CSLB Professional Challenge: Cadastral Law key terms

The north-south reference line established by the original federal survey from which range lines are counted east and west; California uses several, including Mount Diablo, Humboldt, and San Bernardino.

The east-west reference line established by the original federal survey from which township lines are counted north and south along a principal meridian.

A roughly six-mile-square unit of the public land survey, containing 36 sections and identified by its position north or south of the base line.

A north-south column of townships, one township wide, counted east or west from the principal meridian; a number and direction identify the column.

A nominal one-mile-square unit of a township, containing 640 acres, numbered 1 through 36 in a zigzag pattern beginning at the northeast corner.

A fractional portion of a section created by repeated halving, such as the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter, which can be located without a metes-and-bounds description.

A section or quarter-section corner whose original monument cannot be found and whose position cannot be proven by acceptable evidence, so it must be reestablished by proportion.

A restoration technique that places a lost corner by comparing original recorded distances with distances measured between the nearest surviving corners, preserving the original proportions.

A physical object on the ground, whether natural or man-made, that marks a boundary point and controls over written bearings, distances, and areas when they conflict.

A landmark created by nature, such as a river, lake, ridge, or tree, called for in a description; it generally outranks artificial monuments and all written calls.

The order used to settle conflicting description calls: natural monuments first, then artificial monuments, then courses and distances, then area, with the parties' intent controlling.

The written bearing and length of a boundary line in a deed; these calls give way to monuments when the two do not agree.

The first official survey of a tract, such as the federal government survey, whose corners and field notes are accepted as conclusive proof of the boundaries created.

Any survey made after the original, which is bound to honor the original corners and cannot move boundaries that the original survey established.

A line run along a bank or shore to calculate the area of adjoining upland; it is not a boundary and does not limit the land conveyed along the water.

The slow, imperceptible build-up of land along a water boundary by natural deposit, which belongs to the upland owner without any new deed.

Land left dry when water permanently and gradually recedes, which generally belongs to the adjoining upland owner rather than the state.

A sudden or perceptible change in a stream or shoreline, such as a flood cutting a new channel, which leaves the property boundary where it was.

The rights of an owner whose land touches a river or stream, including reasonable use of the water and access to it, regulated by state law.

The rights of an owner whose land borders a lake, bay, or ocean, mainly concerning access to and use of the shore and the water.

The elevation on a shore that water reaches under ordinary conditions, generally used to separate state-owned submerged land from private upland.

A description that traces a parcel's boundary by bearings, distances, and calls to monuments or adjoiners, beginning at a stated point of beginning.

A description is patently ambiguous when the uncertainty shows on its face, and latently ambiguous when it appears only after the words are applied to the ground.

A court remedy that rewrites a deed to match what the parties actually agreed to when a mutual mistake or clerical error misstated the transaction.

The connected series of recorded deeds and other instruments by which a parcel passed from one owner to the next, used to confirm present ownership.

A right held by one person to use another's land for a limited purpose, such as access or utilities, without owning or occupying the ground.

An easement attached to a dominant parcel that benefits whoever owns that parcel and passes automatically when the parcel is sold.

A right to travel over land owned by another, often held by the public or a utility; the fee under the roadway stays with the owner unless conveyed.

A physical intrusion of a building, fence, or other improvement onto a neighbor's land without legal right, which can be removed or resolved by agreement.

A doctrine that can give title to a person who openly, notoriously, hostilely, and continuously occupies another's land for the statutory period, such as five years in California.

Acquisition of an easement, rather than ownership, through open and adverse use of another's land for the statutory period, commonly five years in California.

An agreement between adjoining owners that fixes a boundary of uncertain location; once performed, it binds the parties and later owners of the same land.

A lawsuit asking a court to declare who owns a parcel and to remove competing claims or clouds on the title.

A map filed with the county recorder by a licensed surveyor showing field measurements, monuments found or set, and any conflict with the recorded description.

A document filed with the county surveyor that records the establishment, reestablishment, or destruction of a public land survey corner.

A local agency process that moves a boundary between two or more existing parcels without creating new lots, typically followed by new deeds.

California's law governing land division, requiring tentative and final maps and setting standards for design, dedications, and improvements.

The skill and care a reasonably prudent surveyor practicing in the same area would use under similar conditions; it is the measure of professional negligence.

A circumstance where a surveyor's personal or financial interest could improperly influence professional judgment, such as surveying property the surveyor hopes to buy.

Opinion evidence a licensed surveyor gives in a boundary dispute, explaining field evidence, records, and the reasoning that supports a proposed boundary location.