Land Surveying

Unit: Introduction to Land Surveying

Lesson: Methods of Surveying

Surveying

• Surveying is involved in many activities and requires various degrees of accuracy

• The different types of surveying will be discussed here, but our class activities will only involve a few of these methods

Plane Surveying

• The curvature of the earth is neglected

• Used mostly in small areas and settings

• Most agricultural surveys are done this way

Geodetic Surveying

• The curvature of the earth is considered

• Used mostly in large areas and settings

• Used to locate precise points needed for other surveys

Land or Boundary Surveying

• Establishes property corners and land lines

• Usually a closed survey = a survey that starts and stops at the same point

Topographic Surveying

• Used to prepare topographic maps

• Usually shows natural and artificial features as well as different points of elevations

Route Surveying

• Used for the construction of highways, railroads, pipelines, canals, etc.

• These are projects that do not start and stop at the same point

Hydrographic Surveying

• Used to establish shorelines, boundaries of lakes, streams, and other bodies of water

Construction Surveying

• Used on the “job site”

• Provides locations of structures

• Provides information on various elevations of structures

Photogrammetric Surveying

• Uses land or aerial photographs for making measurements

Lesson Closure

• Define the purpose of land surveying

• Name and discuss different methods of surveying