Final answer:
Sections in a township are numbered beginning at one in the northeast corner, following a zigzag pattern that alternates east to west and then west to east by rows down to the southeast corner with section 36.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sections in a township are numbered beginning at one in the northeast corner. The method of numbering moves west to east, toggling north with each row. This means section 1 starts in the northeast corner, with section 2 to its west, and so forth until section 6. The pattern then drops down to section 7, directly south of section 6 and numbering continues east to west. So the easternmost section in the second row from the top is section 7, ending the second row with section 12. This alternating pattern continues until reaching the southeast corner with section 36.
The Ordinance of 1785 organized land sales in the Northwest Territory, introduced by the newly formed United States government, and laid the foundation for land division using townships and sections. This system is evident in the grid-pattern landscape of much of the western United States. An individual section in a township is typically a square land plot that measures one mile on each side, totaling 640 acres, and these sections can be further divided into quarter sections and quarter-quarter sections.