• One Acre of land contains 43,560 square feet and can be described as a square 208.5 feet on a side.
• Surveyors frequently refer to the maps that they produce as "Plats".
• Surveyors are required by state law to take 15 hours of continuing education each year.

• 1 pole = 16.5 feet
• 1 chain = 66.0 feet
• 1 link = 0.66 feet

North Orientation

I am frequently asked the question, "If you know where this corner is, why can't you just follow the bearing and distance to replace the missing one over there?"

The bearings on your map or deed may not be referenced to true north; many older deeds are not (although there are exceptions). Many old deeds were simply referenced to magnetic north at the time of the original survey (magnetic north varies over time); others may be tied to an old recorded plat. In recent years, more surveys are tied to True North by solar observation, calculations from state grid monuments, or Polaris observation. Recent changes in state laws require that any new boundary survey done in North Carolina must be tied to state grid monuments if any exist within 2000 feet of the survey (with some qualifications); as a result, more surveys done in the western counties of North Carolina in recent years are tied to N.C. Grid North.