survey tech

Did you try digging in the hole or at least probing the bottom deeply with a wood or metal rod? It sounds highly unlikely that this marker is gone, if all the objects around it remain undisturbed. The only explanation would be deliberate vandalism or theft, which is rare, particularly when the marker is in someones front yard. A hole like this can fill back in with a foot or more of dirt in just a few years. They can often be several feet deep, especially in developed areas.

Hello everyone, Im here to promote, and to thank you for, your interest in Land Surveying. I would like to reiterate and emphasize that it would be unwise and imprudent for anyone to report a marker as missing because they were unable to locate it. One may state that one was unable to recover it, but please refrain from stating that is has been destroyed, unless you have actually observed its removal. Misleading information about these highly valuable control points is quite damaging to surveyors, and can lead ultimately to higher costs for surveys in your area. Those who have collections of these markers are generally construction workers or engineers who pick up the markers that are accidentally hit by construction equipment. This is allowed because the marker loses all of its value as soon as it is moved, since its whole purpose is to mark a particular spot. It is a felony to deliberately deface or disturb a marker in any manner. I see that many of you are experiencing consternation over the markers that have truly been lost. I recommend that you try searching in areas that have undergone little or no development activity in recent years to improve your success rate. Those of you in the west have a distinct advantage, since surveying in this country progressed, along with the settlement of the country, from east to west. The older markers, combined with the density of population, in the east will mean a much lower success rate for those of you east of the Mississippi. Conversely, most of the survey work in the west was done rather more recently, within the last 100 years. This, combined with sparse population and vast tracts of uninhabited public land to search, will spell higher success. Those in Alaska may be luckiest of all, since survey markers there are the newest, having been set only in the last 50 years. So for geocaching success you may well follow that old advice to "go west young man"! For more information on Land Surveying, visit rpls.com and feel free to ask the experts your questions.

An azimuth mark is usually another marker just like the station marker itself, although it can be an object. The purpose of the azimuth mark is angular orientation. When a surveyor sets up his instrument on the station marker, he needs first to observe a point in a known direction, in order to have a frame of reference for the angles he will subsequently turn from the station. The azimuth mark serves this purpose, so when he points his instrument to it, he then knows the exact direction in which he is looking. The true direction from the station to the azimuth mark is given in the published data. Unfortunately, most azimuth marks were set very close to roads for convenience. As a result, many, perhaps most, have been destroyed during road improvement projects.

An azimuth mark is usually another marker just like the station marker itself, although it can be an object. The purpose of the azimuth mark is angular orientation. When a surveyor sets up his instrument on the station marker, he needs first to observe a point in a known direction, in order to have a frame of reference for the angles he will subsequently turn from the station. The azimuth mark serves this purpose, so when he points his instrument to it, he then knows the exact direction in which he is looking. The true direction from the station to the azimuth mark is given in the published data. Unfortunately, most azimuth marks were set very close to roads for convenience. As a result, many, perhaps most, have been destroyed during road improvement projects.

Hello everyone, Im here to promote, and to thank you for your interest in Land Surveying. There are literally millions of brass caps out there in the United States. They are routinely used by local government agencies, as well as by many national agencies. In fact, they are also available to private users, but are infrequently set by private surveyors since they are relatively costly, difficult and time consuming to set. If you live in a major american city, there are probably 100 within a mile or so of your home, but most are discreetly placed to avoid easy detection and possible vandalism. If you happened to have a friend who works for such an agency, with access to comprehensive mapping, you would have a major advantage. For further information on Land Surveying, please feel free to visit us at rpls.com and ask any questions you may have.

Visit rpls.com, the Registered Professional Land Surveyors site, and ask about any of these items. You will get a number of live answers from the experts and references to other resources.

The marker pictured above appears to be a reference mark to a Triangulation Station "Kennedy". Visit rpls.com and post the picture, you will probably get a live response and possibly several.

