FACTOID # 147: Train spotters should go to Australia, which has more railway per capita than anywhere else on the globe.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

SEARCH ALL

FACTS & STATISTICS   

Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 

 

(* = Graphable)

 

 


Encyclopedia > Land Surveying

Surveyor at work
Surveyor at work

Surveying is the art and science of accurately determining the position of points and the distances between them. These points are usually, but not exclusively, associated with positions on the surface of the Earth, and are often used to establish land boundaries for ownership or governmental purposes. Image File history File links Petty Officer 3rd Class Alexander Sanchezaguirre, an engineering aide with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5, takes a land survey of an AH1 and CH-53 helicopter staging area for future operations in the Central Command area of operations. ... Image File history File links Petty Officer 3rd Class Alexander Sanchezaguirre, an engineering aide with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5, takes a land survey of an AH1 and CH-53 helicopter staging area for future operations in the Central Command area of operations. ... Earth, also known as the Earth, Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third planet outward from the Sun. ...


In order to accomplish their objective, surveyors use elements of engineering, physics, mathematics, law, and history. Licensure and Qualifications for the Practice of Engineering The Engineers Ring The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer Engineering Disasters and Learning from Failure American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) ASEE engineering profile (2003) PDF Categories: Architecture and engineering occupations | Engineering ... The willingness to question previously held truths and search for new answers resulted in a period of major scientific advancements, now known as the Scientific Revolution. ... Main article: History of mathematics The evolution of mathematics can be seen to be an ever increasing series of abstractions. ... Corruption Jurisprudence Philosophy of law Law (principle) List of legal abbreviations Legal code Intent Letter versus Spirit Natural Justice Natural law Religious law Witness intimidation Legal research External links Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Law Look up law in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Law, Legal Definitions... History Forums - History is Happening -Discuss all historical topics, as well as current events, in an academic setting. ...


Surveying has been an essential element in the development of the human environment since the beginning of recorded history and it is a requirement in the planning and execution of nearly every form of construction. Its most familiar modern uses are in the fields of transport, building and construction, communications, mapping, and the definition of legal boundaries for land ownership. Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu (extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens Human beings define themselves in biological, social, and spiritual terms. ... Construction on the North Bytown Bridge in Ottawa, Canada. ... Building is either the act of creating an object assembled from more than one element, or the object itself; see also construction. ... The term communications is used in a number of disciplines: Communications, also known as communication studies is the academic discipline which studies communication. ...

Contents


Origins

Surveying techniques have existed throughout much of recorded history. One example of early surveyors were the Egyptians, who, every year after the Nile River overflowed its banks and washed out farm boundaries, would re-establish the boundaries by application of simple geometry. The nearly perfect squareness and north-south orientation of the Great Pyramid of Giza, built c. 2700 BC, affirm the ancient Egyptians' command of surveying. There is also Nile, a death metal band from South Carolina, USA. The Nile in Egypt Length 6 695 km Elevation of the source 1 134 m Average discharge 2 830 m³/s Area watershed 3 400 000 km² Origin Africa Mouth the Mediterranean Basin countries Uganda - Sudan - Egypt The... Bales of hay on a farm near Ames, Iowa A farm is the basic unit in agriculture. ... Geometry (from the Greek words Geo = earth and metro = measure) is the branch of mathematics first popularized in ancient Greek culture by Thales (circa 624-547 BC) dealing with spatial relationships. ... The Great Pyramid of Giza (29° 58′ 45″ N 31° 08′ 01″ E) is the oldest and last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the World and the most widely recognized pyramid in the world. ... (Redirected from 2700 BC) (28th century BC - 27th century BC - 26th century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2900 - 2334 BC -- Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period 2775 - 2650 BC -- Second Dynasty wars in Egypt Germination of the Bristlecone pine tree Methuselah...


The Egyptian land register(3000 BC)
In Rome, the tax register of conquered lands(300 AD)
In England, The Domesday Book by William the Conqueror(1086)
-covered whole England
-contained names of the land owners, acreage, land's quality and a lot specific information of the area's content and habitants.
-didn't include maps to tell exactly where the place was


Continental Europe's Cadastre was born in 1808
-founded by Napoleon I (Bonaparte), "A good cadastre will be my greatest achievement in my civil law", Napoleon I.
-contained numbers of the parcels of land (or just land), land usage, names etc. and value of the land
-100 million parcels of land, triangle survey, measuretable survey, map scale: 1:2500 and 1:1250
-spreaded fast around Europe, but faced problems especially in Mediterranean countries, Balkan and Eastern Europe due to cadastre upkeep costs and troubles.

