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122-512: The acronym PLSS may refer to: Public Land Survey System , a method used in the United States to survey and identify land parcels Primary Life Support System , the life-support backpack of a space suit Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title PLSS . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

244-408: A 10-mile (16 km) range of one square mile sections was allotted on each side of the 400-foot (120 m) right-of-way. If the railway ran predominantly north and south, a 10-mile (16 km) township of one square mile sections was allotted on each side of the 400-foot (120 m) right-of-way. The land was granted in alternating sections (one square mile), with each odd numbered section going to

366-448: A coastline is impossible to measure exactly . Canada borders approximately 5,200 miles (8,400 km) of coastline, while the remaining 5,300 miles (8,500 km) are bordered by the United States. Michigan has the longest shoreline of the United States, bordering roughly 3,288 miles (5,292 km) of lakes, followed by Wisconsin (820 miles (1,320 km)), New York (473 miles (761 km)), and Ohio (312 miles (502 km)). Traversing

488-533: A large watershed via many rivers and contain approximately 35,000 islands. There are also several thousand smaller lakes, often called "inland lakes", within the basin. The surface area of the five primary lakes combined is roughly equal to the size of the United Kingdom, while the surface area of the entire basin (the lakes and the land they drain) is about the size of the UK and France combined. Lake Michigan

610-594: A nation of " yeoman farmers", the PLSS began shortly after the American Revolutionary War , when the federal government became responsible for large areas of land west of the original thirteen states . The government wished both to distribute land to Revolutionary War soldiers in reward for their services and to sell land as a way of raising money for the nation. Before this could happen, the land needed to be surveyed. The Land Ordinance of 1785 marks

732-405: A national basis. The total surface area of the lakes is approximately 94,250 square miles (244,100 km )—nearly the same size as the United Kingdom, and larger than the U.S. states of New York , New Jersey , Connecticut , Rhode Island , Massachusetts , Vermont , and New Hampshire combined. The Great Lakes coast measures approximately 10,500 miles (16,900 km), but the length of

854-456: A nuisance to industries by clogging pipes. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated in 2007 that the economic impact of the zebra mussel could be about $ 5 billion over the next decade. The alewife first entered the system west of Lake Ontario via 19th-century canals. By the 1960s, the small silver fish had become a familiar nuisance to beach goers across Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie. Periodic mass die-offs result in vast numbers of

976-681: A possible reason for a decrease in population of various whitefish , important because of their culinary desirability and, hence, economic consequence. Moreover, between 1879 and 1899, reported whitefish harvests declined from some 24.3 million pounds (11 million kg) to just over 9 million pounds (4 million kg). By 1900, commercial fishermen on Lake Michigan were hauling in an average of 41 million pounds of fish annually. By 1938, Wisconsin's commercial fishing operations were motorized and mechanized, generating jobs for more than 2,000 workers, and hauling 14 million pounds per year. The population of giant freshwater mussels

1098-415: A railroad right-of-way to build rail systems, and millions of acres to raise the capital needed to build and maintain the future railways. Ten square miles of land on each side of the proposed rail track were granted for every one mile of completed railway. The PLSS was utilized for measurement. Every one-mile length of railway completed was akin to a section. If the railway ran predominantly east and west,

1220-560: A relatively small area of southeast Lake Michigan where savanna or prairie occasionally intruded). Logging, urbanization, and agriculture uses have changed that relationship. In the early 21st century, Lake Superior's shores are 91% forested, Lake Huron 68%, Lake Ontario 49%, Lake Michigan 41%, and Lake Erie, where logging and urbanization has been most extensive, 21%. Some of these forests are second or third growth (i.e. they have been logged before, changing their composition). At least 13 wildlife species are documented as becoming extinct since

1342-489: A season, and can survive poor water quality conditions. The influx of parasitic lamprey populations after the development of the Erie Canal and the much later Welland Canal led to the two federal governments of the United States and Canada working on joint proposals to control it. By the mid-1950s, the lake trout populations of Lakes Michigan and Huron were reduced, with the lamprey deemed largely to blame. This led to

