Fourth principal meridian

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U.S. Bureau of Land Management map showing the principal meridians of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois USBLM meridian map point of beginning.jpg
U.S. Bureau of Land Management map showing the principal meridians of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois

The fourth principal meridian, set in 1815, [1] is the principal meridian for land surveys in northwestern Illinois and west-central Illinois, [2] and its 1831 [3] extension is the principal meridian for land surveys in Wisconsin and northeastern Minnesota. [1] [2] It is part of the Public Land Survey System that covers most of the United States.

Contents

The fourth principal meridian begins at a point on the west bank of the Illinois River in Schuyler County, Illinois. The fourth principal meridian's baseline, sometimes called the Beardstown baseline,[ citation needed ] runs west from this initial point. [1] [2] The meridian and this baseline governs surveys in Illinois that are west of both the Illinois River and the third principal meridian. [2]

The Illinois Department of Transportation 2003 Survey Manual gives the point as 40°0′50″N90°27′11″W / 40.01389°N 90.45306°W / 40.01389; -90.45306 and notes that the meridian is an extension of the line north from the mouth of the Illinois River near Grafton, Illinois. [1]

Extended

The meridian was extended north in 1831, through Wisconsin and northeastern Minnesota. [3] The extension uses the Illinois–Wisconsin border as its baseline, [1] [2] and is the basis of surveys in all of Wisconsin, as well as that part of Minnesota:

The initial point of the extended fourth principal meridian is located at 42°30′27″N90°25′37″W / 42.50750°N 90.42694°W / 42.50750; -90.42694 .

See also

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The Fifth Principal Meridian, also known as the "5th Principal Meridian" and "PM 05", is a principal meridian survey line used in the United States for land claims in the Public Land Survey System (PLSS). It was first surveyed in 1815. The meridian, a north-south line, starts from the old mouth of the Arkansas River and runs north. Another survey line related to it is the base line running west from the old mouth of the St. Francis River. These survey lines govern all land surveys in four states and a large portion of the land surveys for two more. Monuments have been erected where the two lines meet at 34°38′44″N91°3′42″W, and the surveyors' skill has been commemorated at the Louisiana Purchase State Park in eastern Arkansas. The Fifth Principal Meridian is nearly coincident with 91° 3′ 42″ longitude west from the Greenwich meridian.

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The Navajo meridian, established in 1869, is one of the two principal meridians for Arizona, the other being the Gila and Salt River meridian. Its initial point was stated as latitude 35° 45' north, longitude 108° 32' 45" west from Greenwich, but has been revised as 35°44′56″N108°31′59″W The Navajo meridian and baseline were used to set townships and ranges in a special survey for the original Navajo Reservation, and was set at the eastern boundary of that reservation. The Arizona lands surveyed using the Navajo meridian and baseline were ranges six west to ten west and townships one north to fourteen north, and included Canyon de Chelly National Monument.

4th meridian may refer to:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chapter Five: Land Surveying". Survey Manual (PDF). Springfield, Illinois: Illinois Department of Transportation, Bureau of Design and Environment. 2003-02-28. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Raymond, William Galt (1914). Plane Surveying for Use in the Classroom and Field (via Google Books) (2nd ed.). New York: American Book Company. p. 456.
  3. 1 2 "Part 5: Public Land Survey System". National Mapping Program Technical Instructions: Standards for USGS and USDA Forest Service Single Edition Quadrangle Maps (PDF) (Draft for Implementation ed.). March 2003. pp. 5A-2–5A-4. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  4. Minnesota Geospatial Information Office http://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/glo/Index.htm