A system loses its value if register and maps aren't kept updated all the time.

Large scale surveys are a necessary pre-requisite to map-making. In the late 1780s a team from the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain, originally under General William Roy began the Principal Triangulation of Britain using the specially built Ramsden theodolite. Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. ... William Roy (1726 - July 1, 1790), was a British surveyor, military draughtsman and antiquary. ... The Principal Triangulation of Britain was a triangulation project carried out between 1783 and about 1853 at the instigation of the Director of the Ordnance Survey General William Roy (1726-1790). ... The Ramsden theodolite was used in the first Ordnance Survey of Southern Britain. ...


Types of surveys

An all-female surveying crew in Idaho in 1918
An all-female surveying crew in Idaho in 1918
  • ALTA/ACSM survey: A surveying standard jointly proposed by the American Land Title Association and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping that incorporates elements of the boundary survey, mortgage survey, and topographic survey. ALTA/ACSM surveys, frequently shortened to ALTA surveys, are often required for commercial real estate transactions.
  • Boundary survey: The actual positions of existing marks on land (typically iron rods or concrete monuments in the ground, but also tacks in trees, pipes, and manholes) are measured, and a map is drawn from the data.
  • Deformation survey: a survey to determine if a structure or object is changing shape or moving . The three-dimensional positions of specific points on an object are determined, a period of time is allowed to pass, these positions are then re-measured and calculated, and a comparison between the two sets of positions is made.
  • Draw lot: One lot from a plat is drawn, with any easements and setbacks that may be on it.
  • Foundation survey: The position of the house is measured before it is finished being built.
  • Mortgage survey: A simple survey that generally determines land boundaries and building locations. Mortgage surveys are required by title companies and lending institutions when they provide financing to show that there are no structures encroaching on the property and that the position of structures is generally within zoning and building code requirements. Mortgage surveys are not sufficiently accurate for use in building new structures.
  • Physical survey: The finished house and driveway are measured, and all markers on the boundary are indicated. This is recorded when the lot is sold.
  • Plot plan: A proposal for a house or other building and driveway or parking lot are added to a draw lot.
  • Subdivision plat: A plot or map based on a survey of a parcel of land, lines are drawn inside it, indicating where roads and lots are. Plats are usually discussed back and forth between the developer and the surveyor until they are agreed on, at which point pins are driven into the ground to mark the lot corners and curve ends and the plat is recorded in the cadaster (USA, elsewhere) or land registry (UK).
  • Topographic survey: A survey that measures the elevation of points on a particular piece on land, and presents them as contours on a plot

Image File history File links All female survey crew - Minidoka Project, Idaho 1918. ... Image File history File links All female survey crew - Minidoka Project, Idaho 1918. ... State nickname: Gem State Other U.S. States Capital Boise Largest city Boise Governor Dirk Kempthorne (R) Official languages none Area 216,632 km² (14th)  - Land 214,499 km²  - Water 2,133 km² (0. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The American Land Title Association or ALTA, is a national trade association representing the interests of the abstract of title and title insurance industries. ... The American Congress on Surveying and Mapping or ACSM, is a international professional association representing the interests of those engaged in measuring and communicating spatial data relating to the Earths surface. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... In geometry, a Rod is a 3-dimensional, solid (filled) cylinder. ... This article is about the construction material. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. ... The word pipe can refer to: The basic cylindrical pipe shape a tubular man-made channel, generally round in cross section, in steel or concrete for transporting or guiding a fluid substance see plumbing and pipeline transport used in construction as column, truss element or space frame in mechanical engineering... PEPCO (Electric Company) manhole cover, Washington This is a sewer manhole. ... A map of the world by Johannes Kepler A map is a simplified depiction of a space, a navigational aid which highlights relations between objects within that space. ... An easement is the right of use over the real property of another person. ... A mortgage (Law French for dead pledge) is a device used to create a lien on real estate by contract. ... In general, zoning is the division of an area into sub-areas, called zones. ... A building code is a set of laws that specify how buildings should be constructed. ... A road is a strip of land, smoothed or otherwise prepared to allow easier travel, connecting two or more destinations. ... A land registry is a government agency which administers the registration of legal interests in land. ... The Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) was a Discovery-class space mission. ...

