DOMINION LAND SURVEY

COMPOSED AND PRODUCED BY :

Chris Rule

Permission is granted for use by acknowledging the author’s name.

DOMINION LAND SURVEY
The Dominion Land Survey System
was initiated by the Canadian
Government in 1869 for settlement
purposes. This system with
variations are used in various areas
throughout the world and in the
United States. In Western Canada
the survey extends from the First
Meridian ( 97° 27’ 28.41” W) in
Manitoba to the Seventh Meridian
(122° 00’ 00” W) in British Columbia.
DOMINION LAND SURVEY

G
RUSSIA N

R
E
ICELAND

E
N
L
A
E D
AT TE

N
S

D
ST NI

SEVENTH MERIDIAN FIRST MERIDIAN

U

RY
IT N
Inuvik
RR KO

Cambridge
O
Bay
TE YU

Frobisher
N O R T H W E S T T E R R I T O R I E S Bay
Whitehorse
Yellowknife
Rankin Inlet

Ft. Nelson Ft. Smith

BRITISH Ft. Uranium

COLUMBIAVermilion WAN
City
N EW F
Goose OU
TCHE

Prince Bay

ND
George ALBERTA
MANITOBA

LA
SASKA

Kamloops Edmonton St.

ND
Nanaimo
Vancouver L. Winnipeg John's
Victoria Saskatoon
KelownaCalgary
L. WinnipegosisHudson
QUEBEC PRINCE
ONTARIO
Moosonee Chicoutimi EDWARD

A
Moose Jaw
Brandon NEW I.

TI
Regina 3
Seattle

O
L. Manitoba Kapuskasing BRUNS-
Winnipeg Québec

SC
WICK 2
Timmons Shawinigan 1

VA
Billings
CANADA Montreal

NO
L. Superior L. Huron
Bismarck
0 50 100 200 300 400 500 600 MI. Ottawa 1 Fredericton
50 200 400 600 KM. 2 Halifax
L. Michigan Boston 3 Charlottetown

o
0 100 300 500
Minneapolis

nt
Capital- Provincial/Territorial Capital-

ro
Administrative Center-
L. Ontario
UNITED STATES
To
L. Erie
Chicago Detroit New York

The Area of the Western Canada Survey

DOMINION LAND SURVEY

7th s t me r idian
6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd 1

LBERTA
A

122
°W
118°W 97°27'28.41W
114°W 110°W 106°W 102°W

A closer look of the 7 meridians

 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
Why was 97° 27’ 28.41” chosen as the
beginning of the survey , you ask?

Observations were taken near Pemberton,

Manitoba in 1869 to determine the 49th
parallel for the Canada-US border. The
starting point for the First Meridian was
begun 10 miles west of Pemberton to avoid
already settled properties. The Second
Meridian was established on the 102°W
Longitude, just inside the Saskatchewan
border, and then every 4 ° W thereafter.
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
Let’s
look at
3rd Meridian just West
SASK.
Alberta Border
of Prince Albert
B
4t

2n
3r
h

d
Me

Me

Me
rid

rid

rid
ian

i an

i an
DOMINION LAND SURVEY

Now for a
closer look
into how

Alber
Townships,

erta Border
Ranges and
Sections
work……….
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
Starting at the US border
Township lines run parallel across
Saskatchewan every 6 miles apart.

US Border - 49th Parallel

 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
Starting at the 2nd Meridian
Range lines run parallel (up and down)
across Saskatchewan to the Alberta Border
every 6 miles apart.
6

M
I
L
E
S
DOMINION LAND SURVEY
Now you have a grid made up of
squares each square 6 miles by 6
miles which looks like this…

TOWNSHIPS

R
A
N
G
E
S
DOMINION LAND SURVEY
Now you have a grid made up of
squares each square 6 miles by 6
miles which looks like this…

TOWNSHIPS
Townships
R
run this
A
way……..
N
G
E
S
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
Now you have a grid made up of
squares each square 6 miles by 6
miles which looks like this…

TOWNSHIPS
Ranges
R
run this
A
way….
N
G
E
S
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
Each 6 mile X 6 mile square is of course
made of 36 square miles or “SECTIONS”
The sections in a Township are numbered
like this…

3 132 34 35
8 3 029 287 26
1 920 21 23
123 1 1 817 165 14
4 78 910 1
56 56 34 2
7

Each
section is
1 mile by 1
mile
square.
DOMINION LAND SURVEY
Let’s look at a “Section” 1mi. X 1 mi.

Each section
is divided into
4 quarters NW NE

1 mile
designated 8

123
4
56
7
3 132 34 35
3 029 287 26
1 920 21 23
1 1 817 165 14
78 910 1
56 34 2

NorthWeast
NorthEast
SouthWest SW SE
SouthEast

1 mile
DOMINION LAND SURVEY
Let’s look at a “Quarter Section”
which is ½ mile X ½ mile in size.

3 132 34 35
8 3 029 287 26
1 920 21 23
123 1 1 817 165 14
4 78 910 1
56 56 34 2
7

A Section is NE
640 acres
NW

A Quarter is
160 acres SW SE
DOMINION LAND SURVEY
Let’s look at another way of dividing
up a Section – using “LSD’s” or Legal
Sub Divisions
Section = 640 acres

13 14 15 16
16 LSD’s in a
3 132 34 35
8 3 029 287 26
1 920 21 23
123 1 1 817 165 14
4 78 910 1
56 56 34 2
7

Section 12 10 9
11

Each LSD is 5 6 7 8
40 acres
4 3 2 1
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
Legal Sub Divisions can also be
divided up into Quarters of an LSD.

Each quarter can be

identified as shown.
8

123
4
56
7
3 132 34 35
3 029 287 26
1 920 21 23
1 1 817 165 14
78 910 1
56 34 2

NW NE

Each ¼ LSD is
10 acres SW SE
DOMINION LAND SURVEY
Let’s review… the following location
SW (1/4) LSD 4, Sec. 31,
Twp 63, Rge 27, W 3rd

3 132 34 35
8 3 029 287 26
1 920 21 23
123 1 1 817 165 14
4 78 910 1
56 56 34 2
7

13 14 15 16
12 11 10 9

SW (1/4) 5 6 7 8
LSD 4
3 2 1
DOMINION LAND SURVEY
SW (1/4) LSD 4, NW 31, Twp 63,
Rge 27, W 3rd

13 14 15 16

12 11 10 9
3 132 34 35
8 3 029 287 26
1 920 21 23
123 1 1 817 165 14
4 78 910 1
56 56 34 2
7

5 6 7 8
3 2 1

SW (1/4) LSD 4, Sec. 31

DOMINION LAND SURVEY
SW (1/4) LSD 4, Sec. 31, Twp 63,
Rge 27, W 3rd
65
This location is 8

123
4
56
7
64 3 132 34 35
3 029 287 26
1 920 21 23
1 1 817 165 14
78 910 1
56 34 2

27 ranges X 6 63
miles wide = 62
162 miles west
of the 3rd
61
Meridian (PA) Twp 60 30 29 28 27 26 25
RANGE
WEST of 3rd
DOMINION LAND SURVEY
SW (1/4) LSD 4, Sec. 31, Twp. 63,
Rge. 27, W. 3rd

Which is about 3rd Meridian just West

Alber
here in Sask. of Prince Albert

erta Border
3 132 34 35
8 3 029 287 26
1 920 21 23
123 1 1 817 165 14
4 78 910 1
56 56 34 2
7

4t

2 n r id i
3 r r id ia
h

d
Me

Me n

Me
r id
ia n
an
DOMINION LAND SURVEY
Now for some odd things to know
about the Dominion Land Survey

Correction lines
3 132 34 35
8 3 029 287 26
1 920 21 23
123 1 1 817 165 14
4 78 910 1
56 56 34 2
7

Road allowances

Corner mounds

Things to Know
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
CORRECTION LINES

What are Correction Lines ?

They are the off-set of Range lines on the

8

123
4
56
7
3 132 34 35
3 029 287 26
1 920 21 23
1 1 817 165 14
78 910 1
56 34 2

sides of a block of 16 townships. In order to

get the square grid to work on a round world,
16 Township blocks are shifted East and West
to make the correction.
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
CORRECTION LINES
One Township
Correction
A Block of 16 Townships
Lines occur
every 4
townships
3 132 34 35
8 3 029 287 26
1 920 21 23
123 1 1 817 165 14
4 78 910 1
56 56 34 2
7

going North Correction Off- Set

(24 miles) to the RANGE lines
100 feet more or less
Except at US
border ………
2 Twps
(12miles)
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
CORRECTION LINES
One Township
A Block of 16 Townships

