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==== Principal Meridians and Base Lines ==== | ==== Principal Meridians and Base Lines ==== | ||
The rectangular survey system is based on '''''principal meridians ''''' and '''''base lines ''''' determined by precise scientific measurements. As each territory or state opened new public lands, the government identified a meridian (running north and south) and a base line (running east and west) to guide all future land surveys in that area.<ref name="Hawkins">Kenneth Hawkins, ''Research in the Land Entry Files of the General Land Office: Record Group 49'', rev., Reference Information Paper, 114 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 2007), 9. {{WorldCat|146498814|item|disp=At various repositories (WorldCat)}} | The rectangular survey system is based on '''''principal meridians ''''' and '''''base lines ''''' determined by precise scientific measurements. As each territory or state opened new public lands, the government identified a meridian (running north and south) and a base line (running east and west) to guide all future land surveys in that area.<ref name="Hawkins">Kenneth Hawkins, ''Research in the Land Entry Files of the General Land Office: Record Group 49'', rev., Reference Information Paper, 114 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 2007), 9. {{WorldCat|146498814|item|disp=At various repositories (WorldCat)}} {{FHL|1440124|item|disp=FHL Ref Book 973 J53hrL}}</ref> | ||
Numbered townships were laid out in tiers north and south of the baseline; numbered ranges were laid out east and west of the meridians. The intersecting lines of townships and ranges formed a checkerboard or grid of townships.<ref name="Hawkins" /> | Numbered townships were laid out in tiers north and south of the baseline; numbered ranges were laid out east and west of the meridians. The intersecting lines of townships and ranges formed a checkerboard or grid of townships.<ref name="Hawkins" /> | ||