Each section contains 640 acres.
Correction lines occur periodically in order to allow for the curvature of the Earth.
Because the Canadian survey system added the distances required for road allowances within the township and the number of roads in each township varies, townships are not exactly six square miles. People were not interested in moving west. The construction of the railway through the southern prairies encouraged settlers, but did not significantly increase the speed with which settlement was occurring. The settlers that did come were required to develop agricultural techniques suitable to the operation of their new homesteads. The building of the railway allowed agricultural implements and supplies to be shipped west.