Re: UTM Vs. DMS Vs. Townships
Posted by sas on May 08, 2002 at 19:12:03:
In Reply to: UTM Vs. DMS Vs. Townships posted by dave on May 08, 2002 at 13:01:53:
as a land surveyor, i have used many types of measuring devices and methods. the section, township, range thingy will be around forever (except in the original 13 colonies, texas, tenn, kty, ga, sc, nc). 30 states were created out of the public domain under the rectangular system. these surveys began in 1785 in ohio. the other 20 states are split up using the metes and bounds descriptions.
these original surveys under the rectangular system were amazing to me. those surveyors were very good at times and then just the opposite. i have performed many surveys where i have had to retrace the old government survey of say 1890 and up. they used a chain of 100 links or 66' long. they took sun shots or polaris at night to determine astronomic north. the curvature of the earth had to be accounted for and corrections were made for it. a magnetic compass was used until 1890 when it was realized that it was not accurate enough.
now with GPS, surveying has taken a giant leap into a more accurate and more timely product. BUT, the original corners set by the government through the rectangular surveys are GOSPEL and cannot be argued as to the accuracy they held at the time of the survey. where they set a stone , post or brass cap is where the corner position is and stays no matter how much better we can measure a mile today.
anyway, i still use a combination of gps and the rectangular system to navigate, depending on the scenario.
just thought i would add my .02 on this subject :)
glad to see others are learning and using the rectangular system and not just the new-wave gps.