Land Surveyors Dictionary

I Terms

             IA  – Iowa.  See Iowa Land Surveyors
             IA (Land Status Records)  – Indian Allotment.
             IAS  – Indian Allotment Survey.
             IBID.  – An abbreviation for  “ibidem,”  a Latin term meaning  “in the same place,” “in the same book,” “on the same
               page,”  etc. It usually refers to an immediately preceding citation with an identical page reference. See ID.
             IBLA  – Interior Board of Land Appeals. See BOARD OF LAND APPEALS.
             IC (Land Status Records)  – Interim Conveyance.
             ID.  – Abbreviation for  “idem,”  a Latin term meaning  “the same.”  It indicates an immediately preceding citation but a
               different page reference. See IBID.
             ID  – Idaho.  See Idaho Land Surveyors
             ID (Land Status Records)  – Interior Decisions.
             IDEN (Land Status Records)  – Identify, Identification.
             ID EST  – That is. Commonly abbreviated  “i.e.”
             I.E.  – That is. The common abbreviation for the Latin  “id est.”
             IL  – Illinois.  See Illinois Land Surveyors
             IL (Land status Records)  – Indemnity list.
             ILL.  – Illinois.  See Illinois Land Surveyors
             INC (Land Status Records)  – Including, Inclusive.
             IN  – Indiana.  See Indiana Land Surveyors
             IND.  – Indiana. See Indiana Land Surveyors
             IND FEE (Land Status Records)  – Indian Fee.
             IND HD TR PAT (Land Status Records)  – Indian homestead trust patent.
             IND MER (Land Status Records)  – Indian Meridian.
             IND RES (Land Status Records)  – Indian Reservation.
             IND TR (Land Status Records)  – Indian Trust.
             INTPR (Land Status Records)  – Interpretation.
             IPS  – Iron Pipe Size. Also plural for Iron Post.
             IS (Land Status Records)  – Indemnity selection.
             IT (Land Status Records)  – Isolated tract.
             IMPERCEPTIBLE    – See Gradual & Imperceptible.
             INCHOATE   – Imperfect; partial; unfinished. Begun but not completed; as a contract not signed by all the parties or a
               wife’s interest in the lands of her husband during his life, which may become a right of dower upon his death. See
               DOWER.
             INCHOATE TITLE    – The beginning of a title or one not yet perfected into a legal title. When only a portion of the
               requirements for title has been completed, the title is  “inchoate.”
             INCORPOREAL PROPERTY       – That which cannot be seen or touched. Property, such as a right, which exists only in
               contemplation, as distinguished from corporeal property which has a material existence and which may be seen and
               touched. See CORPOREAL.
             INCREMENT BORER      – Sometimes called increment boring tool, it is a tool used to cut a plug from a tree to permit a
               count of the growth rings in determining the age of the tree.
             INDEMNITY LANDS     – Alternate lands granted to states under the public land laws when granted lands were
               unavailable. See INDEMNITY LIMITS, SCHOOL-LAND INDEMNITY SELECTION and LIEU LANDS.
             INDEMNITY LIMITS    – In railroad and wagon road grants, the strips of land lying within a specified distance on each
               side of, and adjacent to, the primary limits, within which the grantee could make lieu selections for lands lost to the
               grantee in the primary limits; also, the outside boundaries of these strips. See RAILROAD LIEU SELECTION.
             INDEMNITY SCHOOL SELECTION        – See SCHOOL-LAND INDEMNITY SELECTION.
             INDEMNITY SELECTION      – See LIEU SELECTION.
             INDENTURE   – In conveyancing, formal written instrument made between two or more persons; the name is derived
               from the ancient practice of indenting or cutting the deed in a waving or saw-tooth line. In this way a part could be
               proved genuine by the way in which it fit into the angles cut into the other part.
             INDEPENDENT RESURVEY       – An official rerunning and remarking intended to supersede the records of the original
               survey and establish new section lines and subdivisions on public lands only. Any patented lands involved must be
               identified and segregated according to the original survey. Only remaining areas of the public lands may be
               resurveyed without regard to the original survey. See DEPENDENT RESURVEY and RESURVEY.
