Wisconsin Department of Revenue

Public Land Survey Quiz

Select the circle with the best answer for each question below. Then click on submit to see how many you have correct.

The Principal Meridian governing rectangular surveys in the State of Wisconsin is the
A. First Principal Meridian.
B. Illinois-Wisconsin Principal Meridian.
C. Fourth Principal Meridian.
D. Wisconsin Principal Meridian.
The standards of parallel (standard parallels) are
A. north-south lines.
B. six miles apart.
C. sixty miles apart in Wisconsin.
D. true North lines.
Townships are
A. subdivided into tiers and ranges.
B. twenty-four by twenty-four miles in size.
C. subdivided into thirty-six sections.
D. one square mile in size.
The basic unit of length in the public-land survey is the
A. Gunter's "chain" of 66 feet or 100 links.
B. meter.
C. square root.
D. square mile.
The initial point of the Wisconsin public-land survey is junction point of the
A. Mississippi River and the Wisconsin-Illinois line.
B. Wisconsin-Illinois line and Lake Michigan.
C. four section corners found under the State Capitol Building in Madison.
D. fourth Principal Meridian and Wisconsin-Illinois boundary.
In the rectangular government survey townships and sections are located with respect to the
A. plane coordinate system.
B. national triangulation net.
C. principal meridian and base line.
D. meander line of fractional parallelism.
The E-W axis of a government land survey is called
A. principal meridian.
B. base line.
C. section line.
D. line of longitude.
Each township established by the public-land surveys is divided into
A. four sections.
B. thirty-six sections.
C. assessors plats.
D. coordinate grid systems.
Completed public-land surveys of a state are on file in the office of the
A. Department of Natural Resources.
B. Supervisor of Assessments.
C. County Clerk.
D. Secretary of State.
The N-S axis of a government land survey establishing an initial point is called
A. section line.
B. base line.
C. principal meridian.
D. line of latitude.
Fractional sections caused by the curvature of the earth and correction of errors of measurement are located on the ______ and ______ borders of the township.
A. north and south.
B. north and east.
C. north and west.
D. east and west.

Last updated January 10, 2008

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Public Land Survey Quiz