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1464-746: A second fault line, the Saint Lawrence rift , formed approximately 570 million years ago, the basis for Lakes Ontario and Erie was created, along with what would become the Saint Lawrence River. The Great Lakes are estimated to have been formed at the end of the Last Glacial Period (the Wisconsin glaciation ended 10,000 to 12,000 years ago), when the Laurentide Ice Sheet receded. The retreat of

1586-578: A single Willamette Meridian serves both Oregon and Washington . County lines frequently follow the survey, so there are many rectangular counties in the Midwest and the West . The system is in use in some capacity in most of the country, but large portions use other systems. The territory under the jurisdiction of the Thirteen Colonies at the time of independence did not adopt the PLSS, with

1708-689: A small percid fish from Eurasia, became the most abundant fish species in Lake Superior's Saint Louis River within five years of its detection in 1986. Its range, which has expanded to Lake Huron, poses a significant threat to the lower lake fishery. Five years after first being observed in the St. Clair River, the round goby can now be found in all of the Great Lakes. The goby is considered undesirable for several reasons: it preys upon bottom-feeding fish, overruns optimal habitat, spawns multiple times

1830-479: A state or multiple states, is a multi-step process. First, two controlling survey lines are established: a baseline which runs east–west and a principal meridian which runs north–south. The locations of the two are determined by a previously chosen initial point , where they originate and thus intersect. Next, at a defined distance interval, commonly 24 or 30 miles (48 km) depending on the year and location, standard parallels of latitude are established parallel to

1952-570: A town of a generally rectangular shape, 4 to 6 miles (6.4 to 9.7 km) on a side. Within this boundary, a map or plat was maintained that showed all the individual lots or properties. There are some difficulties with this system: In the 1783 Treaty of Paris recognizing the United States, Britain also recognized American rights to the land south of the Great Lakes and west to the Mississippi River . The Continental Congress passed

2074-439: A township line (or baseline) with a range line (or principal meridian) constitutes a township corner , of a section line with any other type of line a section corner , and a point halfway between any two section corners a quarter corner . The federal government typically surveyed only to this quarter-section level, the subdivision of smaller parcels being carried out subsequently by private surveyors after original sale. Because

2196-414: Is "new" water, originating from rivers, precipitation, and groundwater springs. In the post-glacial period, evaporation , and drainage have generally been balanced, making the levels of the lakes relatively constant. Intensive human population growth began in the region in the 20th century and continues today. At least two human water use activities have been identified as having the potential to affect

2318-457: Is always used, in which the townships and sections are indexed based on (1) the township's position relative to the initial point, (2) the section's location within the designated township, and (3) the principal meridian reference. Township, range, and section are abbreviated as T, R, and S, respectively, and cardinal bearings from the initial point by N, S, E, and W; each principal meridian also has its established abbreviation. Thus, for example,

2440-633: Is flat according to the International Joint Commission. Reports about this issue on the U.S. side highlight five large municipal systems (those of Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Milwaukee and Gary ) as being the largest current periodic sources of untreated discharges into the Great Lakes. The fish of the Great Lakes have anti-depressant drugs meant for humans in their brains, which has caused concerns. The number of American adults who take anti-depressant drugs rose from 7.7% of all American adults in 1999–2002 to 12.7% in 2011–2014. As

2562-557: Is heavy. Pleasure boats can enter or exit the Great Lakes by way of the Erie Canal and Hudson River in New York. The Erie Canal connects to the Great Lakes at the east end of Lake Erie (at Buffalo, New York ) and at the south side of Lake Ontario (at Oswego, New York ). The lakes were originally fed by both precipitation and meltwater from glaciers which are no longer present. In modern times, only about 1% of volume per year

