An online table shows PLSS Cadastral National Spatial Data Infrastructure (CadNSDI) data set availability. A full Township consists of 36 Sections and is approximately six miles square in size. Use the 'Add Data' tool at the top of the map.įor GIS users, PLSS data layers are available through the BLM’s REST service endpoint. The National Map Viewer displays 'BLM Public Land Survey System (PLSS)'. US Topo maps published 2013-present have a Public Land Survey System layer that can be turned on and off. US Topo maps published 2009-2012 do not include any PLSS data. PLSS was created to divide parcels of public land it is not useful for the accurate location of points and should not be confused with coordinate systems like latitude/longitude, UTM, or the State Plane Coordinate System.įor states that have Public Land Surveys:Īlmost all historical topographic maps (1884-2006) include PLSS tic marks or gridlines. Sections can be further subdivided into quarter sections, quarter-quarter sections, or irregular government lots. Townships are subdivided into 36 one-mile-square sections. The PLSS typically divides land into 6-mile-square townships. PLSS surveys, which are available for portions of land in 30 southern and western states, are made by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

We could stop here, but let's place the map onto Google Earth.The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is a way of subdividing and describing land in the United States.

Mouse-over the purple dots to find sections 16 and 17.

If you zoom in close enough, the sections are also displayed.

The BLM townships are displayed on Google Earth.

Under 'BLM Townships, Ranges, and Sections', click the 'View On Google Earth' button.

To position the plat map, we also need section lines.

T10S R2E is displayed on the Google Earth screen.

Click the 'Fly To On Google Earth' button.In the drop-down boxes, select 'California', 'Mount Diablo', '10S', and '2E'. In the Google Earth 'My Places' section, right click on 'Earth Point Townships. To keep the Google Earth screen from becoming too cluttered, let's delete the townships we already have.Therefore, we will use Earth Point's 'Fly To' button to locate the township. Much of California's land survey is based on original land grants and is not laid out in a nice grid. At this point, you could look for T10S R2E, but this is harder than it seems.

Centered on T10S R2E, Santa Clara County. For example, the city of Madison is in a township that is seven townships north of the baseline and nine ranges east of the principal meridian, thus it is in.

How to read township and range maps