Principal meridian

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A principal meridian is a meridian used for survey control in a large region.

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Canada

The Dominion Land Survey of Western Canada took its origin at the First (or Principal) Meridian, located at 97°27′28.41″ west of Greenwich, and just west of Winnipeg, Manitoba. This line is exactly ten miles west of the Red River at the Canada–United States border.

Six other meridians were designated at four-degree intervals westward, with the seventh located in British Columbia; the second and fourth meridians form the general eastern border and the western border of Saskatchewan.

United States

This BLM map depicts the principal meridians and baselines used for surveying states (colored) in the PLSS. Meridians-baselines.png
This BLM map depicts the principal meridians and baselines used for surveying states (colored) in the PLSS.

In the United States Public Land Survey System, a principal meridian is the principal north-south line used for survey control in a large region, and which divides townships between east and west. The meridian meets its corresponding baseline at the point of origin, or initial point, for the land survey. For example, the Mount Diablo Meridian, used for surveys in California and Nevada, runs north-south through the summit of Mount Diablo.

Often, meridians are marked with roads, such as the Meridian Avenue in San Jose, California, Meridian Road in Vacaville, California, both on the Mount Diablo Meridian, Meridian Road in Wichita, Kansas on the Sixth Principal Meridian, and Meridian Avenue in several western Washington counties generally following the Willamette Meridian. Baseline Road or Base Line Street extends for about 40 miles (64 km) from Highland, California east of San Bernardino to La Verne, California where it meets Foothill Boulevard.

See also



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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Diablo</span> Mountain in California, US

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willamette Stone</span> Historic surveying marker in Oregon, US

The Willamette Stone was a small stone obelisk originally installed by the Department of Interior in 1885 in the western hills of Portland, Oregon in the United States to mark the intersection and origin of the Willamette meridian and Willamette baseline. It replaced a cedar stake placed by the Surveyor General of the Oregon Territory in 1851; this stake defined the grid system of sections and townships from which all real property in the states of Oregon and Washington has been measured following the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850. The Willamette meridian runs north–south, and the Willamette baseline runs east–west through the marker. The easternmost northeast corner of Washington County is sited on the marker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baseline (surveying)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan meridian</span>

The Michigan meridian is the principal meridian used as a reference in the Michigan Survey, the survey of the U.S. state of Michigan in the early 19th century. It is located at 84 degrees, 21 minutes and 53 seconds west longitude at its northern terminus at Sault Ste. Marie, and varies very little from that line down the length of the state.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Bernardino meridian</span>

The San Bernardino meridian, established in 1852, is one of three principal meridians in the state of California. Because of the state's shape, three meridian–baseline sets are required for surveys in all parts of the state. The San Bernardino meridian is used for Southern California, and some townships in Arizona are also referenced to it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Diablo meridian</span>

The Mount Diablo meridian, established in 1851, is a principal meridian extending north and south from its initial point atop Mount Diablo in California at W 121° 54.845. Established under the U.S. Public Land Survey System, it is used to describe lands in most of northern California and all of Nevada. Mount Diablo also marks the baseline at latitude 37°52′54″N.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourth principal meridian</span>

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifth principal meridian</span>

The Fifth principal meridian, often denoted the "5th Meridian" or "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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Mexico meridian</span> Line of longitude used in geographic surveys

The New Mexico meridian, is longitude 106° 53′ 40″ west from Greenwich. It extends throughout New Mexico and into Colorado, and together with the baseline, at latitude 34° 15′ 25″ north, governs township and range surveys in New Mexico, except those in the northwest corner of the state which refer to the Navajo meridian and baseline. The New Mexico meridian and Baseline also provide the basis for township and range surveys in the upper valley of the Rio Grande del Norte in Colorado.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congress Lands</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">North and East of First Principal Meridian</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Initial point</span>

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