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
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