each section in the township and range system is how many square miles

Sections in each township are numbered consecutively beginning with number 1 in the northeast corner of the township, and counting right to left then left to right and so on weaving back and forth through the sections of the township, and ending with number 36 in the southeast corner. Each township is broken down into 36 sections each section is usually 640 acres.

Townships are for the most part 36 square miles or 6 miles square. Land is broken down into areas called townships. etc.Field Survey Plat View Instructions (PDF)Ī legal description/land description is the method of locating or describing land in relation to the public land survey system, which was established by law in 1785, under the Articles of Confederation. The townships to the west of those lie in range 2W. The townships to the east of those lie in range 2E, 3E, 4E, etc. For example, Morris and Headingley lie in range 1E. This part of the section-township-range designation is composed of a number followed by an 'E' or 'W', which shows if this township is East or West of the Principal Meridian. The range describes how far east or west a township lies. The township to the north of that one, which lies from 6 miles to 12 miles north of the U.S. The southern most township in Manitoba has a township number of 1. The township number describes how far north of the U.S. One township is 36 sections, as described above, but the word is also used to describe where this township is located. The rest of the sections snake their way north, ending with section number 36 at the northeast corner. The first section is at the southeast corner, and the second lies directly to it's west. The 36 sections in each township are numbered in a specific order.

A group of 36 sections, which takes up a square piece of land 6 miles by 6 miles in size, makes up one township. These two letters are the first piece of information in a section-township-range designation.Ī section is a piece of land one mile by one mile square. This is a true north-south line near Winnipeg, chosen in 1869, at what was considered to be the western limit of settlementĮach section is divided up into 4 quarters: the Northwest (NW), Northeast (NE), Southeast (SE), and Southwest (SW) quarter. The location of each township is described as being east or west of the Principal Meridian. When western Canada was first surveyed, it was divided into six mile by six mile blocks called townships. Section numbers are 1-square mile plots of land as defined by the Dominion Land Survey in the 1800's.

Each section in the township and range system is how many square miles