PS Land Measurement & Boundary Determination 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the Public Land Survey System, a 'correction line' (standard parallel) is established every 24 miles north or south of the baseline primarily to:
- Provide control for leveling networks and vertical datums
- Compensate for the convergence of meridians toward the poles (Correct answer)
- Mark the boundaries between different states or territories
- Establish the starting azimuth for each new township survey
Correct answer: Compensate for the convergence of meridians toward the poles
Standard parallels re-establish the standard 6-mile township width that is lost due to meridian convergence as surveys move north or south.
Question 2: A surveyor finds a bearing of N 45°30'00" E in an old deed referencing a local magnetic meridian with a known declination of 5°15' E. The true bearing of that line is:
- N 40°15'00" E
- N 50°45'00" E (Correct answer)
- N 45°30'00" E
- S 45°30'00" W
Correct answer: N 50°45'00" E
When magnetic declination is east, true north is west of magnetic north, so add the eastward declination to the magnetic bearing to get the true bearing: 45°30' + 5°15' = 50°45' E.
Question 3: In a PLSS township, Section 6 is located in which corner of the township?
- Southeast corner
- Southwest corner
- Northeast corner
- Northwest corner (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Northwest corner
Sections are numbered 1–36 starting in the northeast corner and snaking westward, so Section 6 falls in the northwest corner of the township.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes a 'latent ambiguity' in a deed description?
- An error obvious on the face of the deed that makes the description void
- A defect that only appears when the description is applied on the ground (Correct answer)
- A conflict between the grantee's name and the legal description
- An inconsistency between the deed's area and the sum of the lot dimensions
Correct answer: A defect that only appears when the description is applied on the ground
A latent ambiguity is not apparent from reading the deed alone but becomes evident when attempting to locate the described parcel on the ground.
Question 5: A surveyor computes a parcel's area using the coordinate (DMD) method and obtains 2.543 acres. The field measurement using a planimeter on the same plat gives 2.548 acres. The difference is most likely due to:
- A systematic error in the traverse closure adjustment
- Plotting scale error and the inherent imprecision of mechanical planimetry (Correct answer)
- An incorrect magnetic declination applied to the deed bearings
- The failure to account for the geoid undulation in the area
Correct answer: Plotting scale error and the inherent imprecision of mechanical planimetry
Mechanical planimeters introduce small graphical and operator errors, so minor discrepancies from coordinate-method calculations are expected.
Question 6: When a deed calls for a boundary along a non-navigable stream, under common law the boundary is presumed to run:
- Along the high-water mark on the grantee's side of the stream
- Along the thread (center line) of the stream (Correct answer)
- At the low-water mark of the nearest bank
- Along the ordinary high-water mark on both banks
Correct answer: Along the thread (center line) of the stream
Under the ad medium filum aquae doctrine, ownership of a non-navigable stream extends to its centerline (thread) from each bank.
Question 7: A surveyor discovers that the record bearings and distances in a deed close mathematically but the described area differs from the deed's stated acreage. Under rules of construction, the surveyor should:
- Adjust the courses and distances to produce the stated acreage
- Accept the courses and distances as controlling; note the acreage discrepancy (Correct answer)
- Void the deed as legally defective and require re-execution
- Rely on the acreage statement because it is the most recently added element
Correct answer: Accept the courses and distances as controlling; note the acreage discrepancy
Courses and distances are ranked higher than area statements in the priority of calls; acreage is considered a general descriptor, not a controlling element.
PS Land Measurement & Boundary Determination 3
In the Public Land Survey System, a 'correction line' (standard parallel) is established every 24 miles north or south of the baseline primarily to: