PLSS Map

http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/boundaries/a_plss.html

The Public Land Survey System, or PLSS, is a method used for subdividing and describing land in the United States.  This program is also sometimes called the rectangular survey system because all lands in the public domain are subject to subdivision by this rectangular system.  The PLSS divides land into 6-mile-square townships and then the townships are subdivided into 36 one-mile-square sections.  Most of the PLSS surveys start at an initial point and the townships are divided north, south, east and west of that point.  It is important to know that the north-south line that runs through the initial point is a true meridian that is known as the Principal meridian.  The east-west line that goes through the initial point is known as a base line and it is perpendicular to the Principal meridian.  In the map above we can see these Principal meridians and base lines throughout the country.