Land Surveying In the United States

In the United States, the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is used to survey and identify land parcels for titles and deeds of those parcels. Basic units within the PLSS are the township and section. The PLSS is also referred to as the rectangular survey system. The PLSS was the first mathmatically designed system and nationally conducted national survey in any modern country. Other countries have used the PLSS model to develop their own land surveying systems.

The U.S. General Land Office (USGLO) is in charge of the rules governing the PLSS. The rules are published via the USGLO Manual of Instructions for Survey of Public Lands in the United States.