             INDEX CORRECTION     – 1) As used in the resurvey of the public lands, an average error in the lines of the original
               survey. The average error in the lines of an original survey (if conclusive) may be in alinement, or measurement, or
               both. 2) A correction applied to a reading to compensate for displacement of the zero mark.
             INDIAN ALLOTMENT     – An allocation of a parcel of public lands or Indian reservation lands to an Indian for his
               individual use; also, the lands so allocated.
             INDIAN CLAIMS COMMISSION ACT       – The act of Aug. 13, 1946, under which Indian claims to land based upon
               fair and honorable dealings that are not recognized by any existing rule of law or equity may be submitted to the
               Commission with right of judicial review by the United States Court of Claims.
             INDIAN EXCHANGE     – See INDIAN RESERVATION EXCHANGE.
             INDIAN FEE PATENT    – An Indian patent which conveys fee title.
             INDIAN HOMESTEAD ENTRY       – A homestead entry which is made by an Indian.
             INDIAN LANDS   – See CEDED INDIAN LANDS and INDIAN RESERVATION.
             INDIAN MERIDIAN    – The principal meridian which governs surveys in all of Oklahoma except the “panhandle;” it
               was adopted in 1870.
             INDIAN PATENT   – A patent which is issued to an Indian.
             INDIAN POWER RESERVE      – A power-site reserve within an Indian reservation.
             INDIAN PUEBLO    – An Indian reservation for the Pueblo Indians in New Mexico.
             INDIAN PUEBLO ENTRY     – A claim by a non-Indian for a patent to land within an Indian pueblo.
             INDIAN RESERVATION     – Lands reserved for the use of native Indians and, in Alaska, for Aleuts and Eskimos.
             INDIAN RESERVATION EXCHANGE        – An exchange whereby the Federal Government receives title to lands
               within an Indian reservation.
             INDIAN TRUST PATENT     – An Indian patent which is issued with the condition that title to the land remains for a
               specified period of time in the United States in trust for the patentee.
             INDICATED CORNER     – A term adopted by the USGS to designate a corner of the public land surveys whose
               location cannot be verified by the criteria necessary to class it as a found or existent corner, but which is accepted
               locally as the correct corner and whose location is perpetuated by such marks as fence-line intersections, piles of
               rock, and states or pipes driven into the ground, which have been recovered by field investigation. See
               OBLITERATED CORNER.
             INDIRECT MEASUREMENT       – Determination of a distance using a method, i.e., triangulation or traverse, which
               employs both direct measurement and calculation. Also, determination of distance by use of photogrammetry, or
               timed travel of light or sound waves. See DIRECT MEASUREMENT.
             INDIVIDUAL LIEU SELECTION, RAILROAD       – See RAILROAD LIEU SELECTION.
             IN FEE  – Ownership in land. See FEE SIMPLE.
             INFORMATIVE TRAVERSE       – A survey made to obtain topographic data or to define the present river bank in front
               of patented lands. In the second case the informative traverse is used to apportion the lands formed by accretion to
               the public lands.
             INFRA  – Below. Under. When used in text it refers to matter in a later part of the publication. See SUPRA, OP. CIT.
               SUPRA.
             INGRESS  – The right to enter a tract of land. In the law of riparian rights, the right of return to his land from navigable
               water which a riparian owner enjoys. See ACCESS, EGRESS, INGRESS.
             INGRESS, EGRESS AND REGRESS      – These words express the right of a lessee to enter, go upon, and return from
               the lands in question. See ACCESS, EGRESS and INGRESS.
             INITIAL MONUMENT     – A physical structure which marks the location of an initial point in the rectangular system
               of surveys. See INITIAL POINT.
             INITIAL POINT  – A point which is established under the rectangular system of surveys and from which is initiated
               the cadastral survey of the principal meridian and base line that controls the cadastral survey of the public lands
               within a given area. See PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, BASE LINE, RECTANGULAR SYSTEM OF SURVEYS and
               INITIAL MONUMENT.
