plat—¹ A diagram drawn to scale showing all essential data pertaining to the boundaries and subdivisions of a tract of land, as determined by survey or protraction. A plat should show all the data required for a complete and accurate description of the land which it delineates, including the bearings (or azimuths) and lengths of the boundaries of each subdivision. A plat may constitute a legal description of the land and be used in lieu of a written description. ² [USPLS] The term plat, as employed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, refers to a drawing which represents the particular area included in a survey, such as a township, private land claim, or mineral claim, and the lines surveyed, established, retraced, or resurveyed, showing the direction and length of each line; the relation to the adjoining official surveys; the boundaries, descriptions, and area of each parcel of land subdivided; and, as nearly as may be practicable, a representation of the relief, and improvements within the limits of the survey. A public-land survey does not obtain complete official or legal status until the field notes and the plat have been approved by the appropriate supervising officer and accepted by the Director of the Bureau of Land Management.

plat, master tide—A plat of the new status records which specifies the survey data necessary to identify and describe public domain lands, as well as those actions which currently limit or restrict the use or availability of public lands and resources.

plat, ownership—A composite plat (at the wale of about thirty chain to one inch) of the new status records which specifies the survey tau necessary to identify and describe public domain lands, as well as thou actions and transactions which currently limit or restrict the use of public lands and resources.

plat, recorded—See plat, subdivision.

plat, right–of–way—A plan of a highway improvement showing the old and new highways and the right of way (or interest in lands) to be acquired.

plat, status—A plat providing information necessary to determine federal ownership, disposition, and use or availability of public lands and resources.

plat, subdivision—A map of a subdivision of land, usually prepared accordance with state plat statutes or local subdivision regulations, both.

plat, supplemental [USPLS]—A plat prepared entirely from office designed to show a revised subdivision of one or more sections with change in the section boundaries and without other modification of subsisting record. Supplemental plats are required where the subsisting plat fails to provide units suitable for administration or disposal, or where a modification is necessary. In addition, they are required to show the segregation of alienated lands from public lands, where the former are included in irregular surveys of patented mineral or other private claims made subsequent to the plat of the subsisting survey, or where the segregation of the claims was overlooked at the time of the approval of the subsisting plat.

plat, survey—A map on which land surveys are recorded at a scale of two inches to the mile. Each plat usually shows one township.

plat, use—A component of the new status records; a copy of the master title plat which shows, in addition to survey, ownership, and restrictive data those leases, licenses, and permits that are currently effective.

plat book—A public record specifying the location and size of plats recorded in a given municipality or county, as well as the names of their owners.

plat description—See description, plat.

plat statutes—Laws adopted by a state legislative body to govern the process of subdividing land. See also statute.

platting—The process of preparing a plat of a subdivision according to state plat statutes.

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

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