Surveyors And The

Cadastral Data Content Standard

- Part Two -

Surveyor's Field Notes
An Example from Oregon BLM Cadastral Survey

General Information
Crosswalk To The Cadastral Data Content Standard

General Information

Automation of surveying data is expanding to include critical information which until recently has typically been available only on paper. With the addition of field notes to the digital domain, an important source of survey information can be obtained and used by many professionals and agencies concerned with the management of land ownership and rights.

This example illustrates the kind of information available in survey field notes, and how some of that information corresponds with the Cadastral Data Content Standard.

The following summary is derived from reading the surveyor's field notes associated with a survey conducted in Oregon. The actual field notes can be viewed by going to the Oregon BLM Approved Surveys page; then find the link to the field notes listed for T04xSR07xW under the section heading for Townships 1 - 10 South, Ranges 1 - 15 West.

Crosswalk of Survey Field Notes To The Cadatral Data Content Standard

The left column of the table below contains a list of the some of the information recorded in the surveyor's field notes for a survey conducted in T4SR7W Sec. 30 Willamette Meridian, Oregon.

The right column contains the Cadastral Data Content Standard entity and attribute which corresponds to the information in the left column.

Overall, the table lists many potential connections between the surveyor's field notes and the FGDC Cadastral Data Content Standard. This represents a wealth of capability to work with standardized definitions and to use these definitions as understandable links between multiple agencies and varying databases.

Surveyor's Field Notes	Cadastral Data Content Standard Entity/Attribute
Name of surveyor	Agent/Agent Name Corner Point/CP-Source Agent
Dates survey commenced and completed	n/a
Type of survey, e.g. dependent resurvey	Survey System Description/Survey Type
Diagram of township, section, or subdivision surveyed	n/a
Areas surveyed, such as: portions of the west boundary, subdivisional lines, and subdivision section lines, and the subdivision of section x, town y S, range z W, xx meridian, State	n/a
History of the survey	n/a
Manual/guidelines/instructions used	n/a
Methods used to determine directions of lines - such as deflections from azimuths obtained from direct solar observations referring to true meridian, measurements derived from use of electronic measuring equipment.	n/a
Geographic (lat.-long.) position of quarter section corner	Corner Point Measured Coordinate/X-Coordinate Corner Point Measured Coordinate/Y-Coordinate
Beginning corner, and description of monument	Survey System Description/Survey System Origin
Bearing and distance to bearing trees ⁽¹⁾	Record Boundary/Distance Unit Record Boundary/Distance Type Record Boundary/Comment Record Boundary/Direction Type Record Boundary/Direction Unit Record Bounary/Direction Quadrant Straight Line/Direction Value Straight Line/Distance Value
Description of markings on trees	n/a
Description of landscape - slopes, timber, creeks, roads,	n/a
Number of chains, and bearings along lines ⁽¹⁾	Record Boundary/Distance Unit Record Bounary/Direction Quadrant Record Boundary/Direction Unit Straight Line/Direction Value Straight Line/Distance Value
County	Public Agency/County
Town or nearest town	Public Agency/Town
Elevation range ⁽²⁾	Corner Point Measured Coordinate/Z-Coordinate Corner Point Measured Coordinate/Vertical Datum
Road access	n/a
Creek drainage	n/a
Timber stands	n/a
Undergrowth	n/a
Mineral deposits	n/a
Magnetic declination	n/a
Description of monuments set	Corner Point/Monument Date Set Corner Point/Monument Type
Names of field assistants	n/a
Certificate of survey, approval, date, and signature	n/a

Notes:
⁽¹⁾ Bearings and distances may include information corresponding to any of several entities and attributes in the Standard.
⁽²⁾ Elevation values are included in the Standard, but ranges of elevations are not.

Back To Part Two - Examples of Automated and On-line Surveying Information

Table Of Contents - Surveryors and the Cadastral Data Content Standard

Links to the other Cadastral Courses:
Learning The Cadastral Data Content Standard
County Recorders And The Cadastral Data Content Standard
Cadastral Information for GIS Specialists

Presented by the United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, and

the Federal Geographic Data Committee Cadastral Subcommittee