The Mount Diablo Surveyors Historical Society

 

Principal Meridians
and
Base Lines
Governing
The United States
Public Land Surveys

(Including detail of the three
California Meridians and their Inital Points)

 

This map shows all of the Principal Meridians and Base Lines Governing The United States Public Land Surveys.


pmmap_thumb.gif (97,466 bytes)

Image courtesy U.S. Department of the Interior-Bureau of Land Mangement
© 1988 Department of the Interior-Geological Survey, Reston Virginia-Public Domain

To see a larger image of this map, click on the link here: Be sure to hit the back button to return to this page.

The Principal Meridians and Base Lines of the United States Public Land Surveys



The image below shows which portions of land within California and Nevada are controlled by which prinicipal meridian.


pmmap_ca-nv.gif (72,097 bytes)

 

Humboldt Meridian (Top)

Adopted 1853. Governing surveys - California.
Initial Point - Latitude 40-25-02, Longitude 124-07-10

 

Mount Diablo Meridian (Middle)

Adopted 1851. Governing surveys - California and Nevada.
Initial Point - Latitude 37-52-54, Longitude 121-54-47

 

San Bernardino Meridian (Bottom)

Adopted 1852. Governing surveys - California.
Initial Point - Latitude 34-07-13, Longitude 116-55-48

 

California and Nevada
image courtesy U.S. Department of the Interior-Bureau of Land Mangement
© 1988 Department of the Interior-Geological Survey, Reston Virginia - Public Domain


 

Latitudes and Longitudes shown are taken from the Manual of Instructions for the Survey of the Public Lands of the United States 1973 (Page 60). Prepared by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management as Technical Bulletin 6, and published by United States Government Printing office, Washington, D.C.,


To view details of other Meridians of the United States, click on the link here:

"NOTE: By following this link you are now leaving the Mount Diablo Surveyors Historic Society website. The MDSHS does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of the materials provided by other agencies or organizations, nor does the MDSHS necessarily endorse other agencies or organizations, their views, products or services."

http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/cadastralsurvey/meridians.html

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