Legal Description
A description of land recognized by law by which property can be positively located by reference to government surveys or approved recorded maps such as Lot, Block, and Tract; U.S. Government Survey; and Metes and Bounds.Legal description – A means of identifying the exact boundaries of land by metes and bounds, by a plat or by township and range survey system. Metes refer to measures; bounds refer to direction. Metes and bounds descriptions are means of describing land by measurement and direction from a known point or marker on land. A plat is a recorded map of land that identifies a parcel by a number or other designation in a subdivision. A township and range survey system is a system of legal description of land with a township as the basic unit of measurement. Abase line is a parallel that serves as a reference for other parallels. Meridians are the north-south lines of survey, 6 miles apart. Parallels are the east-west lines of survey, 6 miles apart. A principal meridian is a meridian that serves as a reference for other meridians. A range is a north-south row of townships; the 6-mile strip of land between meridians. A section is a 1-mile square in a township. A tier is an east-west row of townships; the 6-mile strip of land between parallels. A township is a 6-mile square of land bounded by parallels and meridians and composed of 36 sections.