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2684-424: Is measured, by surface area, either Lake Superior or Lake Michigan–Huron is the second-largest lake in the world and the largest freshwater lake. Lake Michigan is the largest lake, by surface area, that is entirely within one country, the United States. The Great Lakes began to form at the end of the Last Glacial Period around 14,000 years ago, as retreating ice sheets exposed the basins they had carved into

2806-552: Is the one at lowest elevation, i.e. in the direction that water drains. The "lower 40" is frequently the location of or the direction of a stream or a pond. The phrase "40 acres and a mule" was the compensation apocryphally promised by the Freedmen's Bureau following the American Civil War . Homesteading , a staple of American western culture , was dependent on the PLSS. In the original Homestead Act of 1862, during

2928-515: Is the only one of the Great Lakes that is entirely within the United States; the others form a water boundary between the United States and Canada. The lakes are divided among the jurisdictions of the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. states of Michigan , Wisconsin , Minnesota , Illinois , Indiana , Ohio , Pennsylvania , and New York . Both the province of Ontario and the state of Michigan include in their boundaries portions of four of

3050-995: The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to the Gulf of Mexico via the Illinois River (from the Chicago River ) and the Mississippi River. An alternate track is via the Illinois River (from Chicago), to the Mississippi, up the Ohio, and then through the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway (a combination of a series of rivers and lakes and canals), to Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Commercial tug -and- barge traffic on these waterways

3172-876: The Door Peninsula , the Peninsulas of Michigan , and the Ontario Peninsula . Some of these peninsulas even contain smaller peninsulas, such as the Bruce , Keweenaw , Leelanau , Niagara , and Thumb peninsulas. Population centers on the peninsulas include Grand Rapids , Flint , and Detroit in Michigan along with London , Hamilton , Brantford , and Toronto in Ontario. Although the Saint Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway make

3294-529: The Environmental Protection Agency have shown that when the mercury comes in contact with many of the bacteria and compounds in the fresh water, it forms the compound methyl mercury , which has a much greater impact on human health than elemental mercury due to a higher propensity for absorption. This form of mercury is not detrimental to a majority of fish types, but is very detrimental to people and other wildlife animals who consume

3416-690: The Finger Lakes region of New York, as well as in Prince Edward County, Ontario , on Lake Ontario's northeast shore. The Great Lakes have been observed to help intensify storms, such as Hurricane Hazel in 1954, and the 2011 Goderich, Ontario tornado , which moved onshore as a tornadic waterspout . In 1996, a rare tropical or subtropical storm was observed forming in Lake Huron, dubbed the 1996 Lake Huron cyclone . Rather large severe thunderstorms covering wide areas are well known in

3538-463: The Great Lakes of North America , are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border . The five lakes are Superior , Michigan , Huron , Erie , and Ontario . (Hydrologically, Michigan and Huron are a single body of water, as they are joined by Straits of Mackinac .) The Great Lakes Waterway enables modern travel and shipping by water among

3660-634: The Lincoln administration , each settler was allocated 160 acres (0.65 km ) of land, a quarter-section. Later amendments of the Homestead Act allocated more land, as much as 640 acres (2.6 km ), a section. This was a good revision to apply to land that was drier or more desolate than the earlier, more desirable lands that had already been settled. Many times, this land was more suited to ranching than to farming . Great Lakes The Great Lakes ( French : Grands Lacs ), also called

3782-521: The Niagara Escarpment precludes all natural navigation, the four upper lakes are commonly called the "upper great lakes". This designation is not universal. Those living on the shore of Lake Superior often refer to all the other lakes as "the lower lakes", because they are farther south. Sailors of bulk freighters transferring cargoes from Lake Superior and northern Lake Michigan and Lake Huron to ports on Lake Erie or Ontario commonly refer to

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3904-510: The biosphere . Since the 19th century, an estimated 160 new species have found their way into the Great Lakes ecosystem; many have become invasive; the overseas ship ballast and ship hull parasitism are causing severe economic and ecological impacts. According to the Inland Seas Education Association, on average a new species enters the Great Lakes every eight months. Introductions into the Great Lakes include

