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Land Descriptions While the location of land is commonly referred to by street number and city, it is necessary to use the legal description in the preparation of those instruments relating to the title and use of real estate. Numerous methods of description have been developed for the purpose of achieving greater accuracy and precision in identifying the land. The more common methods of land description are:
Recorded Subdivision Plat A single large tract of land is typically subdivided into smaller parcels called lots and blocks. Subdivisions usually propose streets, alleys, public utility easements and such other information that the owner and local government desire to include as part of the development plan. A survey is conducted and a map called a subdivision plat is made. This map must be recorded in the office of the county clerk and recorder. Recording enables permanent description of a parcel of land as a certain lot and block of the recorded subdivision map, instead of by metes and bounds. The plat map itself shows the boundaries and specific measurements of each lot. The United States Governmental Survey System Soon after the Revolutionary War ended and new areas were added to the public domain, it became apparent to our government leaders that a plan must be worked out for selling and locating lands in the western territory. Thomas Jefferson authored a plan that was adopted by Congress in modified form on May 20, 1785. Under this law, the first surveys took place in the State of Ohio. Ohio was the testing ground for the rectangular survey system and some changes were made in the law as a result of experience gained there. The second survey started in Indiana about 1810. By this time the system was well established and now extends westward to the Pacific Ocean. This system was not used within the area of the original colonies in America, where land locations were made in irregular form and without any orderly plan. The object of the government survey was to create a checkerboard of identical squares covering a given area. The largest squares measure 24 miles on each side and are called "quadrangles". Each quadrangle is further divided into 16 squares called "townships" whose boundaries each measure six miles. Columns of townships are called ranges, and are numbered sequentially east or west of one of 36 principal meridians. In most of Colorado, ranges are numbered west from the 6th principal meridian, located near Lincoln, Nebraska. The centerline of Colorado Boulevard in Denver is exactly 402 miles west of the 6th principal meridian. An east-west row of townships is a "tier" or township and is numbered sequentially north or south from its baseline. In most of Colorado, the main baseline lies approximately on the 40 degree parallel or line of latitude. This line is an extension of the Kansas-Nebraska border, and runs just north of the city of Brighton in Adams County Most of Colorado was surveyed in relation to the 6th principal meridian and 40 degrees latitude baseline. However, several counties in Southwestern Colorado were surveyed using the New Mexico principal meridian and the New Mexico baseline as a starting point. Also, certain portions of Mesa and Delta Counties in Western Colorado are measured from the Ute Meridian (located just east of Grand Junction) as the north-south survey line and an arbitrary baseline. The historic reason for this is that a survey was thought to be needed when the plan was to settle Ute Indians in and around what was later to become the city of Grand Junction. Because no surveys at that time had been extended west of the Continental Divide, a new meridian and a new baseline were established without any tie to the GSS. Because of the curvature of the earth, the meridians and north-south ranges converge as they extend toward the north pole. To maintain a precise six-mile width, and to preserve the square shape of the township, range lines jog outward at each quadrangle (24 miles) so that they are again six miles apart. The north and west tiers of sections of the township are closing sections. Discrepancies of closure between the interior section line and exterior boundary line surveys are adjusted. These sections, usually contain more or less than the 640 acres in a normal section. A township is six miles square (36 square miles). Each square mile is called a “section”, and contains 640 acres. Sections within each township are numbered from 1 to 36 beginning in the northeast corner, west to Section 6, then down to Section 7 and back east to Section 12, following a back and forth course to Section 36 in the southeastern-most corner of each township. For purposes of legal description, sections are further divided into fractions, such as half-sections (320 acres), quarter sections (160 acres), etc. Land acreage descriptions are then generally made in a building-block fashion, for example referring to the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of Section XX, Township XX North (of a particular base line), Range XX West (of a particular meridian). A section is the smallest subdivision usually surveyed by government surveyors, marked at each section corner with a"survey monument." The above sketch shows the numbering of ranges and townships comprising one full quadrangles on either side of the 6th principal meridian. A portion of two additional quadrangles are shown below the base line. Township map showing Section numbering and numbered sections of adjacent Townships Metes And Bounds Descriptions When land cannot be identified by the governmental survey system, it is described by metes and bounds. Metes means measures of length and bounds means boundaries. The United States and Canada are the only countries in the world using the GSS. In all the rest of the world, tracts of land are surveyed and described by metes and bounds - usually by identifying a point of beginning and the boundaries in relation to a recognized marker or monument or to natural features such as streams, bridges, piles of stones, trees, etc. Metes and bounds are used in Colorado when it is necessary or desirable to describe a tract with irregular boundaries not conforming to the GSS. However, such a survey or description rarely or never relies on natural features for location. As used in this state, metes and bounds surveys and descriptions are irregular parts of a section or some subdivision of a section. They always tie to some established corner or line of the GSS or to recognized point on a recorded subdivision plat. Metes and bounds are established by professional land surveyors, the only persons qualified to sanction "official" surveys Metes and bounds are expressed in bearings and distances. The direction of a line - its bearing - is always stated in terms of its angle (expressed in degrees, minutes(‘) and seconds(")) from north-south, and ending with which side of the north-south line it is measured (east or west), (e.g. N70 degrees, 19minutes E., or S24 degrees, 10' W) A cardinal direction of due north, south, east or west is expressed as such. In unsurveyed areas, meridians were established by compass or astronomical observations and calculation. In almost all cases now, bearings are determined from an already established line, such as a section line. It is important when describing land by bearings and distances to state the source of information such as grant, survey, or deed records. Degree numbering in the four quadrants. Illustration of description using the bearing for directions.
AN EXAMPLE OF METES AND BOUNDS DESCRIPTION A tract of land in the Northwest one-quarter of the Northwest one-quarter (N/W 1/4, NW 1/4) of Section 30, Township 1 South, Range 60 West of the 6th P.M., described as follows: Commencing from the Northwest corner of said Section 30; thence South 20 degrees 30 minutes East 140.60 feet to the Point of Beginning (POB); thence North 88 degrees 55 minutes East 200.00 feet; thence South 125.0 feet; thence South 88 degrees 55 minutes West 200.00 feet; thence North 125.00 feet to the POB, County of Adams, State of Colorado. Colorado Coordinate System The Colorado Coordinate System became effective July 1, 1967 under Title 38 Article 52 C.R.S. This statute is permissive in nature and is not mandatory. The system is based on defining a point by its distances of that point from two defined perpendicular baselines (i.e., a north-south axis and an east-west axis). The origin of such coordinate system is a Lambert conformal projection of the Clarke spheroid of 1866 (the earth's sphere) which projects lines of latitude and longitude onto a map. The intersection of such defined lines in each Colorado coordinate zone serve as the beginning points. The coordinates used in expressing the location of a point in the appropriate zone of this system consists of two distances, expressed in feet and decimals of a foot. The east-west direction is known as the "X-coordinate" and a north-south direction is known as the "Y-coordinate". These coordinates conform to those on the "Colorado Coordinate System", of the triangulation and traverse stations of the National Geodetic Survey within the State of Colorado. The survey divides Colorado into roughly equal horizontal zones North, Central and South. Counties located in the northern one-third are designated "Colorado Coordinate System, North Zone", and the same applies to Central and South zones When a tract of land overlaps two zones, it may be described with reference to either one, the zone which is used being specifically named in the description. Whenever the "Colorado Coordinate System" is used to describe a tract of land that in the same document is also described by reference to any subdivision, or to a line or corner of the GSS, the Colorado coordinates description shall be supplemental to the other. In the event there is a conflict between two descriptions used, the GSS description shall prevail over the description by Colorado coordinates unless such coordinates are upheld by adjudication. Further information on the Colorado Coordinate System of land description, refer to the statute or consult a professional land surveyor.
US Government Land Survey System Map of Colorado Find more information about the Land Survey System here. Example of a Legal Description of a Quarter Section The SE ¼ of the NW ¼ of section 34, T3N R35W of the 6th prime meridian. (The T stands for tier and the R is for range.)
Every piece of real estate property has unique characteristics by virtue of its placement on the earth. No two spots have exactly the same view, exposure or plantings. Add buildings, barns, garages or commercial structures and the individuality of each space takes on greater dimensions. To sell a piece of real estate you must be able to legally identify it as distinctly separate from all other spots. Street addresses are never used to legally describe real estate since local governments have the ability to change street names and numbers as needed. To separately describe each specific parcel of land several different systems of identification have been developed.
Recorded Plat All subdivision developers in the state of Colorado must file maps that divide the property being subdivided into lots. The lots are grouped together to form blocks. The map filed is called a map. The method of referring to recorded plat maps is called .
Example of a legal description from a recorded plat map: Lot 47, Block 60, Blue Mountain filing #10. This means lot #47 in block #60 of the tenth filing by the developers of the Blue Mountain subdivision. or Rectangular Survey System Colorado has a large amount of land that has not been subdivided by developers. To identify these parcels older more complex methods of legal property identification must be employed. Many legal descriptions in Colorado use the United States Government Survey System. Because of the shapes it forms on a map it is also referred to as the rectangular survey system. Thomas Jefferson developed the U.S. Government survey system in 1785. He created a grid of 24 mile per side squares using lines for longitude (north/south) crossed by lines for latitude (east/west). Picture a map of the United States with horizontal and vertical lines running across it called . Even on a huge map the lines would be extremely close together. To create identifying starting points the area of the United States was divided into 36 squares each containing many quadrangles. The longitude lines are called and the latitude lines are called . To further describe each parcel of land, quadrangles (24x24 mile squares = 576 square miles) are broken down into 16 smaller squares called , each containing six miles in each direction. The north/south lines are called lines while the east/west lines are called . (6x6 = 36 square miles.) Townships are broken down into 36 . Each section contains one square mile (640 acres). Each section is then broken down into each containing 160 acres. A Section (640 acres) broken into Quarter Sections
Each quarter section is broken down into four squares. Each square describes 40 acres of land. A Quarter Section (160 acres) divided in 4
Metes and Bounds Description is the method often used for irregular parcels of land not included in subdivisions. It describes a distance () in feet from an established beginning point (usually a corner of a section) called a boundary () adjusted for each change in direction.
Colorado Coordinate System The Colorado uses surveys by satellite with a high degree of accuracy that eliminates the problem of surveyors using different landmarks as beginning points.
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