Public Land Surveying System Exam
Questions + Verified Answers 100%
correct, Update 2026
The first surveys of public lands in the United States were
conducted under the provisions of which of the following laws? -
correct answer ✅the Land Ordinance Act
Which of the following authorities supervised the first surveys of
public lands? -
correct answer ✅the Geographer of the United States
Rufus Putnam, the Surveyor General in 1797, established the
contract system, which continued until 1910. Which statement best
characterizes this system? -
correct answer ✅The contract system allowed the Surveyors
General to arrange contracts with deputy surveyors for the
execution of public land surveys.
Thomas Hutchins was the surveyor in charge of the first public land
surveys done under the auspices of the Land Ordinance Act of
1785. He personally ran the line extending east and west from the
Ohio River that is known as the Geographer's Line. Lines that serve
the same function as the Geographer's Line are now found
throughout the Public Land Surveying System. What are such lines
called? -
correct answer ✅baselines
,Public Land Surveying System Exam
Questions + Verified Answers 100%
correct, Update 2026
In 1807, Surveyor General Jared Mansfield ordered that another
baseline be established 24 mi from the first in the Vincennes
District to compensate for distortions in the survey. In 1818, the
same idea was used to compensate for the effect of convergence.
Which of the following terms are currently used to refer to such
lines? -
correct answer ✅correction lines and standard parallels
In 1849, the General Land Office became part of the Department of
the Interior. What department of government had jurisdiction over
public land surveys before then? -
correct answer ✅Department of the Treasury
The Act of May 10, 1872, sometimes called the Mining Act,
established the legal size of a lode claim in the public lands. Which
of the following sizes correctly represents this provision of the
Mining Act? -
correct answer ✅600.00 ft by 1500.00 ft
In 1847, Richard Young, commissioner of the General Land Office,
instructed Charles Morse in the sectional subdivision of a township
, Public Land Surveying System Exam
Questions + Verified Answers 100%
correct, Update 2026
that had a particularly crooked eastern boundary. Young's solution
was unpopular with Morse, but it limited the alignment problem to
only one row of sections by the use of a procedure still used in
similar circumstances. What is the procedure? -
correct answer ✅the establishment of a sectional guide meridian
The chain has been the standard unit of length in the Public Land
Surveying System since its beginning and is still the standard
prescribed by law. One of the reasons for its durability is its
convenient relationship with the description of land in acres. Which
of the following equations correctly describes this relationship? -
correct answer ✅10 sq chains=1 ac
Which of the following lengths is equal to 0.28 chains? -
correct answer ✅28 links
Early field notes from public land surveys sometimes refer to a two-
pole chain. What is a two-pole chain? -
correct answer ✅A two-pole chain is one-half of a standard
Gunter's chain, or 33.00 ft long.
Questions + Verified Answers 100%
correct, Update 2026
The first surveys of public lands in the United States were
conducted under the provisions of which of the following laws? -
correct answer ✅the Land Ordinance Act
Which of the following authorities supervised the first surveys of
public lands? -
correct answer ✅the Geographer of the United States
Rufus Putnam, the Surveyor General in 1797, established the
contract system, which continued until 1910. Which statement best
characterizes this system? -
correct answer ✅The contract system allowed the Surveyors
General to arrange contracts with deputy surveyors for the
execution of public land surveys.
Thomas Hutchins was the surveyor in charge of the first public land
surveys done under the auspices of the Land Ordinance Act of
1785. He personally ran the line extending east and west from the
Ohio River that is known as the Geographer's Line. Lines that serve
the same function as the Geographer's Line are now found
throughout the Public Land Surveying System. What are such lines
called? -
correct answer ✅baselines
,Public Land Surveying System Exam
Questions + Verified Answers 100%
correct, Update 2026
In 1807, Surveyor General Jared Mansfield ordered that another
baseline be established 24 mi from the first in the Vincennes
District to compensate for distortions in the survey. In 1818, the
same idea was used to compensate for the effect of convergence.
Which of the following terms are currently used to refer to such
lines? -
correct answer ✅correction lines and standard parallels
In 1849, the General Land Office became part of the Department of
the Interior. What department of government had jurisdiction over
public land surveys before then? -
correct answer ✅Department of the Treasury
The Act of May 10, 1872, sometimes called the Mining Act,
established the legal size of a lode claim in the public lands. Which
of the following sizes correctly represents this provision of the
Mining Act? -
correct answer ✅600.00 ft by 1500.00 ft
In 1847, Richard Young, commissioner of the General Land Office,
instructed Charles Morse in the sectional subdivision of a township
, Public Land Surveying System Exam
Questions + Verified Answers 100%
correct, Update 2026
that had a particularly crooked eastern boundary. Young's solution
was unpopular with Morse, but it limited the alignment problem to
only one row of sections by the use of a procedure still used in
similar circumstances. What is the procedure? -
correct answer ✅the establishment of a sectional guide meridian
The chain has been the standard unit of length in the Public Land
Surveying System since its beginning and is still the standard
prescribed by law. One of the reasons for its durability is its
convenient relationship with the description of land in acres. Which
of the following equations correctly describes this relationship? -
correct answer ✅10 sq chains=1 ac
Which of the following lengths is equal to 0.28 chains? -
correct answer ✅28 links
Early field notes from public land surveys sometimes refer to a two-
pole chain. What is a two-pole chain? -
correct answer ✅A two-pole chain is one-half of a standard
Gunter's chain, or 33.00 ft long.
