LSIT Legal and Boundary Principles 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) divides a standard township into how many sections?
- 16
- 24
- 36 (Correct answer)
- 48
Correct answer: 36
A standard PLSS township is divided into 36 sections, each nominally one square mile or 640 acres.
Question 2: Under PLSS rules, numbered sections in a township begin in which corner and proceed in which pattern?
- Southwest corner, proceeding east then snaking north
- Northeast corner, proceeding west then snaking south (Correct answer)
- Northwest corner, proceeding east then snaking south
- Southeast corner, proceeding north then snaking west
Correct answer: Northeast corner, proceeding west then snaking south
PLSS section numbering begins in the northeast corner of the township, runs west, then drops south and runs east, continuing in a bimeander pattern.
Question 3: What is the legal acreage of a standard PLSS section?
- 320 acres
- 480 acres
- 640 acres (Correct answer)
- 1,280 acres
Correct answer: 640 acres
A standard section in the PLSS contains 640 acres, equivalent to one square mile.
Question 4: In PLSS, 'lot' parcels are typically found in which sections of a township?
- Sections in the interior of the township
- Sections along the south and east boundaries
- Sections along the north and west boundaries (Correct answer)
- Only in Section 16
Correct answer: Sections along the north and west boundaries
Fractional lots resulting from subdivision adjustments are typically found along the north and west boundaries of a township where closure errors accumulate.
Question 5: The term 'meander line' in PLSS surveys describes:
- The centerline of a section
- A line run along the banks of a navigable body of water for area computation, not a boundary (Correct answer)
- The boundary between two adjoining states
- A line used to define a road right-of-way
Correct answer: A line run along the banks of a navigable body of water for area computation, not a boundary
A meander line approximates the bank of a navigable waterway for calculating acreage but is not itself the legal boundary.
Question 6: When restoring a lost PLSS corner, surveyors must follow the rules established by:
- State statutes exclusively
- The Bureau of Land Management's Manual of Surveying Instructions (Correct answer)
- The American Congress on Surveying and Mapping standards
- Local county recorder guidelines
Correct answer: The Bureau of Land Management's Manual of Surveying Instructions
The BLM's Manual of Surveying Instructions provides the authoritative procedures for restoring and reestablishing lost PLSS corners.
Question 7: A 'double proportionate measurement' in PLSS is used to restore which type of corner?
- Quarter-section corner on a township line
- Standard corner on a base line
- Interior quarter-section corner (Correct answer)
- Section corner common to four townships
Correct answer: Interior quarter-section corner
Double proportionate measurement applies to lost interior quarter-section corners, distributing error both east-west and north-south from the controlling corners.
LSIT Legal and Boundary Principles 4
The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) divides a standard township into how many sections?