California
Geographic Services & Cadastral Survey
Your observations are to be taken with great pains and accuracy, to be entered distinctly and intelligibly for others as well as yourself to comprehend all the elements necessary, with the aid of the usual tables, to fix the latitude and longitude of the places at which they were taken - Thomas Jefferson
Responsible for the surveys of and mapping of federal lands within California, cadastral surveying remains the oldest BLM program. It is the process of defining land ownership descriptions for title transfer by establishing and monumenting on the ground their record locations. A legal requirement since 1785, these surveys form the framework for all land title (public and private) for the United States.
Cadastral Field Survey
The land surveyors in California are located in field stations and units throughout the state. These offices are staffed by professional land surveyors and technicians, whose responsiblity is to perfom surveys and resurveys, of the Public Land Survey System.
Inquires can be directed to Jim Mccavitt Field Section Supervisor.
Cadastral Support and Records
Mission: "To efficiently provide accurate information, support, and services to those who use, manage, or have an interest in the public lands".
Responsible for the protection, distribution, and sales of survey records made by the General Land Office( GLO) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) throughout California.
Inquires can be directed to : Gary Catledge
Geographic Coordinate Data Base(GCDB) and Mapping Sciences
BLM is building an automated Land Information System(LIS) for improved public land management. The common reference system for LIS is the Geographic Coodinate Data base (GCDB). GCDB is a collection of geographic information representing the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) of the United States. The GCDB grid is computed from BLM survey records (official plats and field notes), local survey records, and geodetic control information.
Mapping Sciences
The Geographic Sciences team mission is to provide accurate and relevant geographic information and graphic presentations to meet the specific needs of our clients.
Services Provided by Mapping Sciences include aerial photographs, quadrangle maps, Land Status/Title research ,Graphics/Web applications, Layout and Design ,Illustrations, GIS Applications, Programing, Training and Technical Assistance Surface, Subsurface, Land Status Geographic Names, GIS Maintenance, Manual/Automated Mapping Review Wilderness Maps, and Legal Descriptions.
Links
GeoCommunicator - search, access, and map data for federal land stewardship, land survey information, and land & mineral use records from BLM's LR2000.
National Site - Washington office Cadastral site.
Manual of Surveying Instructions - Searchable html version. Pages seperated by sections.
Manual of Surveying Instructions - PDF format -Posted by the Arizona Branch of Cadastral Survey. Opens in a new window.
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