land-¹The solid part of the Earth’s surface not covered by water. ² A specific part of the Earth’s surface; country, region. ³ Ground or soil in terms of its quality and location; rich land, high land. ⁴ Ground considered as property; estate, specific holdings in land. ⁵ Rural or farming areas as distinguished from urban areas.

land, fast—Land inshore of the inner edge of a marsh; usually at or above the level of mean high water.

lands, restricted—Lands whose alienation is subject to restrictions imposed by Congress.

land, saline —Land with naturally occurring salt deposits. In early times salt was a necessary commodity. Salt spring lands were granted to fourteen states; others received none.

land, submerged—Lands covered by water at any stage of the tide, as distinguished from tidelands, which are attached to the mainland or an island, and cover and uncover with the tide. Tidelands presuppose a high-water line as the upper boundary; submerged lands do not.

land boundary—A line of demarcation between adjoining parcels of land. The land parcels may be of the same or of different ownership but distinguished at some time in the history of their descent by separate legal descriptions. A land boundary may be marked on the ground by material monuments placed primarily for the purpose, such as fences, hedges, ditches, roads, and other service structures along the line. They may also be defined by (a) astronomically described points and lines; (b) coordinates on a survey system whose position on the ground is witnessed by material monuments which are established without reference to the boundary line; (c) reference to adjoining present or previous owners; and (d) by various other methods.

land claim, private—A claim to a tract of land which is based on the assertion that title thereto was granted to the claimant or his predecessors in interest by a foreign government before the territory in which it is situated was acquired by the United States; also, the “land so claimed.”

land classification map—See map, land classification.

Land Court—A tribunal established for the purpose of administering legislative statutes relating to land boundaries and titles.

Land Department—Generalized term adopted in legal literature to denote the Secretary of the Interior, the Commissioner of the General Land Office, and currently the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, and their predecessors, together with subordinate officials, when acting in their capacity as administrators of the public land laws.

land description—See description, land.

land disposal—A transaction which leads to the transfer of title to public lands from the Federal Government.

land form—Features which, taken together, make up the surface of the Earth. These include plains, plateaus, and mountains and also such minor features as hills, valleys, slopes, canyons, arroyos, alluvial fans, river terraces, and glacial depositions. Most of these features are the consequence of erosion and resistance to erosion. The term covers all forms resulting from sedimentation and from movements within the crust of the Earth.

Land Information System (LIS)—¹A computer system comprising both hardware and software that handle the collection, storage, integration, manipulation, analysis and display of cadastral information, as well as land use and development. ² An analysis and problem solving tool for asking and answering questions relating to spatial phenomenon. Its function is facilitated by computer hardware, GIS software, and the technical expertise of the people involved. Formerly a Geographic Information System focused on Land Records information. See also geographic information system.

land mile—Statute mile (5,280 feet).

Land Office—A government office in which the entries upon, and sales public land are registered, and other business respecting the public lane is transacted.

land registration —See Torrens registration system.

LANDSAT—One of a series of satellites designed to transmit images of porno of the Earth\’s surface to stations on the ground and launched by the Nation Aeronautics and Space Administration. The swath width covers an area about 185 km. The first LANDSAT was launched in 1972.

land survey—See survey, land.

land surveying—See surveying, land.

land surveyor—See surveyor.

land-use control ordinance—See ordinance, land-use control.

land-use planning—Development of plans for short- and long-term us of land which will best serve the general welfare, as well as formulaic of ways and means for achieving such uses. At best, land-use planning involves cooperative, comprehensive long-term, regional planning for urban transportation, agriculture, institutional, industrial, recreational, at open-space land uses.

land warrant—A certificate from the land office, authorizing a person assume ownership of public land.

landmark—Any monument or material mark or fixed object used to designate the location of a land boundary on the ground. Any prominent object on land which can be used in determining a location or a direction.

landscape map—See map, landscape.

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Source: NSPS “Definitions of Surveying and Related Terms“, used with permission.

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