4026-414: The zebra mussel , which was first discovered in 1988, and quagga mussel in 1989. Since 2000, the invasive quagga mussel has smothered the bottom of Lake Michigan almost from shore to shore, and their numbers are estimated at 900 trillion. The mollusks are efficient filter feeders, competing with native mussels and reducing available food and spawning grounds for fish. In addition, the mussels may be

4148-584: The " snowbelts " receive regular snow fall from this localized weather pattern, especially along the eastern shores of the lakes. Snowbelts are found in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario. Related to the lake effect is the regular occurrence of fog, particularly along the shorelines of the lakes. This is most noticeable along Lake Superior's shores. The lakes tend to moderate seasonal temperatures to some degree but not with as large an influence as do large oceans; they absorb heat and cool

4270-399: The 1785 act, section 16 of each township was set aside for school purposes and as such was often called the school section . Section 36 was also subsequently added as a school section in western states. The various states and counties ignored, altered or amended this provision in their own ways, but the general (intended) effect was a guarantee that local schools would have an income and that

4392-566: The BLM manual's 1973 publication date, and the reference to Clarke's Spheroid of 1866 in section 2-82, the coordinates listed are believed to be in the NAD27 datum. These public land surveyed had no initial point as an origin for both township and range. The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 (signed by President Abraham Lincoln ) was the first major land grant specifically for the transcontinental railroad . This act provided surveyed, public lands for

4514-846: The Bureau of Land Management, and is still in use in most of the states west of Pennsylvania , south to Florida , Alabama , and Mississippi , west to the Pacific Ocean , and north into the Arctic in Alaska . The original colonies (including their derivatives Maine , Vermont , Tennessee , Kentucky and West Virginia ) continued the British system of metes and bounds . This system describes property lines based on local markers and bounds drawn by humans, often based on topography. A typical, yet simple, description under this system might read "From

4636-632: The Canadian side, Toronto , Hamilton and Mississauga . Though the five lakes lie in separate basins, they form a single, naturally interconnected body of fresh water, within the Great Lakes Basin . As a chain of lakes and rivers, they connect the east-central interior of North America to the Atlantic Ocean. From the interior to the outlet at the Saint Lawrence River, water flows from Superior to Huron and Michigan, southward to Erie, and finally northward to Lake Ontario. The lakes drain

4758-497: The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in order to keep several species of invasive Asian carp out of the lakes. These fast-growing planktivorous fish have heavily colonized the Mississippi and Illinois river systems. Invasive species, particularly zebra and quagga mussels, may be at least partially responsible for the collapse of the deepwater demersal fish community in Lake Huron, as well as drastic unprecedented changes in

4880-463: The Great Lakes accessible to ocean-going vessels, shifts in shipping to wider ocean-going container ships —which do not fit through the locks on these routes—have limited container shipping on the lakes. Most Great Lakes trade is of bulk material, and bulk freighters of Seawaymax -size or less can move throughout the entire lakes and out to the Atlantic. Larger ships are confined to working within

5002-459: The Great Lakes during mid-summer; these Mesoscale convective complexes or MCCs can cause damage to wide swaths of forest and shatter glass in city buildings. These storms mainly occur during the night, and the systems sometimes have small embedded tornadoes, but more often straight-line winds accompanied by intense lightning. Historically, the Great Lakes, in addition to their lake ecology , were surrounded by various forest ecoregions (except in

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5124-441: The Great Lakes each year. Plastics in the water break up into very small particles known as microplastics . Microplastics can also come from synthetic clothing washed down our drains. Plastic waste found in the lakes include single-use plastics , plastics used in packaging, takeout containers as well as pre-production pellets produced by plastics industry . High concentrations of microplastics were discovered in 100 percent of

5246-438: The Great Lakes region include: Plant lists include: Logging of the extensive forests in the Great Lakes region removed riparian and adjacent tree cover over rivers and streams, which provide shade, moderating water temperatures in fish spawning grounds. Removal of trees also destabilized the soil, with greater volumes washed into stream beds causing siltation of gravel beds, and more frequent flooding. Running cut logs down

5368-561: The Great Lakes. A number of self-operating floating devices called Seabin, were put in the Great Lakes to capture plastic trash as part of the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup project. The project captured 74,000 pieces of trash using this technology between 2020 and 2021; however, it does not claim to catch up with 22 million pounds (10.0 kt) of plastic that ends up in Great Lakes every year. The production, consumption, and throwing away of plastics seems to remain

5490-649: The Land Ordinance of 1785 and then the Northwest Ordinance in 1787 to control the survey, sale, and settling of the new lands. The original 13 colonies donated their western lands to the new union, for the purpose of giving land for new states. These include the lands that formed the Northwest Territory, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama , and Mississippi . The state that gave up the most was Virginia , whose original claim included most of

5612-527: The Northwest Territory and Kentucky. Some of the western land was claimed by more than one state, especially in the northwest, where parts were claimed by Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut , all three of which had claimed lands all the way to the Pacific Ocean. The first surveys under the new rectangular system were in eastern Ohio in an area called the Seven Ranges. The Beginning Point of

5734-464: The PLSS grid structure. The results can be 90-degree intersections and very long stretches of straight roads. The land system is an important part of American history and culture. Among other things, the stock phrases "lower 40", "front 40", "back 40", and " 40 acres and a mule ", which are sometimes heard in American movies , reference the quarter-quarter section. The "lower 40" in a quarter-section

5856-509: The Straits of Mackinac. The straits are five miles (8 km) wide and 120 feet (37 m) deep; the water levels rise and fall together, and the flow between Michigan and Huron frequently reverses direction. Dispersed throughout the Great Lakes are approximately 35,000 islands . The largest among them is Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, the largest island in any inland body of water in

5978-427: The U.S. A variety of steps taken to process industrial and municipal pollution discharges into the system greatly improved water quality by the 1980s, and Lake Erie in particular is significantly cleaner. Discharge of toxic substances has been sharply reduced. Federal and state regulations control substances like PCBs . The first of 43 " Great Lakes Areas of Concern " to be formally "de-listed" through successful cleanup

6100-625: The U.S. Public Land Survey is at a point on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border between East Liverpool, Ohio , and Ohioville, Pennsylvania , on private property. A National Historic Landmark marker commemorating the site lies on the side of a state highway, exactly 1,112 feet (339 m) to the north of the point. Ohio was surveyed in several major subdivisions, collectively described as the Ohio Lands , each with its own meridian and baseline . The early surveying, particularly in Ohio,

6222-495: The air in summer, then slowly radiate that heat in autumn. They protect against frost during transitional weather and keep the summertime temperatures cooler than further inland. This effect can be very localized and overridden by offshore wind patterns. This temperature buffering produces areas known as " fruit belts ", where fruit can be produced that is typically grown much farther south. For instance, western Michigan has apple orchards, and cherry orchards are cultivated adjacent to

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6344-459: The anti-depressant drugs pass out of human bodies and through sanitation systems into the Great Lakes, this has resulted in fish in the Great Lakes with twenty times the level of anti-depressants in their brains than what is in the water, leading to the fish being exceedingly happy and hence less risk-averse, to the extent of damaging the fish populations. Researchers have found that more than 22 million pounds (10.0 kt) of plastic end up in

6466-432: The arrival of Europeans, and many more are threatened or endangered. Meanwhile, exotic and invasive species have also been introduced. While the organisms living on the bottom of shallow waters are similar to those found in smaller lakes, the deep waters contain organisms found only in deep, cold lakes of the northern latitudes. These include the delicate opossum shrimp (order mysida ), the deepwater scud (a crustacean of

