Surveying is the art and science that determines the dimensional relationships between physical features, natural and artificial, on, below, or above the Earth's surface. This is done by measuring directions or angles and distance between points. Surveying is the first step in the making of plats and maps for location and of charts for air and marine navigation (Gagrow, 1964).
Four principal types of surveys include (1) land surveys, (2) engineering surveys, (3) geodetic surveys, and (4) cartographic surveys. Cartographic surveys include geodetic control surveys, topographic feature surveys, and hydrographic feature surveys, plus various specialty surveys, including air surveys, to compile any necessary thematic data for a specific map or chart. Geodetic surveys take into account the size and shape of the Earth and establish the basic horizontal and vertical control points, or stations and benchmarks, of known elevation above sea level (see Satellite Geodesy and Geodynamics). These...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Congress on Surveying and Mapping Staff, 1961, Index to Surveying and Mapping, 20 vols. (1941–1960). Falls Church, Va.
Joint American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, American Society of Civil Engineers Staff, 1972 Definitions of Surveying and Associated Terms. Falls Church, Va.: American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, 210 p.
American Society of Civil Engineers, Manuals of Engineering Practice (e.g., Technical Procedure for City Survey, Manual 10; Definition of Surveying Terms, Manual 15; Land Subdivision, Manual 16; Horizontal Control Surveys to Supplement the Fundamental Net, Manual 20). New York: American Society of Civil Engineers.
Boldov, V. G., and V. P. Selifanov, 1963, Scientific and technical information in geodesy and cartography, Geodesy and Aerophotography 5, 305–307 (trans, from Russian).
Bomford, B. G., 1952, Geodesy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 405 p.
Bowditch, N., 1958, American Practical Navigator. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office, 1, 524 p.
Breed, C. B., and G. L. Hosmer, 1966, Surveying. New York: Wiley, 1, 331 p.
Brown, C. M., and W. H. Eldridge, 1962, Evidence and Procedure for Boundary Location. New York: Wiley, 480 p.
Clark, F. E., 1959, Clark on Surveying and Boundaries. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1, 029 p.
Dowson, E., and V. L. O. Shepard, 1952, Land Registration. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 211 p.
Eldridge, W. H., 1962, Bibliographies on surveying in the U.S.A., Surveying and Mapping 22, 2–6.
Eldrige, W. H., 1965. Current activities in America in surveying literature, Surveying and Mapping 25, 242–243.
Eller, R. C., ed., 1963, Bibliography of Property Surveying Literature. Falls Church, Va.: American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, 142 p.
Fédération Internationale Géomètre (International Federation of Surveyors) Staff, 1963, Dictionaire Multilingue. Amsterdam: Argus, 500 p.
Gagrow, L., 1964, History of Cartography. London: Watts, 312 p.
Griffith, S. V., 1962, Surveying and mapping in the U.S.A., Surveying and Mapping 22, 10–21.
Karo, H. A., 1964, Progress in international cartography, Surveying and Mapping 24, 401–410.
Kiely, E. R., 1947, Surveying Instruments-History and Classroom Use. New York: Columbia University Press, 400 p.
McNair, A. J., 1964, Professional status of surveying Europe and the United States, Surveying and Mapping 24, 435–442.
Middleton, R. E., and O. Chadwick, 1956, Treatise on Surveying, 2 vols. London: Philosophical Library.
Rayner, W. H., and M. O. Schmidt, 1963, Surveying. New York: Van Nostrand, 530 p.
Roelofs, R., 1950, Astronomy Applied to Land Surveying. Amsterdam: Ahrend and Zoon, 259 p.
Shalowitz, A. L., 1962, Shore and Sea Boundaries, 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Printing Office, 1, 168 p.
Skelton, R. H., 1930, Boundaries and Adjacent Properties. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 580 p.
Tennessee Valley Authority Staff, 1951, Surveying, mapping, and related engineering, Tennessee Valley Authority Tech. Rept. 23, 415 p.
Authored by experts of the National Geodetic Survey, The new adjustment of the North American Horizontal Datum (a series of twenty-five articles) ACSM Bull., August 1975 (No. 50) through November 1981 (No. 75).
Cross-references
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1988 Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Dix, W.S. (1988). Surveying, general . In: General Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30844-X_109
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30844-X_109
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-442-22499-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-30844-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive