

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Accretion updated

1. The gradual and natural growth of land resulting from forces of nature, as in sediment deposition by a river or stream.
2. The incremental augmentation or accrual of something, such as interest on an investment.

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Acre popular

8 out of 10 stars (9 votes)

Area measurement (square measure) used primarily in the United States. One (1) acre is equal to 43,560 square feet, 4,046.86 square meters, or 0.4047 hectares.

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Acre equivalents or conversions popular

10 out of 10 stars (1 vote)

One (1) acre equals 43,560 square feet. One (1) acre equals ten (10) square chains. One (1) acre equals 160 square rods, poles, or perches. One (1) acre equals 4,840 square yards. One (1) acre equals 4,046.856 square meters. One (1) acre equals 0.4047 hectares. One (1) acre equals 0.0016 square miles or sections. One (1) acre equals 0.004 square kilometers. One (1) acre equals 0.0000434 townships. One (1) acre equals 1.183676 arpents. One (1) acre equals 4.0 roods.

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Adjoining

Touching or contiguous. To be in contact with.

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Aliquot Parts

A notation used by rectangular survey system to represent the exact subdivision of a section of land.

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Arpent

Unit of area measurement (usually applied to land) equal to approximately 5/6th of an acre, used in France, Louisiana, and Quebec. One (1) arpent is equal to 0.8448 acres or about 36,800 square feet. For more arpent conversions, see arpent equivalents or conversions or converting arpents.

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Arpent equivalents or conversions

One (1) arpent is equal to approximately 5/6th of an acre. One (1) arpent is equal to 0.8448 acres. One (1) arpent is equal to 36,800.6256 square feet. One (1) arpent is equal to 4,088.9584 square yards. One (1) arpent is equal to 135.1716 square rods, poles, or perches. One (1) arepent is equal to 8.4482 square chains. One (1) arpent is equal to 3.3793 roods. One (1) arpent is equal to 0.0013 square miles or sections. One (1) arpent is equal to 0.000037 townships. One (1) arpent is equal to 3,18.89 square meters. One (1) arpent is equal to 0.3419 hectares. One (1) arpent is equal to 0.0034 square kilometers.

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Arroyos

A deep gully made with an intermittent stream; a dry gulch.

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Bounds

Bounds refers to definite boundary markers such as natural landmarks. Natural landmarks may often consist of such things as a specific tree or stream. Part of an old system of measuring land and establishing boundaries, commonly referred to as Metes and Bounds.

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Cadastral survey popular

Creates or re-establishes, marks, and defines boundaries of tracts of lands.

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Centimeter (cm)

A unit of length used in the metric system that is equal to 1/100 (0.01) meters. One (1) centimeter (cm) is equal to 0.3937 inches (in). For more information, see Centimeter equivalents and conversions or the various Converting centimeters to ... entries.

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Centimeter (cm) equivalents and conversions

One (1) centimeter (cm) is equal to 0.3937 inches (in).
One (1) centimeter is equal to 0.01 meters (m).
One (1) centimeter is equal to 0.00001 kilometers (km).
One (1) centimeter is equal to 0.0328 feet.
One (1) centimeter is equal to 0.0497 links.
One (1) centimeter is equal to 0.0109 yards.
One (1) centimeter is equal to 0.002 rods, poles, or perches.
One (1) centimeter is equal to 0.0005 chains.
One (1) centimeter is equal to 0.00005 furlongs.
One (1) centimeter is equal to 0.000006 miles.
See the various Converting centimeters to... entries for conversion examples.

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Chain - engineer's or Ramsden's

A usually metal chain used to measure length and distance. Less commonly used in land surveys than a Gunter's or surveyor's chain, the engineer's or Ramsden's chain is 100 feet in length, with 100 1-foot links. The terms "engineer's chain" and "Ramsden's chain" apply primarily to the measuring utensil itself and not to any particular unit of length.

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Chain - Gunter's or surveyor's popular

10 out of 10 stars (1 vote)

A common forestry and land survey term that is equivalent to 66 linear feet. Often referred to as simply "chain", this term is more formally known as the surveyor's or Gunter's chain. A chain is broken into 100 equal parts, or links. One (1) mile is equal to 80 chains. A one (1) mile square piece of land (one section or 640 acres) is 80 chains on each side. Although an engineer's or Ramsden's chain is also used to measure length in surveys, the generic term "chain" when used in reference to land measurements refers to the unit of length (66 feet) represented by the Gunter's or surveyor's chain. For more chain conversions, equivalents, and examples, see Chain equivalents and conversions or the various Converting chains to... examples.

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Chain equivalents and conversions

A chain is broken into 100 equal parts, or links. A one (1) mile square piece of land (one (1) section or 640 acres) is 80 chains on each side.
One (1) chain is equal to 66 feet.
One (1) chain is equal to four (4) rods, poles, or perches.
One (1) chain is equal to 100 links.
One (1) chain is equal to 22 yards.
One (1) chain is equal to 20.12 meters.
One (1) chain is equal to 0.0125 miles.
One (1) chain is equal to 0.0201 kilometers (km).
One (1) chain is equal to 0.1 furlongs.
One (1) chain is equal to 792 inches.
One (1) chain is equal to 2,011.684 centimeters (cm).
See the various Converting chains to... entries for conversion examples.

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Colpa

Old Irish measure of land equal to an amount of land able to support a horse or cow for a year. An Irish acre of good land is also an Approximation of its' definition

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Contiguous Parcels

Parcels of land with a common boundary or that are separated solely by a public roadway, street, river, stream or other public right-of-way.

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Difference between square units and units square

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For area measurements, square units refers to total area, while units square refers to the number of units on each side (the length of each side of a square). For example, consider two square pieces of land: one is 7 square miles, and the other is 7 miles square. The total area of the first parcel is 7 square miles. Since the parcel is a square, the length of each side is equal to the square root of 7 square miles, which is approximately 2.65 miles. In contrast, the length of each side of the second parcel is 7 miles, according to the definition above. The total area is therefore 7 miles x 7 miles = 49 square miles.

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draw

A depression in the earth formed from running water from rain or winter thaw.

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Engineer's chain

A usually metal chain used to measure length and distance. Less commonly used in land surveys than a Gunter's or surveyor's chain, the engineer's or Ramsden's chain is 100 feet in length, with 100 1-foot links. The terms "engineer's chain" and "Ramsden's chain" apply primarily to the measuring utensil itself and not to any particular unit of length.

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Feet (ft)

Plural form of foot (ft). A foot is a unit of length equal to 12 inches, taken from the average length of the human foot. One (1) foot is equal to 0.3048 meters. See also Foot (feet) equivalents and conversions and the various Converting feet to... entries.

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Foot (feet) equivalents and conversions

One (1) foot is equal to 12 inches.
One (1) foot is equal to 0.3048 meters.
One (1) foot is equal to 30.48 centimeters.
One (1) foot is equal to 0.0152 chains.
One (1) foot is equal to 0.0015 furlongs.
One (1) foot is equal to 0.0003 kilometers.
One (1) foot is equal to 1.5152 links.
One (1) foot is equal to 0.00019 miles.
One (1) foot is equal to 0.0606 rods, poles, or perches.
One (1) foot is equal to 0.3333 yards.
See the various Converting feet to... entries for conversion examples.

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Foot (ft)

(Plural: feet) A unit of length equal to 12 inches, taken from the average length of the human foot. One (1) foot is equal to 0.3048 meters. See also Foot (feet) equivalents and conversions and the various Converting feet to... entries.

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