MS Land Surveyor flashcards

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

Monument controls distance

In deed interpretation, a call for a natural or artificial monument generally prevails over courses and distances, and area is the least reliable call.

Adverse possession elements

Actual, open and notorious, exclusive, continuous, and hostile possession under claim of right for the statutory period can ripen into title.

Avulsion vs accretion

Accretion is gradual and imperceptible deposit that moves a water boundary; avulsion is a sudden change that leaves the original boundary unchanged.

Boundary by acquiescence

When adjoining owners treat an uncertain line as the boundary for a long period, courts may fix that line even if it differs from the deed.

Easement by prescription

Open, notorious, adverse, and continuous use of another person's land for the statutory period can create a prescriptive easement.

Race-notice recording

A later purchaser for value prevails only if without notice of the prior conveyance and records first; Mississippi uses this recording rule.

Meander line not boundary

A meander line is only a reference for computing area; the water boundary is the ordinary high-water mark or thread of the stream as law provides.

Latitude and departure

Latitude equals distance times cosine of the bearing angle from north; departure equals distance times sine of the bearing angle.

Traverse linear misclosure

Linear misclosure is the square root of the sum of squared latitude and departure errors; relative precision is misclosure divided by total traverse length.

Area by coordinates

Twice the area equals the absolute sum of cross products X_i Y_{i+1} minus X_{i+1} Y_i around the closed traverse.

Arc definition degree curve

Radius equals 5729.57795 divided by degree of curve when the degree is defined by a 100-foot arc.

Curve tangent distance

Tangent distance equals radius times tangent of half the central angle; curve length equals radius times central angle in radians.

GNSS orthometric height

Orthometric height equals ellipsoid height minus geoid undulation, giving elevation above the geoid datum.

EDM prism constant

An incorrect prism constant shifts every measured distance by a fixed amount and is a systematic error, not random noise.

Township and section

A PLSS township is about 6 miles square and contains 36 sections; a regular section is 1 mile square and contains 640 acres.

Section numbering pattern

Sections number from 1 at the township's northeast corner westward, then serpentine east and west to section 36 at the southeast corner.

Mississippi principal meridians

Mississippi's PLSS includes the Washington, St. Stephens, Choctaw, and Chickasaw principal meridians, each with its own baseline.

Chancery Clerk land records

Mississippi county deeds, plats, and most land records are recorded in the office of the Chancery Clerk.

Chain of title

A chain of title traces successive conveyances from a common grantor to the present owner, checking each deed's grantor-grantee link.

Tax records not title

Assessor and tax records support taxation and mapping but do not by themselves establish legal title or boundary location.

Plat certification

A recorded plat typically shows bearings, distances, monuments, curve data, dedication, scale, north arrow, and the surveyor's signed certification.

Map scale ratio

A scale of 1:24,000 means one map unit represents 24,000 of the same units on the ground.

Contour interval

The contour interval is the constant vertical distance between adjacent contour lines on a topographic map.

State Plane zones

Mississippi State Plane coordinates use East and West Lambert Conformal Conic zones referenced to NAD83.

Witness corner

A witness corner is a monument placed at a safe offset from the true corner and referenced to it by bearing and distance.

Horizontal control datum

NAD83 is a horizontal geodetic datum; NAVD88 is a vertical datum used for orthometric elevations in the United States.

Responsible charge

Responsible charge means a licensee personally directs and reviews the surveying work and can seal only work under that control.

Mississippi licensing board

The Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors regulates land surveyor licensure and practice in the state.

Contingent fee ethics

A surveyor should not accept compensation contingent on a boundary opinion, because it creates a conflict with objective professional judgment.

Unlicensed practice

Performing land surveying for the public without a license, or allowing unlicensed persons to practice, violates Mississippi licensing law.

Seal and signature

A licensee's seal and signature certify that the survey work was performed by or under the responsible charge of that licensee.

State plane not boundary

State plane coordinates provide a common reference but do not legally establish or replace boundary monuments or recorded deed lines.