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The DLS SystemUnderstanding the Dominion Land Surveys system. The Dominion Lands Surveys (DLS) System is the standard used for property descriptions in Western Canada. When you see a location with a description such as 13-23-6W4M, it can be a bit confusing at first but with the following information you should be able to sort them out. Extents of the DLS SystemSurveys were begun in 1870 and originated at the Principal Meridian (W97°27'28.4") proceeding westward. Additional meridians were established at W102°, W106°, W110°, W114°, W118°, and W122° and named the second meridian, third meridian, etc.
Townships and RangesThe DLS Grid consists of Townships running east
to west and Ranges running north to south. Townships and Ranges
are about six miles wide. Townships are numbered starting at
Township 1, which lies next to the Canada-US border (N49°), and
increasing to the north. Ranges are numbered starting at Range 1,
which lies next to the meridian, and increasing west. Range
numbers reset to 1 at each meridian. Since the distance between
meridians varies, the township immediately to the east of a meridian
may be partial as shown in the following figure.
The parcel of land which falls between two township lines and two range lines is also referred to as a Township. Any township may be described using the common numbering system, thus, the shaded township in the above figure would be referred to as Tp 3 Rg 2 West of the Fourth Meridian or 003-02W4.
SectionsTownships are further divided into sections, which are about one mile square. The 36 sections in a township are numbered as shown in the following figure.
Following the convention for Township numbering, the shaded section in the above diagram would be referred to as Sec 21 Tp33 Rg 13 West of the Fourth Meridian, or 21-33-13W4.
Quartersections and Legal Subdivisions
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