This is a way to divide and identify land in the United States. It's based on sets of intersecting lines - principal meridians run north-south and base lines run east-west.
Imagine you're playing Battleship. The game board grid helps you pinpoint your opponent's ships with coordinates like B5 or G7. The Rectangular (or Public Land) Survey System works similarly; it uses coordinates (townships/ranges) instead of addresses to locate specific parcels of land.
Township Lines: These are lines running east-west parallel to the base line in the public land survey system.
Range Lines: These are lines running north-south parallel to principal meridian in public land survey system.
Section: A square unit within township which is one mile by one mile.
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