Final answer:
The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is a federal grid system used for land division, replacing metes and bounds and influencing American land use, culture, and economy.
Step-by-step explanation:
Public Land Survey System (PLSS)
The federal government's Survey System known as the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) was a method developed to replace the older 'metes and bounds' system. Adopted during the time of Thomas Jefferson, it aimed to stimulate the growth of a middle class of yeoman farmers and strengthen the democratic fabric of the nation. The PLSS relied on a rectangular grid system based on principal meridians, baselines, range lines, and township lines to specify the location of parcels of land.
This grid system has profoundly influenced the American landscape, dictating the alignment of roads, farmlands, property lines, and even our cultural sense of order. Compared to the chaotic patches of land characteristic of the 'metes and bounds' system with its reliance on natural landmarks, the PLSS brought a degree of standardization and conformity that is still visible today.
The smallest unit within the PLSS is the township, which is a square of land six miles on one side. Each township is further divided into 36 sections, each section being one square mile or 640 acres. These can be further subdivided into quarter sections or quarter-quarter sections, providing both structure to land-use planning and a basis for legal land descriptions in much of the United States.