             INITIAL POINT OF A METES AND BOUNDS SURVEY        – Also called  “beginning point.”  In a survey such as the
               survey of the boundaries of an Indian reservation, each angle point is monumented and assigned a number. The
               numbers are in series with number 1 at the initial point.
             INITIAL POINT, PUBLIC LAND SURVEYS WITHOUT        – There are eight public-land surveys, seven in Ohio and
               one in Indiana, which have no initial point as origin for township and range numbers. They are: The Ohio River
               Survey, started in 1785, in which townships are numbered North from the Ohio River and ranges are numbered
               West from the west boundary of Pennsylvania; The U.S. Military Survey, started in 1797, in which townships are
               numbered North from the south boundary of the military grant and ranges are numbered West from the west
               boundary of the Seven Ranges; The West of the Great Miami, started in 1798, in which townships are numbered
               North from the Great Miami River and the ranges are numbered East from the Ohio-Indiana boundary; The Ohio
               River Base (Indiana), started in 1799, in which the townships are numbered North from the Ohio River and the
               ranges are numbered from the Ohio-Indiana boundary and its projection south; The Scioto River Base, started in
               1799, in which the townships are numbered North from the Scioto River and the ranges are numbered West from the
               west boundary of Pennsylvania; The Muskingum River Survey, started in 1800, in which the townships are
               numbered 1 and 2 and the range in number 10; The Between the Miamis, north of Symmes Purchase, started in
               1802, in which the townships are numbered EAST from the Great Miami River and the ranges are numbered
               NORTH from the Ohio River (as a continuation of the numbering of Symmes Purchase) and the Twelve-Mile-
               Square Reserve, started in 1805, in which the townships are numbered 1,2,3 and 4 and there is no range number.
             INLAND WATERS     – Such waters as canals, lakes, rivers, watercourses, inlets and bays, exclusive of the open sea,
               though the water in question may open or empty into the ocean.
             IN PRAESENTI   – At the present time. The Swamp Lands Act of 1850 is an example of a grant taking effect  in
               praesenti , that is, on the date of the passage of the act.
             INSTRUMENT    – An angle measuring device such as a compass, transit or theodolite. See INSTRUMENT, LEGAL.
             INSTRUMENT, LEGAL     – A written document. A formal or legal document in writing, such as a contract, deed,
               lease, will, bond or other writing of a formal or solemn character, such as a document given as a means of affording
               evidence. See DOCUMENT.
             INTEREST   – As applied to lands,  “interest”  means any direct or indirect ownership in whole or in part of the lands
               and resources of the lands. It includes any participation in the earnings therefrom, or the right to occupy or use the
               property or to take any benefits therefrom based upon lease or rental agreements, or upon any formal of informal
               contract with a person who has such an interest. It includes membership in a firm, or ownership of stock or other
               securities in a corporation which has such an interest.
             INTERIOR ANGLE*.
             INTERIOR BOARD OF LAND APPEALS       – See BOARD OF LAND APPEALS.
             INTERIOR DECISIONS    – Decisions of the Department of the Interior. Prior to 1932 these decisions were called
               “Land Decisions”  and included volumes 1 thru 52. Since 1932 they have been published and referred to as  “Interior
               Decisions,”  and are cited thus: 60 I.D. 85. See LAND DECISIONS and BOARD OF LAND APPEALS.
             INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT GRANT         – A grant made to aid in the construction of roads, canals, railroads, or for
               other public improvements.
             INTERPRETATION OF PLAT      – Deductions which are based on symbols, bearings, areas and dates of approval
               shown on plats and which are used to determine the probable intention when information is missing or ambiguous,
               or when data shown on various plats needs clarification. See PROTECT THE PLAT.
