Baseline Rd.

[68-eldo]

I was born in Boulder Co. and my grandmother lived on 9th St. just north of Baseline Rd. I have always been curious about the name of the road. I figured it had something to do with surveying the area.

 

After reading about the Wheeler monuments and the Transcontinental Triangulation threads I got even more curious about it and its history. So I went to Google maps and looked at it. I clicked on the west end and found it is on the 40th parallel. Now I am certain it was used in the early survey of Colorado. The west end of Baseline Rd. appears to be at 40.000005,-105.289514. The east end seems to be at 40.000515,-104.609424.

 

Does anybody have any information about this road and what its roll in the survey of Colorado was? Any suggestions on where I can look for the information.

 

I looked at holograph’s Wiki but that list the Transcontinental Triangulation which seems to be based on the 39th parallel.

 

Thanks for any help.

[+Cardinal Red]

Colorado Highways: US 36

 

The point of interest from the above URL:

 

A side note: Baseline Road (by which I mean the east-west line that it follows) is the baseline for surveying in Colorado; it falls along the 40th Parallel, and is the dividing line between north and south townships.

[DaveD]

Land surveys in the western states are controled by the Public Land Survey System (PLSS). The PLSS is defined by points known as Initial Points. The land surveys for Colorado (except the southwestern corner) are referenced to the 6th Prinicipal Meridian in Nebraska (PID - AB4130). The baseline for the 6th PM was originally defined as being the 40th parallel of latitude. See http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/boundaries/a_plss.html