Hello everyone, Im here to promote, and to thank you for, your interest in Land Surveying. Handheld GPS devices are not precise enough to determine exact coordinates for survey markers. They may help you find the point, but they cannot positively detect whether the marker is still in its original position or whether it has been disturbed. Should you find a marker that appears to have been recently damaged, please contact the agency identified on the cap or your local surveyor. For further information on Land Surveying, please feel free to visit us at rpls.com and ask any questions you may have.

Hello everyone, Im here to promote, and to thank you for, your interest in Land Surveying. Just to clarify the origin of the markers you are searching for, they have been set by numerous government agencies, including both NGS & USGS, for many purposes. The term "Benchmark", as used here, is a generic term for any kind of marker, most often a brass cap mounted in concrete. Technically, a benchmark is a point with a specific elevation above sea level, from which the elevations of roads, buildings and other structures in the area are determined. However, the brass caps you find may be any of the following: Triangulation Stations Triangulation reference marks Azimuth marks Township corners Section corners Quarter section corners Government property corners Right of way markers Highway station markers GPS markers Local control traverse points Utility company markers For further information on Land Surveying, please feel free to visit us at rpls.com and ask any questions you may have.

Hello everyone, Im here to promote, and to thank you for, your interest in Land Surveying. The NGS & NOAA typically require that documentation of survey markers, either recovered or unrecovered, be done by their employees or by registered land surveyors, on their forms. You may, however, assist your local surveyor by informing him of the results of your search. If a particularly important point is found, he may elect to forward the information to the appropriate authority. By the way, all markers are not created equal! They are usually designated first order, second order, third order or undesignated. I might suggest that you institute a point system, with first order markers being worth the most points. Incidentally, taking a group of students on a field trip to see some of your local markers is a wonderful idea! Please contact your secretary of state for recommendation of a local surveyor to speak to your group. For further information on Land Surveying, please feel free to visit us at rpls.com and ask any questions you may have

Hello everyone, Im here to promote, and to thank you for, your interest in Land Surveying. Regarding missing markers: While its true that many, and perhaps most, of the markers set over the last 100 years are now gone, due primarily to development activity, finding a hole does not always mean that it is gone. Many markers have been buried by fill dirt along the slopes of roadways. It may be down in the hole or the hole may have been made by someone else looking for it. It may be nearby and will not always be at the base of the indicator post. For further information on Land Surveying, please feel free to visit us at rpls.com and ask any questions you may have.

Hello everyone, Im here to promote, and to thank you for, your interest in Land Surveying. Please keep in mind as you search for these markers that they are frequently destroyed by development. Most are set in close proximity to highways for easy access, so they are often demolished during road widening projects. For further information on Land Surveying, please feel free to visit us at rpls.com and ask any questions you may have.

Hello everyone, Im here to promote, and to thank you for, your interest in Land Surveying. The points you find may well be of significant interest to Land Surveyors in your area. If you find one that appears to have been unseen in a long time please notify your local surveyor. For further information on Land Surveying, please feel free to visit us at rpls.com and ask any questions you may have.

Hello everyone, Im here to promote, and to thank you for, your interest in Land Surveying. The oldest brass cap markers were set nearly 100 years ago. They are now in varying states of disrepair. Please avoid cleaning them in any way that may damage the marker. If you find one in especially poor condition please make an affort to inform either the responsible agency, such as your state department of transportation, for example, depending on the markings on the cap. Alternatively, you may wish to notify your local Land Surveyor and ask him to forward the info for you. For further information about Land Surveying, please feel free to visit us at rpls.com and ask any questions you may have.

Hello, everyone. Im here to promote, and to thank you for, your interest in Land Surveying. Regarding water towers, microwave towers, steeples, lights and other prominent objects: No, these sites do not contain brass cap markers. They are known in surveying as "intersection stations", because the coordinates for the site location were created by turning angles to the object from several ground points, often miles away, and calculating the coordinates at the point of intersection of the lines. Therefore, the object itself is your goal and should be recognized as a point scored for you. For further information about Land Surveying please feel free to visit us at rpls.com and ask any questions you may have.