NC Land Surveyor flashcards

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

Statute of Frauds

A legal rule requiring that conveyances of land be in writing and signed by the grantor, with a description sufficient to identify the property.

Surveyor's seal

A licensee's seal on a survey map certifies that the work was prepared by the licensee or under the licensee's direct supervision and meets applicable standards.

Adverse possession elements

Actual, open, notorious, exclusive, hostile, and continuous possession of land for the statutory period, generally twenty years in North Carolina, can ripen into title.

Prescriptive easement

A right to use another's land acquired by adverse, open, notorious, continuous use under claim of right for the statutory period, commonly twenty years in North Carolina.

Senior rights rule

When overlapping conveyances conflict, the earlier senior grant generally prevails to the extent of the overlap, and the later junior grantee takes only the remaining land.

Boundary evidence hierarchy

In retracement, natural monuments generally control over artificial monuments, which control over courses and distances; area and quantity are the weakest evidence of boundary location.

Accretion versus avulsion

Accretion is gradual, imperceptible addition of land that moves a water boundary; avulsion is sudden change, such as a flood cutoff, that leaves the boundary unchanged.

Boundary by acquiescence

A boundary line may be established when adjoining owners recognize and treat a line as the boundary for the statutory period, even if it differs from the deed line.

Recorded plat incorporation

When a deed refers to a recorded plat, the plat is incorporated into the deed, and its lot lines, dimensions, and monuments become part of the legal description.

Original government corner

A corner established by the original federal survey that is evidence of the original survey; it controls later retracement measurements and later-set corners.

Metes and bounds description

A property description that starts at a point of beginning and follows calls of bearing and distance, often with monument references, returning to close the parcel.

Riparian boundary

For non-navigable streams, the boundary commonly extends to the thread of the stream; navigable waters are generally held by the state for public use.

Horizontal distance formula

From slope distance and vertical angle, horizontal distance equals slope distance times the cosine of the vertical angle measured from horizontal.

Traverse angle closure

For a closed polygon traverse with n sides, the sum of interior angles should equal (n − 2) times 180 degrees; any difference is angular misclosure.

Compass rule adjustment

A traverse adjustment that distributes latitude and longitude corrections in proportion to each leg's length, correcting linear misclosure systematically around the traverse.

Differential leveling equation

Elevation difference between two points equals backsight rod reading minus foresight rod reading; summing backsights and foresights checks the level run.

RTK fixed solution

A real-time kinematic GNSS mode in which integer carrier-phase ambiguities are resolved, giving centimeter-level horizontal coordinates when satellite geometry and signal quality are good.

Systematic versus random error

Systematic errors follow a physical or instrumental cause and can be modeled or corrected; random errors are small unpredictable variations that can be reduced by repeated measurements.

Coordinate computation

Northing equals starting northing plus horizontal distance times cosine of azimuth; easting equals starting easting plus horizontal distance times sine of azimuth.

Geoid undulation relation

Orthometric height equals ellipsoid height minus geoid undulation; GNSS provides ellipsoid height, while leveling provides orthometric height above the geoid.

Combined factor

Grid distance equals ground distance multiplied by the combined factor, which is the product of the projection scale factor and the elevation factor.

Representative fraction

A unitless map scale ratio such as 1:24,000, meaning one unit on the map represents 24,000 of the same units on the ground.

Vector versus raster

Vector GIS stores points, lines, and polygons with attributes; raster GIS stores a grid of cells, each holding a value for a continuous or categorical surface.

NAD83 versus WGS84

NAD83 is a North American horizontal datum used for mapping and state plane coordinates; WGS84 is a global GNSS datum that differs from NAD83 by small amounts.

NAVD88 vertical datum

A national vertical datum based on geodetic leveling and gravity, used for orthometric elevations in the United States and referenced to a tide station network.

GIS parcel layer

A digital polygon layer showing parcel boundaries and attributes for mapping and administration; it is not a legal determination of boundary location unless based on authoritative records.

Horizontal curve tangent

For a circular horizontal curve, tangent length equals radius times the tangent of half the central deflection angle; it runs from the point of curvature or tangency to the point of intersection.

Horizontal curve external

For a circular horizontal curve, external distance equals radius times the quantity secant of half the deflection angle minus one, measured from the point of intersection to the curve midpoint.

Vertical curve K value

In vertical curve design, K equals curve length divided by the algebraic difference in grades in percent; K indicates the rate of elevation change per percent grade.

Percent grade

Grade in percent equals rise divided by horizontal run times one hundred; a 2.00 percent grade rises 2.00 feet per 100 feet of horizontal distance.

Average end area volume

Volume by average end area equals the distance between cross sections times the average of their end areas; it assumes a linear change between sections.

Cut and fill sign

Cut or fill equals existing ground elevation minus design elevation; a positive value indicates cut, and a negative value indicates fill at that point.