An individual township is identified by its number north or south of the base line, followed by its number east or west of the principal meridian. Township 8 North, Range 19 East, of the Fifth Principal Meridian. There are 25 regular sections that are 1 square mile and 11 sections along the north and west borders that absorb the differences due to convergence and any errors due to the survey. Section 16 was originally set aside for school purposes, with the schoolhouse originally located in this section so it would be centrally located. The section is the basic unit of the public lands system.
Land often needs to be divided in smaller parcels.
The BLM provides guidelines for the proper way to subdivide a section, but these surveys are done by local surveyors as needed. Sections are subdivided into quarter sections, quarter sections are subdivided into quarter-quarter sections, etc. R 5 W, Ute Prin. You should be able to determine the approximate area of each area, based on 640 acres per square mile. There are specific guidelines for conducting a public land survey including the order of lines and points to be established and the required accuracy of lines and points.