There are two aspects of map reading. Legal Land descriptions Some land east of the Mississippi and most all west of the Mississippi River can be identified by and located using a grid system that uses townships and ranges.
Townships run north and south and ranges east and west.
There are 36 sections in a township and 640 acres in a section. Divide a quarter of a sections into four more quarters and lavel them in the same order as you did in the preceding part. Any size of land may be determined and identifies by locating the large quarters in to equal smaller quarters. Writing Legal Land Descriptions Always write a legal land description in reverse order, starting with the largest area being identified first. This is usually the tier and the range.