Sometimes
3 132 34 35
8 3 029 287 26
1 920 21 23
123 1 1 817 165 14
4 78 910 1
56 56 34 2
7

the Correction Off- Set

corrections to the RANGE lines
line up, as 100 feet more or less
at each
Meridian
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
CORRECTION LINES
One Township
There is no A Block of 16 Townships
adjustment
North and
South as the
3 132 34 35
8 3 029 287 26
1 920 21 23
123 1 1 817 165 14
4 78 910 1
56 56 34 2
7

lines follow Correction Off- Set

lines of to the RANGE lines
Latitude and 100 feet more or less
are parallel
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
CORRECTION LINES
Have you ever driven
on a straight road
which suddenly
jogged over 100 feet
or so and then
continued on
straight?

This may have

been a Correction
Line!
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
ROAD ALLOWANCES

ROAD ALLOWANCE
R R
To allow access to land O O
A A
Road allowances were D SEC 7 D
surveyed every second
Township line going A
L
A
L
North… L L
O O
W SEC 6 W
And every mile going West A
N
A
N
C C
E ROAD ALLOWANCE E
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
ROAD ALLOWANCES
In Saskatchewan Road Allowances
are normally 66 feet wide – 1 chain.

66 feet
There are some
exceptions, a block
near Prince Albert and
South Eastern
Saskatchewan where
they are 99 feet wide 4 rods
or 11/2 chains.
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
ROAD ALLOWANCES
The Road Allowance pattern for a Township
looks like this….

Road Allowances are not

part of the section. This
is why Certificate of
Title describes a
Quarter Section as
“comprising 160 acres
more or less”
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
ROAD ALLOWANCES

A Section line with

no Road Allowance is
called a “Blind Line”
DOMINION LAND SURVEY
CORNER MOUNDS

Corner Mounds mark the intersection

of the Section Lines. In each mound
was driven a steel “Survey Pin” or
“Stake”
The end of the pin was squared so
Roman Numerals could be filed or later
stamped on the side.

Survey pins were often “borrowed” by

early settlers.
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
CORNER MOUNDS
Each pit is on a different Quarter Sec.
The exact location is centre of
mound – not the stake. Survey Stake
approx. 2 ' long
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
CORNER MOUNDS

What happened when the mound was

situated in a lake?

Actual corners

A “Witness Mound”
is located along one Lake
of the Section Lines.
Witness mounds are Witness Mound
identical to Corner with description
Mounds. of actual location
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
THINGS TO KNOW
What happens if you have to find a location
using Township Range system for areas
that have not been surveyed yet ?31

If using a map,
simply extend
the survey lines
or grid on the 31
map. A plastic
overlay is helpful
for this.
DOMINION LAND SURVEY
THINGS TO KNOW

Surveying land in Saskatchewan has

been done over the years since 1875.
Different principals were applied over
the years to make corrections for
various errors. For general applications
the Township/Range lines can be
considered as accurate.

Even to this day, the city of Prince Albert still has

to contend with the old “River Lot System” an
early French Canadian System.
DOMINION LAND SURVEY
REVIEW
A quick review…

Most of Saskatchewan is “West of the

2nd or 3rd Meridian except the South
East corner.

Townships (36 Sections) are made by

Township lines and Range Lines which
are 6 miles apart.
A Section is 1 mi. X 1mi. Or 640 acres.
DOMINION LAND SURVEY
REVIEW

A Section is made up of 4 Quarters

NW-NE-SW-SE.

A Quarter is ½ mi. X ½ mile or 160 acres.

A Section is also made up of 16

Legal Subdivision or “LSD’s”

An LSD is 40 acres

A Quarter of an LSD is 10 acres.

DOMINION LAND SURVEY
REVIEW

Correction lines occur every 24

miles when traveling North or South

There are no adjustments when traveling

East or West

Road Allowances - 66 feet wide - are

every 2 miles going North/South and
every mile going East/West
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
REVIEW

Road Allowances are not part of a

Section.

Corner Mounds mark the corners where

4 Sections come together.

Witness Mounds indicate where the

real mound should be.
 DOMINION LAND SURVEY
We have covered some
of the fundamentals of
the Dominion Land
Survey System.

Now you can go

out and explore
and learn more
about mapping.
DOMINION LAND SURVEY