             INTERROGATORIES     – A set or series of questions drawn up in writing for the purpose of being propounded to a
               party in equity, a garnishee, or a witness whose testimony is taken on deposition. In taking evidence on depositions,
               the interrogatories are usually prepared and settled by counsel, and reduced to writing prior to the examination. See
               DEPOSITION.
             INTERSECTION    – 1) The method of establishing the legal center of section and the centers of the various quarter
               sections. 2) The point at which a survey line passes through an object, such as a tree. 3) The point of crossing of two
               or more survey lines with each other, usually a junior line crossing a senior line. 4) The legal point of closing where
               a junior line closes on a senior (fixed) line. 5) The confluence of two or more streams of water. 6) The cutting or
               crossing in any combination of straight lines, curves, or semitangents to curves. 7) Area where two streets or roads
               intersect, generally including the space enclosed by the right-of-way lines as extended plus any transition curved
               boundaries. See LINE TREE, JUNIOR LINE, SENIOR LINE, INTERSECTION* AND CONFLUENCE*.
             INTESTATE   – Without making a will. A person is said to die  “intestate”  when he dies without leaving a valid will to
               testify what his wishes were with respect to the disposal of his property after his death. The word is also used to
               signify the person himself, as  “the intestate’s property.”
             INTRALIMITAL RIGHTS     – In mining, rights extending downward within the limits of the claim to center of the
               earth. All surface rights and everything within the limits of his intralimital rights, except the extralateral rights
           &nnbsp;   attached to other veins apexing in another’s claim, belong to the owner of the claim. There are no rights to explore in
               another’s land or to approach the vein from any location other than the vein itself. If veins intersect, all the ore
               within the intersection belongs to the senior claimant, but a right of way through the intersection is assured. See
               EXTRALATERAL RIGHTS.
             INURE  – To take effect; to result. Provide service to the use or benefit of a person.
             INVESTIGATIVE SURVEY     – A preliminary survey made to determine the physical condition of existing Cadastral
               Survey evidence.
             IPSO FACTO   – By the mere fact itself.
             IPSO JURE  – By the law itself; by the mere operation of the law.
             IRON POST  – The iron post adopted by BLM for monumenting the surveys of the public lands evolved after passage
               of the 1908 act which provided for the purchase of the 1908 act which provided for the purchase of metal
               monuments to be used for public-land survey corners wherever practicable. Specifications for the brass-capped
               survey marker call for zinc-coated pipe cut to 30-inch lengths. One end of the pipe is split and the two halves are
               spread to form flanges. The dimension from the top of the pipe to the top of the brass cap is from � to � inch. The
               measurement from tip to tip of the flanges is specified at 4� inches. The measurement from the foot of the flange to
               the top of the marker is 28 inches, more or less. The inside diameter of the pipe is 2 inches. The weight is
               approximately 9 pounds. The words  “U.S. DEPT. OF THE INTERIOR BUR. OF LAND MANAGEMENT –
               UNLAWFUL TO DISTRUB – CADASTRAL SURVEY”      and (at least for the next several years), the numerals “19,”
               are cast into the brass cap.
             IRREGULAR    – As applied to units of the rectangular system, exceeding the rectangular limits.
             IRREGULAR BOUNDARY       – Township or section lines not originally established as straight lines or which a
               retracement reveals as not having been surveyed as a straight line. See IRREGULAR BOUNDARY
               ADJUSTMENT.
             IRREGULAR BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT          – A modified form of single proportionate measurement used in
               restoring some lost corners. Sometimes considered as a Broken Boundary Adjustment. See IRREGULAR
               BOUNDARY, BROKEN BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT and ADJUSTMENT*.
             IRREGULAR SECTION     – A section having two or more adjacent boundaries, as returned on the original survey, that
               are not within 0� 21’ of cardinal or exceed 25 links from 40 chains in measurement.
             ISLAND  – A body of land extending above and completely surrounded by water at ordinary high water. See
               ORDINARY HIGH WATER and ISLAND*.
             ISOLATED TRACT    – a parcel of vacant public lands, not exceeding *1,520 acres, which is surrounded by
               appropriated lands.