Surveying Terms

Surveying Terms

Some common and some not so common

Monument

Something marking a property corner or boundary line, it Could be a tree, rock, iron pipe, old axle or even just the land of an abutter.

Blaze

A mark cut into a tree to evidence a boundary line. 3 principle types being a “full” blaze, when a boundary passes through the tree, a “1/4 blaze”, when the line passes within the length of an axe head to the tree, and a “face blaze”, when the line passes within the length of an axe handle from the tree.

Witness Tree

A tree usually marked with three blazes on the side facing a boundary corner, usually more than one witness tree is found at a corner so marked.

Total Station

A surveying instrument, often still called a transit, used to measure angles and distances. Used in the location of property corners and other features associated with mapping a property.

Gun

The total station or transit.

Station or Traverse Point

A point set by a surveyor that the total station is set over while locating features. Usually set near a boundary but not necessarily on the line. Small spikes are often used as stations.

Traverse

A series of lines from station to station around a property from which angles to features are measured.

Turn & Burn

To rapidly traverse from station to station when there are very few or no features to locate.

Prism

A specially designed piece of glass used to reflect a distance-measuring beam from the total station to an object being located.

Taking a shot

Using the total station and prism to locate a feature.

Stakeout

To set a permanent monument marking the location of a property corner. Rebar being the most common type of monument set.

Wrap it & Cap It

The last part of stakeout. Wrapping colored flagging around the rebar and placing a cap identifying the surveyor upon it.

Chain

A steel tape (formerly a wire linked chain) used to measure distances. Also can be verb, to chain a line is to measure its distance.

Throwing the Chain

The disappearing art of making a steel tape more manageable for carrying.

Rod

16-1/2 feet (usually), 160 square rods equals one acre. 4 rods equal 1 chain, 80 chains equal one mile. A chain is also often divided into 100 links.

Fast Stone

A large natural stone partially underground. Sometimes used as a property corner.

Dead Furrow

A faintly visible line though a field or woods made long ago by a plow. Sometimes evidence of an old property line