method used to describe and identify large tracts of land. The need for the rectangular system arose out of the nations need to survey large public land areas that had been acquired after the nation was formed.
The rectangular survey system begins with an initial point – a fixed point with a known longitude and latitude from which all legal descriptions in that geographic area will be referenced. There are 32 such points across America – larger states may have more than one; while smaller states may not have any initial points – instead relying on one in an adjacent state. Florida, for example, has an initial point in Tallahassee – just one for the entire state.