Alaska Land Surveyor (AKLS) Exam flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Equal Footing Doctrine

Constitutional principle giving new states the same sovereignty over submerged lands as original states, so Alaska owns beds of navigable waters up to the ordinary high water mark.

Ordinary High Water Mark

The line on the shore established by the fluctuations of water and indicated by physical characteristics such as a clear, natural line impressed on the bank.

Avulsion vs. Accretion

Avulsion is a sudden, perceptible change in a watercourse that does not move a boundary; accretion is gradual and imperceptible and does move the boundary.

Adverse Possession Period Alaska

Alaska Statute 09.45.052 bars an action to recover real property after 10 years of adverse possession, subject to statutory exceptions and disability provisions.

Hierarchy of Calls

Rule of boundary construction ranking evidence: natural monuments control over artificial monuments, which control over courses and distances, which control over area.

Proportionate Measurement

Method of reestablishing a lost corner by distributing the record distances between the nearest found original corners in proportion to the record distances between them.

Single Proportionate Measurement

Reestablishment of a lost corner lying on a line between two found original corners by proportioning the record distance along that single line.

Meander Line

Line run along a navigable water body to compute area; it is not the boundary, which is the ordinary high water mark of the water.

Best Evidence Rule

Legal rule requiring the original document to prove its contents, with certified copies admissible when originals are unavailable or destroyed.

Constructive Notice

Notice given by recording a document in the correct recording district, binding the world regardless of actual knowledge of the document.

Ancient Documents Rule

Exception to hearsay admitting documents over 20 years old, produced from proper custody, and free of suspicious circumstances as evidence of their authenticity.

NAD83 vs. NAD27

Two horizontal datums; NAD83 is current for Alaska, and NAD27 coordinates differ from NAD83 by roughly 100 to 200 meters and require transformation.

Combined Scale Factor

Product of the grid scale factor and the elevation factor, used to convert between ground distances and grid distances on a map projection.

Grid vs. Geodetic Azimuth

Grid azimuth is measured from grid north; geodetic azimuth is measured from true north. They differ by the convergence angle of the projection.

Geoid Separation

Distance between the ellipsoid and the geoid at a point; orthometric height equals ellipsoidal height minus this separation.

RTK Fixed Solution

GNSS carrier-phase solution with integer ambiguities resolved, providing centimeter-level accuracy; float solutions are less accurate and should be reobserved.

Traverse Relative Precision

Ratio of linear misclosure to total traverse perimeter, commonly expressed as 1:10,000 or better for boundary surveys.

EDM Atmospheric Correction

Adjustment to electronic distance measurements for temperature and pressure, plus instrument and prism constants, before reducing to horizontal distance.

Leveling Loop Misclosure

Difference between measured and known elevation around a closed loop, checked against allowable error proportional to the square root of loop length in miles.

Alaska Platting Statute

Alaska Statute 40.15 governs subdivision platting, requiring approval by the governing body and recording before lots may be conveyed.

Plat Dedication

Offer of land shown on a plat for public use, such as streets or parks; it becomes effective upon acceptance by the governing body.

Plat Waiver Large Tracts

Alaska law allows waiver of platting for certain large-tract divisions, such as parcels of 40 acres or more, subject to local ordinance requirements.

Seward Meridian

One of Alaska's principal meridians for the Public Land Survey System, serving as the north-south reference line for township numbering in its area.

Standard Parallel

Correction line run east-west every 24 miles in the PLSS to compensate for convergence of meridians and to reset township boundaries.

Lost Corner

A PLSS corner whose original position cannot be determined from evidence; it is reestablished by proportionate measurement rather than by original position.

Fractional Lot

A lot along a water body or township boundary whose area is computed separately because it is not a full aliquot part of a section.

AS 08.48

Alaska statute governing registration of architects, engineers, and land surveyors, including licensing, seal requirements, and continuing competency.

Surveyor Seal Requirement

A licensee's seal and signature certify that surveying work was performed by or under the direct supervision of the licensee and meets applicable standards.

Contingent Fee Prohibition

Ethical rule barring a surveyor from accepting compensation contingent on the outcome of a boundary dispute or legal proceeding.

Continuing Professional Competency

Requirement under Alaska Statute 08.48 that licensees complete qualifying continuing education hours to renew their registration.

Riparian Boundary Rule

For non-navigable waters, the boundary follows the thread of the stream; for navigable waters, it is the ordinary high water mark.

Boundary by Acquiescence

Doctrine recognizing a boundary line mutually treated as the true line by adjoining owners over a long period, even without a written agreement.