Each township is six miles square and divided into 36 sections. Townships are created by the intersection of township and range lines.

They are designated as Range 1W, etc., or Range 1E, etc. Range lines run north and south parallel to meridians. They are designated as Township 1N, etc., or Township 1S, etc.

Township lines run east-west parallel to baselines every six miles. Township and range lines divide land into 36 square mile areas (six miles x six miles). The original plan was to settle the Ute Indians in Western Colorado. Ute Meridian and Baseline: Certain portions of Mesa and Delta counties use the Ute Meridian as the main north-south survey line with an arbitrary baseline as the starting point. New Mexico Meridian and Baseline: Used to survey a large section of southwestern Colorado and New Mexico. This baseline was used for the survey of Kansas, Nebraska, most of Wyoming, and the northern and southeastern parts of Colorado.Ħth Principal Meridian: The 6th Principal Meridian, running north and south in eastern Kansas and Nebraska, was established and used in conjunction with the Colorado Baseline. It runs through Boulder as Baseline Road and is the boundary between Kansas and Nebraska. A baseline, the equator was designated as 0 degrees latitude.Ĭolorado Baseline: The baseline in this area is 40 degrees 00 minutes 07 seconds north latitude from the equator and runs from the easternmost point of the Kansas-Nebraska boundary to the western boundary of Colorado. The Greenwich Meridian was selected for use as the prime meridian or 0 degrees longitude. Surveyors utilized longitude and latitude lines in establishing baselines and meridians in each survey area. The government survey created a checkerboard of identical squares covering a given area. The original corners established on the ground by the original surveyors are to be considered correct and take precedence over subsequent field notes and plats. The primary purpose of the survey was to mark boundaries on the ground. The original thirteen states plus Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas and Hawaii were not included in this survey, which was done by and continues under the Bureau of Land Management. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)Īn ordinance passed by the Continental Congress in 1785 directed that the public land of the United States be surveyed.

Township and range system examples