Modern surveying

Modern surveying utilizes an instrument called a total station, a small telescope equipped with an electronic distance-measuring device (EDMD) and set up on a tripod, although the modern use of satellite positioning systems, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS), is also well established, with the robotic total station becoming widely used. Though GPS systems have increased the speed of surveying, they are still only accurate to about 20 mm. It is because of this that EDMDs have not been completely phased out. Robotics allows surveyors to gather precise measurements without extra workers to look through and turn the telescope or record data. A total station is an optical instrument used in modern surveying. ... A tripod refers to any three-legged structure. ... Satellite navigation systems use radio time signals transmitted by satellites to enable mobile receivers on the ground to determine their exact location. ... Over fifty GPS satellites such as this NAVSTAR have been launched since 1978. ...


Surveying as a career

The basic principles of surveying have changed little over the ages, but the tools used by surveyors have evolved tremendously. Engineering, especially civil engineering depends heavily on the surveyor. Whenever there are roads, dams, retaining walls, bridges or residential areas to be built, surveyors are involved. They determine the boundaries of private property and the boundaries of various political divisions. They also provide advice and data for geographical information systems (GIS), computer databases that contain data on land features and boundaries. Licensure and Qualifications for the Practice of Engineering The Engineers Ring The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer Engineering Disasters and Learning from Failure American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) ASEE engineering profile (2003) PDF Categories: Architecture and engineering occupations | Engineering ... In modern usage, civil engineering is a broad field of engineering that deals with the planning, construction, and maintenance of fixed structures, or public works, as they related to earth, water, or civilization and their processes. ... Scrivener Dam, Canberra Australia, was engineered to withstand a once-in-5000-years flood event A dam (a common Teutonic word, compare to Dutch dam, Swedish and German damm, and the Gothic verb faurdammjan, to block up) is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow... A retaining wall is a structure to provide a barrier to downslope movement of soil, rock, or water. ... The Golden Gate Bridge connecting San Francisco and its peninsula to Marin County A bridge is a structure built to span a gorge, valley, road, railroad track, river, body of water, or any other physical obstacle. ... A geographic information system (GIS) is a system for managing data that has a spatial specialized form of an information system. ...


Surveyors must have a thorough knowledge of algebra, basic calculus, geometry, and trigonometry. They must also know the laws that deal with surveys, property, and contracts. In addition, they must be able to use delicate instruments with accuracy and precision. Algebra is a branch of mathematics which studies structure and quantity. ... For other uses of the term calculus see calculus (disambiguation) Calculus is a central branch of mathematics, developed from algebra and geometry, and built on two major complementary ideas. ... Geometry (from the Greek words Geo = earth and metro = measure) is the branch of mathematics first popularized in ancient Greek culture by Thales (circa 624-547 BC) dealing with spatial relationships. ... Trigonometry (from the Greek trigonon = three angles and metro = measure) is a branch of mathematics dealing with angles, triangles and trigonometric functions such as sine, cosine and tangent. ... There are several uses of the word survey. ... // Use of the term The concept of property or ownership has no single or universally accepted definition. ... A contract is any legally-enforceable promise or set of promises made by one party to another and, as such, reflects the policies represented by freedom of contract. ... In science, engineering, industry and statistics, accuracy is the degree of conformity of a measured or calculated quantity to its actual, nominal, absolute, or some other reference, value. ...


In most states of the U.S., surveying is recognized as a distinct profession apart from engineering. Licensing requirements vary by state. In the past, experience gained through an apprenticeship, together with passing a series of state-administered examinations, was required to attain licensure. Nowadays, many states require a Bachelor of Science in Surveying, or a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with additional coursework in surveying, in addition to experience and examination requirements. Registered surveyors usually denote themselves with the letters P.S. (professional surveyor), L.S. (land surveyor), or P.L.S. (professional land surveyor) following their names, depending upon the dictates of their particular state of registration. Licensure and Qualifications for the Practice of Engineering The Engineers Ring The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer Engineering Disasters and Learning from Failure American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) ASEE engineering profile (2003) PDF Categories: Architecture and engineering occupations | Engineering ...


See also

Architecture (in Greek αρχή = first and τέχνη = craftsmanship) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ... An Ordnance Survey benchmark A C&GS benchmark disk Typical C&GS triangulation station A benchmark is a point of reference for a measurement. ... It has been suggested that Geodetic datum be merged into this article or section. ... A geographic information system (GIS) is a system for managing spatial data and associated attributes. ... The GOCE project will measure high-accuracy gravity gradients and provide an accurate geoid model based on the Earths gravity field. ... Over fifty GPS satellites such as this NAVSTAR have been launched since 1978. ... Geomatics is the discipline of gathering, storing, processing, and delivering of geographic information. ... Geomatics engineers manage the global spatial infrastructure. ... Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ... The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a professional body representing and regulating property professionals and surveyors of all types. ... An example of a technical drawing with orthographic and isometric view. ... Diagram of an Optical Theodolite. ... Surface of the Earth Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ...

