California Surveyors Forums

Is anyone aware of any legal descriptions of land (not condo space) written to bounds with high and low grade (vertical) references rather than horizontal ones (NSEW)?
I'm a surveyor working on a short article on a handful of 4000 year old descriptions with bounds called out, but not as we typically see today. Instead of "bounded on the north by the Smith parcel, on the east by a right of way, on the south ... and on the west.. etc," I understand the descriptions of the four sides to be based on "high" and "low" "lateral" and "main" grades as, for example, in the Imperial Valley. Since the parcels are all explicitly described as irrigated land, the lines had to follow grades parallel with and more or less normal to a sinewy river. Therefore I am proposing an interpretation for referencing adjoining parcels as "on the high side of the main grade, ... on the low side of the main grade... on the high side of the lateral grade... on the low side of the lateral grade." I suppose that this system was more useful for long narrow (1/2 mi) strips along either side of courses constantly changing with the river than cardinal directions more suitable for a large rectangular areas with more singularly oriented overall gradients.
I'm looking for any analogous example from any time or place.

Check Pallamary book on San Diego Surveying... and/or check with some San Diego Surveyors... I think boundaries around lake hodges, or city of SD boundary in the vicinity of lake hodges is an elevation contour.

Also, Caltrans boundary on Yerba Buena Island has both horizontal and vertical (elevation) limits.

ROb beat me to it.

I would add that there are a number of descriptions I've had to trace for properties around North County San Diego that were tied to an elevation. Usually they were above a certain elevation near a water supply reservoir.

I can remember one survey near the ostrich farm out near San Pasquale Road in Escondido that stayed below a certain elevation.

You've managed to raise my curiosity over your article. When and where will it likely be published?

BTW - private email to discuss would be welcomed...

.

The Granite Chief Wilderness Boundary description is full of calls to elevations. I had the truly amazing experience of trying to locate a portion of this boundary out at Hell Hole Reservoir. We needed to locate the 4,800' contour and follow it around the ridge to a 'small knoll'. Here's the description and a few glory shots from that project.

About 25 yrs ago as a chainman for NBS, I distinctly remember marking boundaries around Lake Hodges (between San Pasqual an I-15) based on contours and elevations. We set stakes marked "PL" with a level and 25ft rod

THREAD HIJACK WARNING! MFarrauto - How about submitting some of the nice pics you take to the CLSA Photo contest and the Cal Surveyor?

What timely and excellent responses! Thank you very much. I appreciate, will follow up on and will also mention in the article legal descriptions with courses controlled by contours and elevations. My real focus however is on a description by bounds with "upper" and "lower" with reference to grade instead of north, south, east or west.

As for where it will appear I will submit one for the Cal Surveyor if I can get a spin on it that works, and based on the interest I've seen here I think I can manage it. It must first be presented as a short paper and then appear where it will be more likely to be read and reviewed by Assyriologists.