Township and range

[+Vines]

Is there a simple method or program for converting township and range information into lat and long coordinates? This would be the type info that you find on property maps.

 

Any advice is appreciated for this newbie!

[AZcachemeister]

Simple-No, not that I'm aware of.

Can it be done-Yes, certainly! USGS maps have lines indicating these boundaries. But, (in AZ at least!) the lines are not very straight, so you would need to plot every intersection individually to be 100% accurate. Naturally the lines are 'fairly' straight in general, so an approximate lat or lon could easily be plotted.

[CallawayMT]

Is there a simple method or program for converting township and range information into lat and long coordinates? This would be the type info that you find on property maps.

 

Any advice is appreciated for this newbie!

 

This will do the trick:Township Range to Lat Lon converter

 

CallawayMT

[AZcachemeister]

Is there a simple method or program for converting township and range information into lat and long coordinates? This would be the type info that you find on property maps.

 

Any advice is appreciated for this newbie!

 

This will do the trick:Township Range to Lat Lon converter

 

CallawayMT

 

COOL!

Good for those of us in the western states, but the OP appears to be in AL, which is not included on that site.

[tosborn]

Lane:

 

If you are specifically interested in Alabama, I can provide you with a file that lists the center latitude and longitude for each Township in Alabama. Alabama's PLSS system is controlled by 2 Principal Meridians: The St. Stephens Meridian of 1805 and the Huntsville Meridian of 1807.

 

Tim Osborn

[+Kewaneh & Shark]

Is there a simple method or program for converting township and range information into lat and long coordinates? This would be the type info that you find on property maps.

 

Any advice is appreciated for this newbie!

The website posted by CallawayMT is excellent for getting an approximate coordinate for the center of a township section. It is particularly useful when locating a section that is not near any roads or other development. However, the site does not 'convert' PLSS township & range data, or PLSS corner locations, into geodetic coordinates, or any other type of information that you would find on a map which delineates property.

 

Property maps (and their corresponding property descriptions) and the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) Townships & Ranges are cadastral in nature, meaning there is no geodetic component to the data associated with them, or the monuments set for them. The data shown on property maps is commonly metes & bounds information, using compass bearings, which can look like geodetic coordinates.

 

Determining a geodetic cooridinate for a PLSS mark can be done, but it's not exactly simple. Partially because while the PLSS is theoretically a square system laid out on a sphere, which can be mathmatically calculated, the physically realities of laying out such a system require some circumstantial adjustments (for things such as terrain and human error) which cannot be calculated for.

 

- Kewaneh

[+Vines]

Thanks guys all of this information is very helpful...in fact this web site is very helpful!

 

Thank you!