Famous surveyors

Benjamin Banneker, originally Banna Ka, or Bannakay (November 9, 1731 – October 9, 1806) was an African-American astronomer, clockmaker, and publisher, and was instrumental in surveying the District of Columbia. ... Len Beadell (b. ... Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (November 2, 1734-September 26, 1820), was a famous United States pioneer and frontiersman who blazed the Wilderness Road and founded Boonesborough, Kentucky (also known as Boonesboro). ... British explorer James Cook, portrait by Nathaniel Dance, c. ... Walt Disney Walter Elias Walt Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966), was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, and animator. ... Andrew Ellicott was one of three Quaker brothers from Bucks County, Pennsylvania who chose the picturesque wilderness up river from Elk Ridge Landing (known today as Elkridge, Maryland) to establish a flour mill. ... Illustration of John Ericsson John Ericsson (July 31, 1803 – March 8, 1889) was a Swedish inventor and mechanical engineer, as was his brother, Nils Ericson. ... Photograph of Everest Colonel Sir George Everest (July 4, 1790 - December 1, 1866) was a British surveyor and geographer, and Surveyor-General of India from 1830 to 1843. ... John Forrest, from the collection of the National Library of Australia The Rt. ... Sir Malcolm Fraser (1834–17 August 1900) CMG, KCMG was an important public servant in colonial Western Australia in the 1870s and 1880s. ... John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813-July 13, 1890), birth name John Charles Fremon [Harvey, p. ... Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (Gauß) (April 30, 1777 – February 23, 1855) was a German mathematician and scientist who contributed significantly to many fields, including number theory, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, magnetism, astronomy and optics. ... Thomas Jefferson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Harry Frederick Johnston (1853–June 1915) was Surveyor-General of Western Australia from 1896 to 1915. ... The Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-1806) was the first American overland expedition to the Pacific coast and back. ... Abraham Lincoln - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Liu Jeff 劉徽 was a [[Taiwan|]] Kewl Guy who lived in the 200000s. ... Colonel William Light Colonel William Light (1786 - 1839) was born in Kuala Kedah, Malaya in 1786, an illegitimate son of Captain Francis Light, the Governor of Penang, and Martina Rozells, the so-called Princess of Kedah of mixed Siamese-Portuguese descent. ... Charles Mason (1730–1787) was an English astronomer. ... Jeremiah Dixon (July 27, 1733 – January 22, 1779) was an English surveyor and astronomer who is perhaps best known for his work with Charles Mason, from 1763 to 1767, in determining what was later called the Mason-Dixon line. ... Major Sir Thomas Mitchell (June 16, 1792-1855), surveyor and explorer of south-eastern Australia, was born at Grangemouth in Stirlingshire, Scotland. ... Wikisource has original works written by or about: John Septimus Roe John Septimus Roe was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. ... William Roy (1726 - July 1, 1790), was a British surveyor, military draughtsman and antiquary. ... Prime Minister of the Netherlands Willem Schermerhorn (December 17, 1894 - March 11, 1977) was Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1945 until 1946. ... Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862; born David Henry Thoreau) was an American author, pacifist, tax resister and philosopher who is most famous for his essays Walden on appreciation of nature and Civil Disobedience (available at wikisource) on civil disobedience. ... Order: 1st President Vice President: John Adams Term of office: April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797 Preceded by: None Succeeded by: John Adams Date of birth: February 22, 1732 Place of birth: Westmoreland, Virginia Date of death: December 14, 1799 Place of death: Mount Vernon, Virginia First Lady: Martha Washington...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Surveying - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (1417 words)
Surveying has been an essential element in the development of the human environment since the beginning of recorded history and it is a requirement in the planning and execution of nearly every form of construction.
Boundary survey: The actual positions of existing marks on land (typically iron rods or concrete monuments in the ground, but also tacks in trees, pipes, and manholes) are measured, and a map is drawn from the data.
Mortgage surveys are required by title companies and lending institutions when they provide financing to show that there are no structures encroaching on the property and that the position of structures is generally within zoning and building code requirements.
Section (U.S. land surveying) - definition of Section (U.S. land surveying) in Encyclopedia (439 words)
In U.S. land surveying, a section is an area nominally one mile square, containing 640 acres (2.6 km²).
The legal description of a tract of land in the parts of the United States that use this system includes the name of the state, name of the county, township number, range number, section number, and portion of a section.
Sections are customarily surveyed in halves and quarters, and further subdivision in halves and quarters is common.
  More results at FactBites »

 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your location
Your comments
Please enter the 5-letter protection code


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms.