Why are townships 36 square miles

It starts with two reference lines. An east to west line called a baseline, and a north to south line called the principal meridian.

Those two lines intersect at what is called the fixed Point of Beginning. From the fixed Point of Beginning, lines are drawn about every six miles on both sides of the baseline, and every six miles on both sides of the meridian line. A square that measures 6 miles on each side has an area of 36 square miles 6 times 6 , so each township covers 36 square miles. This is a very important point, so let me repeat it! Townships cover 36 square miles. Each township of 36 square miles is divided into 36 sections, meaning each section of the township measures 1 square mile.

All sections may not be a perfect 1 square mile as there are things like lakes and other natural borders. And of course, most properties are not a perfect square mile, so there are ways of identifying areas inside of each section.

First, we need to look at how properties are located in each township. Remember that each township has lines called tiers running east to west, and range lines running north and south. A township is identified by specifying how many tiers it is north or south of the baseline, and how many range lines it is east or west of the principal meridian.

Next, each township is divided into 36 sections. Each section is one mile square and contains acres. The sections are numbered from 1 to 36 in the order shown in the chart to the left see the yellow squares which show a 'complete' township.

The other colored squares represent 'incomplete' townships. A section is also broken down into acres. Sample descriptions are in the s. A full section contains Acres. A land description generally starts with the smallest part of the description and proceeds to the largest definition. To locate a feature on the landscape using a land description, you need to work from the largest part to the smallest part. Step 1 As mentioned above, to locate a feature of interest, you should locate the largest part using the township and range supplied in the description first.

In this case T. Remember the T. Step 2 After you have located the correct township, you will next need to find the correct section within that township. Using the example given above the land description states Section 8, T. So you would look in the township found in step 1 for section 8.

Let's look at an example using Google Earth TM in Arizona The image below shows the townships surrounding the intersection of the Principal Meridian and the Baseline the township with Avondale and Tolleson plus the two directly south of them in the State of Arizona. A township board, either elected or ex officio, ordinarily appoints certain officers and performs other administrative duties.

In some states there is a principal administrative officer, usually known as supervisor or trustee. Other township offices commonly include those of clerk, treasurer, assessor, road commissioner, and supervisor of public assistance. A township is a square tract of land about six miles 9. Townships are six-mile-wide rows that intersect ranges and are numbered consecutively from Township 1 at the Montana border to Township at the Northwest Territories border.

The term township also describes the six-by-six mile square formed by the intersection of ranges and townships. Each square, six miles by six miles is called a township. Since each township is six miles by six miles, township contains 36 square miles, each one forming a section.