Section To Township Calculator
Convert Section to Township. 1 Township = 36 Sections. Useful for land survey and mapping in the Public Land Survey System (PLSS). Each Section under the Public Land Survey System spans 1 Square Mile while also covering 640 Acres of land. The PLSS defines a Township as land extending six miles in both directions that counts 36 Sections. A 1 Square Mile land area equivalent to 640 Acres exists as a Section that divides into 36 land units called Townships. 1 Township = 36 Sections. Surveyors along with land planners and real estate professionals need this conversion method to work with large-scale land mapping and measurement operations. Where Section numbers within a Township are known you can determine the complete land area to support better decision-making around land ownership, sales and usage. The United States uses the Township and Section system as its main method to efficiently dispense and control public lands throughout the country.
Convert Section To Township
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Comprehensive Explanation of the Section as a Unit of Measurement
Definition of Section
A section is a part of the United States PLSS that measures the extent of land as a division and sub-division. One section is a square area with an area of 1 mile at each side, or 640 acres or 2.58999 square kilometers. The use of sections is very helpful in the division as well as the description of land especially in country and agricultural property.
Historical of Section
Originally, the section developed originated from the Land Ordinance of 1785 that provided for the creation of the public land survey system (PLSS) with the purpose of providing for surveys of the land in the United States, especially in the western areas. The system distributed land into townships and sections and fractions of such sections. A township is a six-by-six-mile square that is made up of 36 sections.
Further, the constantly changing geographical boundaries meant that a standardized system of conveying and dealing in land was possible only if it was clearly defined.
Conversion to Other Units
A section can be converted into various land measurement units:
- Square Feet:
1 section = 27,878,400 square feet - Square Yards:
1 section = 3,097,600 square yards - Acres:
1 section = 640 acres - Hectares:
1 section ≈ 259 hectares Each section is further divided into smaller units, such as quarter sections (160 acres) and quarter-quarter sections (40 acres), which were commonly distributed under the Homestead Act.
Use in Land Measurement Today
Sections remain a vital part of land measurement and legal descriptions in the United States. They are widely used in:
- Surveying: Land parcels are often described in terms of sections and their subdivisions, such as the northeast quarter of Section 10.
- Agriculture: Farmers and ranchers often own or lease land measured in sections or fractions thereof.
- Real Estate: Sections are used in legal documents to define property boundaries, especially in rural and undeveloped areas.
Notable Uses in Agriculture and Real Estate
- Agriculture: Sections and their sub-divisions such as quarter section is used widely in distributing farmland. A quarter section measuring is 160 acres and was considered long back to be easily managed by a family for farming.
- Real Estate: Sections afford a definitive method of defining large areas of land in legal and business processes. They are especially crucial for purposes of zoning, taxation, and resource management.
Township: A Comprehensive Explanation
Definition of Township
A township is a unit of area measurement that prevails mainly in the United States and is part of the PLSS. It refers to a square-shaped land unit that occupies an area of 36 square miles, being 6 by 6 miles.
Conversion to Other Units
A township can be converted into other units of area as follows:
- Square Miles:
1 township = 36 square miles - Square Yards:
1 township = 111,513,600 square yards - Square Feet:
1 township = 1,003,622,400 square feet - Acres:
1 township = 23,040 acres
Historical of Township
The idea of the township was developed from the provision in the Land Ordinance of 1785, which intended to order land surveys for the orderly apportioning of land and selling of the public lands in the United States of America. The PLSS established townships and sections of land as a method to arrange the expansion of the western region.
- Townships and Sections: A township is divided into
36 sections, and each such section is equivalent to 1 square mile or 640 acres. Some of the division possibilities of sections were for development into smaller parcels for subsequent sale or distribution. - The grid-like township system was intended to ease surveying and selling of land, as well as issuing documents of transfer of the ownership of land in newly procured territories.
Modern Usage
Townships are still used in land surveying and legal descriptions of property in the United States. Their applications include:
- Land Ownership and Management: Townships form a useful basis for defining a land parcel, especially when the land is located in rural and relatively ill-developed regions.
- Property Deeds: In legal descriptions of land, some of the basic landmarks used include townships, ranges, whether east or west of a principal meridian, and sections.
- Land Planning: A township may be defined as an important aspect of regional planning as well as land resource planning and development.
Notable Uses of the Acre in Agriculture and Real Estate
The acre, as a smaller unit of measurement, is integral to understanding the divisions within a township:
- Agriculture: The formation of townships means that farmers were able to buy land in portions, usually starting at one section (
640 acres) or smaller aliquots (e.g., forty-acre sections). - Real Estate: Today, property transfers in the countryside often involve reference to township legal descriptions. For example, a deed may define a plot within a specific township, range, and section.
