A cadastral survey is a legal survey that defines land boundaries, used for property disputes and to define government jurisdictions. Surveyors use past records and physical evidence to create a land registry, including property lines, land use data, and ownership information. The Bureau of Land Management in the US maintains cadastral records for public lands.
A cadastral survey is a survey that quantitatively defines and sets land boundaries for legal purposes, usually between pieces of property. It is sometimes used on a larger scale to define boundaries between government jurisdictions, from boundaries between small municipalities to international boundaries. The term cadastral is taken from a French word that derives from Latin and Greek origins.
Surveyors use a cadastral survey to provide a definitive description of a plot of land. A cadastral survey defines the boundaries of a parcel of land in relation to the surrounding parcels and describes them in such a way as to be applicable to the physical geography. When a property line or other boundary is in dispute, a cadastral survey can help determine the proper disposition of any disputed territory or land. While a land survey uses science-based and engineering techniques, its primary purpose is legal, rather than scientific.
Any such survey must rely on past records and previous surveys for insights. A surveyor performing a land survey uses all available information which may include maps, charts, diagrams and previous legal documents. A legal document such as a deed may describe the boundaries of a parcel of land in legal terms, but an investigation is required to give those legal definitions and coordinates a physical meaning. In many cases, there may be physical evidence from previous investigations such as investigation markers or other geographic features used as such. A cadastral investigation may also be necessary in the event of splitting up a plot of land, to adequately define the new boundaries.
The details of this survey will be collected in a document or collection of documents called a land registry. A cadastre contains the technical information of a cadastral survey such as size, area and exact descriptions of all property lines and boundaries, as well as information regarding land use data, lot ownership, both current and historical, and its location. Other data such as value is commonly included, for tax purposes, in many jurisdictions. In some areas of the world, the deed or title to a parcel of land may be part of the land registry.
In the United States, the federal government maintains, as part of its Department of the Interior, a division called the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This agency is responsible for executing and maintaining the cadastral records of public lands. The BLM regularly conducts surveys for a variety of reasons, such as when the federal government buys or sells land, grants land use rights to companies and individuals, or outlines boundaries for new parks or preserves.
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