Land Surveyors Dictionary

Z Terms

ZONE – The unit of division in State Plane Coordinate Systems created where state boundaries extend beyond limits imposed in the design of the projection system. Where the scale error between a geodetic distance and its grid representation exceeds 1 in 10,000 a state was usually divided into two or more zones. A new origin is used for each zone. See DANGER ZONE.

Zero - Zero degrees, minutes, and seconds. A perfect zero
Zenith is the direction pointing directly above a particular location (perpendicular, orthogonal). Since the concept of being above is itself somewhat vague, scientists define the zenith in more rigorous terms. Specifically, in astronomy, geophysics and related sciences (e.g., meteorology), the zenith at a given point is the local vertical direction pointing away from direction of the force of gravity at that location.
The zenith is used in the following scientific contexts:

• It serves as the direction of reference for measuring the zenith angle, which is the angular distance between a direction of interest (e.g., a star) and the local zenith, relative to the point for which the zenith is defined.
• It defines one of the axes of the horizontal coordinate system in astronomy.

Zeiss Instruments- a company founded by Carl Zeiss (September 11, 1816 – December 3, 1888) .Check out their home page here.  You may also be interested in checking out Calculation of glass properties - a significant contribution to the success of the companies Zeiss and Schott.


Zoning-a term used in urban planning for a system of land-use regulation in various parts of the world, including North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another. Zoning may be use-based (regulating the uses to which land may be put), or it may regulate building height, lot coverage, and similar characteristics, or some combination of these. [link Wikipedia]

Zmax.net- We've talked about the  surveying system from  quite a few times (link to manufacturer).