Soil Survey Reports andLegal Land

Descriptions

Objectives

• Identify and define range and township lines, townships, and sections.

• Identify specific land locations from a legal land

description.

• Determine acreages from legal land descriptions.

• Analyze a soil survey map for specific information.

Key Terms

• Range lines

• Township lines

• Section, half-section, quarter-section

• Soil survey map

T.4N

T.3N

T.2N

Base LineT.1N

R.4W R.3W R.2W R.1W R.1E T.1S

T.1S

T.2S

T.3S

T.4S

PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN

R.4ER.3ER.2E

Numbering Sections Within Township

6 5 4 3 2 1

7 8 9 10 11 12

18 17 16 15 14 13

19 20 21 22 23 24

30 29 28 27 26 25

31 32 33 34 35 36

Townships are divided into 36 one-mile-square sections.

36 Sections Make Up One Township

6 5 4 3 2 1

7 8 9 10 11 12

18 17 16 15 14 13

19 20 21 22 23 24

30 29 28 27 26 25

31 32 33 34 35 36

Range Lines

6 Miles

Town Lines

6

Miles

Dividing Sections into Smaller Tracts

10 a.

SW 1/ 4 SW 1/ 4 SW 1/ 4

N 1/ 2 SW 1/ 4 SW 1/ 4

NW 1/ 4 160 a.

E 1/ 2 320 a.

N 1/ 2 SW 1/ 4 80 a.

SE 1/ 4 SW 1/ 4 40 a.

20 a.

Determining Acreages from Legal Land Descriptions

A

B

C

DE

F

Determining Acreages from Legal Land Descriptions

S ½, SE ¼, Sec. 13 80 acres

Determining Acreages from Legal Land Descriptions

SE ¼, NW ¼, Sec. 13 40 acres

Determining Acreages from Legal Land Descriptions

S ½, N ½, SW ¼, Sec. 13 40 acres

Determining Acreages from Legal Land Descriptions

N ½ and SW ¼, Sec. 13 480 acres

123

10 11 12

Town 3 SouthRange 23 West

Legal Land Descriptions

A – N1/2, Sec 2, R23W, T3S

B – SW1/4, NW1/4, Sec 12, R23W, T3S

C – S1/2 Sec 3 and N1/2, N1/2, Sec 10, R23W, T3S

D – N1/2, SE1/4, NE1/4 Sec 11, R23W, T3S

123

10 11 12

Town 3 SouthRange 23 West

A

B

C

D