U Terms
UA (Land Status Records) – Unit Agreement.
UINTAH SPEC MER (Land Status Records) – Uintah Special Meridian.
UNAPPROP (Land Status Records) – Unappropriated.
UNDET (Land Status Records) – Undermined.
UNDGD (Land Status Records) – Underground.
UNSUR (Land Status Records) – Unsurveyed.
UR (Land Status Records) – Uranium.
USAF (Land Status Records) – United States Air Force.
USC (Land Status Records) – United States Code.
U.S.C.A. – United States Code Annotated.
USC & GS – United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.
USC SUPP – Supplement to U.S. Code.
USDA – United States Department of Agriculture.
USFS – United States Forest Service.
USGS (Land Status Records) – United States Geological Survey.
USLM - United States Location Monument.
USMM – United States Mineral Monument. The term was formerly used when a monument was established in
connection with a mineral survey; it is seen in older field notes and on monuments established prior to its
discontinuation, though the preferred term is now Location Monument. See LOCATION MONUMENT, USLM.
USMS – United States Mineral Survey.
USS (Land Status Records) – United States Survey.
U.S.ST. at L. – United States Statutes at Large. Also sometimes U.S. Stats.
UT – Utah.
UTE MER (Land Status Records) – Ute Meridian.
UTM – Universal Transverse Mercator.
UNAPPROPRIATED PUBLIC LANDS – See VACANT AND UNAPPROPRIATED PUBLIC DOMAIN LANDS.
UNAPPROVED SURVEY – A cadastral survey which has not, for whatever reason, reached the status of an accepted
survey. See ACCEPTED SURVEY.
UINTAH SPECIAL MERIDIAN – The Uintah Meridian governs surveys in a small part of Utah. It was adopted in
1875.
UMIAT MERIDIAN – The principal meridian governing surveys in the northern part of Alaska. It was adopted in
1956.
UNITED STATES CODE – A compilation, under 50 subjects, or titles, of the general and permanent laws of the
United States in force as of an indicated date. Most of the statutes governing the operations of the Bureau of Land
Management appear in Title 43, “Public Lands,” and title 30, “Mineral Lands and Mining.” Many laws relating to
Alaska are found in Title 48, “Territories and Insular Possessions.”
UNITED STATES COURTS OF APPEALS – Sometimes U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals. The middle level of the
federal judicial hierarchy. There is one such court in each of the 11 judicial circuits into which the United States is
divided. As the name indicates, the jurisdiction is exclusively appellate; they have no original jurisdiction. In cases
where a court of appeals has held a State statute invalid because of repugnancy to the Constitution or a law or treaty
of the United States, an appeal may be taken to the Supreme Court. In all other cases its decisions are final except as
they may be reviewed by the Supreme Court at the latter’s discretion. See UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTS
and SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTS – The lowest level of the federal judicial hierarchy, whose jurisdiction may
include a whole state or only part of it. No “district ” crosses state boundaries. These are the only Federal courts
where juries are used. They have no appellate jurisdiction; District courts have original jurisdiction of civil cases at
common law, in equity, in admiralty, in the enforcement of Acts of Congress and of all prosecutions for crime
recognized under the authority of the United States. See UNITED STATES COURTS OF APPEALS and
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES.
UNITED STATES LOCATION MONUMENT – When a U.S. Survey or a Mineral Survey is situated in an area
where there are no corners of the public land surveys and no other monuments within two miles, a “location
monument” is established for permanent reference of the surveys in that vicinity. Similar monuments were formerly
designated United States Mineral Monuments.
UNITED STATES MINERAL MONUMENT – A term formerly used. See UNITED STATES LOCATION
MONUMENT.
UNITED STATES STATUTES AT LARGE – Laws passed during each session of Congress are, at the end of the
session, printed in a bound volume entitled United States Statutes at Large. The public laws and private laws are
printed in separate sections. Within each section the laws are arranged chronologically by the date of their approval.
When cited, the volume number should precede the abbreviation, Stat., and the page of the volume on which the
statute appears should follow it. For example, 17 Stat. 91 is a citation to a statute which may be found on page 91 of
Volume 17 of the Statutes at Large.
UNITED STATES SUPERVISOR OF SURVEYS – An officer in charge of the survey of the public lands from 1910
until 1946. See SURVEYOR GENERAL, CADASTRAL ENGINEERING STAFF OFFICER and CHIEF,
DIVISION OF CADASTRAL SURVEYS.
UNIVERSAL TRANSVERSE MERCATOR PROJECTION – A special case of the transverse Mercator projection.
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Abbreviated as the UTM grid, it consists of 60 north-south zones, each 6 wide in longitude.
UNORGANIZED MINING DISTRICT – Where land office forms, or other forms, have a space to indicate “Mining
District” and there is, in fact, no organized mining district, the form is completed by writing the words,
“unorganized mining district.” See ORGANIZED MINING DISTRICT and MINERAL DISTRICT.
UNPERFECTED ENTRY – See ENTRY UNPERFECTED.
UNRECORDED DEED – A conveyance of title not registered or recorded according to state statutes.
UNRESERVED PUBLIC LANDS – Public lands which have not been withdrawn or reserved for general purposes.
The public lands which are not affected by a general order of withdrawal, by a mineral withdrawal for classification,
or by inclusion within a grazing district under the Taylor Grazing Act, are considered unreserved public lands since
they are subject to classification and disposal.
UNSURVEYED LANDS – Lands not yet surveyed. Fractional section surveys, for example, leave unsurveyed land
within a section. The land is known to exist, but the survey has either not yet been authorized or has not yet, for
whatever reason, been completed. See COMPLETION SURVEY.
UPLANDS – 1) Land situated above ordinary high water. 2) Land situated above riparian land or land adjacent to
riparian areas but remote from the body of water and having no riparian rights. See ORDINARY HIGH WATER.
URBAN DISTRICTS – Thickly settled areas (whether in cities or suburbs) or areas where congested traffic often
occurs. A highway, even though in the country, on which the traffic is often very heavy, is considered to be urban.
URBAN SUBDIVISION – A division of property into two or more parcels, usually with street dedications, performed
and recorded by a surveyor according to state law and local regulations.
USE PLAT – A copy of the master title plat and any supplemental master title plats of a township. Use plats show, in
addition to the status shown on the master title plat, information concerning use of the lands, such as applications,
leases and permits. See MASTER TITLE PLAT and SUPPLEMENTAL MASTER TITLE PLAT.
U.S. SURVEY – A metes and bounds survey executed to comply with one of various regulations for entry of Public
Lands.
USQUE AD FILUM AQUAE (OR VIAE ) – Up to the middle of the stream (or road).
UTE MERIDIAN – The principal meridian governing surveys in a small area in Colorado; it was adopted in 1880.
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