Retracement Concepts with Fractional Sections

The concepts of completion and extension surveys are not usually encountered everyday. Thus a surveyor may not even recognize that such surveys are involved in the work being undertaken. The definition of these types of surveys is presented in this course. To be able to understand how to work with such surveys, we go all the way back to discussing the meaning of “fixed,” “monument,” and “corner.” These are not the same thing and the distinctions must be well understood. As with measurements, many words that appear similar such as accuracy and precision are actually far from being identical. So it is with fixed, monument and corner.

Objectives:

• Learn what completion and extension surveys are in the USPLS as they are not frequently encountered. The surveyor however is required to have an expert understanding of how to apply the principles involves in determining boundaries and corner locations.
• Learn the specific meaning of terms such as fixed, monument and corner, and how they are to be considered in this context so that mistakes from incorrect conclusions can be avoided.
• Understand how to look for evidence of surveys that are completion surveys and extension surveys, as they are not always clearly understood when examining the records of USPLS surveys in a specific area.