6588-699: The baseline. The meridian, baseline and standard parallels thus established form a lattice upon which all further surveying is then based. Subsequent work divides the land into survey townships of roughly 36 square miles (93 km ) or 6 miles (9.7 km) on each side. This is done by the establishment of township and range lines. Township lines run parallel to the baseline (east-west), while range lines run north–south; each are established at 6-mile intervals. Lastly, townships are subdivided into 36 sections of approximately 1 square mile (640 acres; 2.6 km ) and sections into four quarter-sections of 0.25 square miles (160 acres; 0.65 km ) each. The intersection of

6710-682: The beginning of the Public Land Survey System. The Confederation Congress was deeply in debt following the Declaration of Independence . With little power to tax, the federal government decided to use the sale of the Western Territories to pay off war debt. The PLSS has been expanded and slightly modified by Letters of Instruction and Manuals of Instruction, issued by the General Land Office and

6832-424: The community schoolhouses would be centrally located for all children. An example of land allotments made specifically for higher education is Ohio's College Township . There were numerous incidents of fraudulent or bad surveying reported, arguably in nearly every state. The remote nature of the land being surveyed certainly enabled the opportunity for fraud to occur. The most notorious, large scale, and costly fraud

6954-427: The core of Great Lakes trash problem. Algae such as diatoms , along with other phytoplankton , are photosynthetic primary producers supporting the food web of the Great Lakes, and have been affected by global warming . The changes in the size or in the function of the primary producers may have a direct or an indirect impact on the food web. Photosynthesis carried out by diatoms constitutes about one fifth of

7076-779: The cyanobacteria ... will produce toxins", said Michael McKay, of the University of Windsor. Water quality testing was underway in August 2019. Until 1970, mercury was not listed as a harmful chemical, according to the United States Federal Water Quality Administration. In the 21st century, mercury has become more apparent in water tests. Mercury compounds have been used in paper mills to prevent slime from forming during their production, and chemical companies have used mercury to separate chlorine from brine solutions. Studies conducted by

7198-568: The description "T1SR20E S13 MDM" reads as follows: Township 1 South, Range 20 East, Section 13, Mount Diablo Meridian. That is, the 13th section in the first township south of the baseline (in this case, the Mount Diablo Baseline) and the 20th township east of the principal meridian (the Mount Diablo Meridian). Since township and range lines are six miles apart, the "T1SR20E" part of the designation instantly places

7320-448: The estimation of historic forest vegetation conditions before settlement and large scale human disturbance of the land. The data provided in these surveys provide a definitive estimate of original forest composition and structure, and the data have accordingly been used heavily. Along survey lines, monumentation was much less elaborate, consisting primarily of only the blazing and some simple scribing of trees directly on, or very close to,

7442-473: The exception of the area that became the Northwest Territory and some of the southern states . This territory comprises Georgia , Connecticut , Delaware , Kentucky , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New York , North Carolina , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , South Carolina , Tennessee , Vermont , Virginia , and West Virginia . The old Cherokee lands in Georgia use

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7564-461: The fish that were studied by researchers from the Rochman Lab. About 50 million pounds (23 kt) of fish is harvested each year from Great Lakes which has raised concerns on how this might affect human health. Microscopic pieces of plastic have also been found in drinking water coming from Great Lakes. It is estimated that nearly 40 million people in the region rely on drinking water from

7686-443: The fish washing up on shore; estimates by various governments have placed the percentage of Lake Michigan's biomass which was made up of alewives in the early 1960s as high as 90%. In the late 1960s, the various state and federal governments began stocking several species of salmonids, including the native lake trout as well as non-native chinook and coho salmon; by the 1980s, alewife populations had dropped drastically. The ruffe ,

7808-443: The fish. Mercury has been known for health related problems such as birth defects in humans and animals, and the near extinction of eagles in the Great Lakes region. The amount of raw sewage dumped into the waters was the primary focus of both the first Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and federal laws passed in both countries during the 1970s. Implementation of secondary treatment of municipal sewage by major cities greatly reduced

7930-417: The glaciers "rebounded" as it was uncovered. Since the glaciers covered some areas longer than others, this glacial rebound occurred at different rates. The Great Lakes have a humid continental climate, Köppen climate classification Dfa (in southern areas) and Dfb (in northern parts) with varying influences from air masses from other regions including dry, cold Arctic systems, mild Pacific air masses from

8052-454: The ground. As with most PLSS specifications, those for corner monumentation also changed over time. In the 19th century, monuments were commonly a rock pile, a wooden post, or a combination of the two. Trees could be used if the corner happened to fall at the exact spot where one grew. In the 20th century, steel pipes with caps, supported by mounds of rock, became required (for example, see Fig. 4). Witnesses can be trees, rocks, or trenches dug in

8174-488: The ground; their exact locations relative to the corner, and the markings made on them, are also recorded in the surveyor's official fieldnotes . Witness trees at corners are more commonly referred to as bearing trees because the exact distance and bearing from the corner, to them, was required to be recorded (as well as the taxon and diameter). On each bearing tree, two blazes were typically required, one about chest height and easily visible, and one at ground level (in case

8296-410: The historical average level. Although "true tides—changes in water level caused by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon—do occur in a semi-diurnal (twice daily) pattern", such changes are quite small and generally obscured by other forces. The lake levels are affected primarily by changes in regional meteorology and climatology. The outflows from Lakes Superior and Ontario are regulated, while

8418-491: The ice sheet left behind a large amount of meltwater ( Lake Algonquin , Lake Chicago , Glacial Lake Iroquois , and Champlain Sea ) that filled up the basins that the glaciers had carved, thus creating the Great Lakes as they are today. Because of the uneven nature of glacier erosion , some higher hills became Great Lakes islands. The Niagara Escarpment follows the contour of the Great Lakes between New York and Wisconsin. Land below

8540-554: The key indicators even in the current era of sophisticated analyses and measuring instruments. According to the bi-national (U.S. and Canadian) resource book, The Great Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book : "The largest Great Lakes fish harvests were recorded in 1889 and 1899 at some 67,000 tonnes (66,000 long tons; 74,000 short tons) [147 million pounds]." By 1801, the New York Legislature found it necessary to pass regulations curtailing obstructions to

8662-612: The lake and causing blooms," said Michael McKay, executive director of the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) at the University of Windsor . The largest Lake Erie bloom to date occurred in 2015, exceeding the severity index at 10.5 and in 2011 at a 10. In early August 2019, satellite images depicted a bloom stretching up to 1,300 square kilometres on Lake Erie, with the heaviest concentration near Toledo, Ohio . A large bloom does not necessarily mean

8784-650: The lake shore as far north as the Grand Traverse Bay . Near Collingwood, Ontario , commercial fruit orchards, including a few wineries, exist near the shoreline of southern Nottawasaga Bay . The eastern shore of Lake Michigan and the southern shore of Lake Erie have many successful wineries because of the lakes' moderating effects, as do the large commercial fruit and wine growing areas of the Niagara Peninsula located between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. A similar phenomenon allows wineries to flourish in

8906-538: The lakes has been observed since records began in 1918. The water level of Lake Michigan–Huron had remained fairly constant over the 20th century. Recent lake levels include record low levels in 2013 in Lakes Superior, Erie, and Michigan-Huron, followed by record high levels in 2020 in the same lakes. The water level in Lake Ontario has remained relatively constant in the same time period, hovering around

9028-470: The lakes' levels: diversion (the transfer of water to other watersheds) and consumption (substantially done today by the use of lake water to power and cool electric generation plants, resulting in evaporation). Outflows through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal is more than balanced by artificial inflows via the Ogoki River and Long Lake/ Kenogami River diversions. Fluctuation of the water levels in

9150-525: The lakes. Only barges can access the Illinois Waterway system providing access to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. Despite their vast size, large sections of the Great Lakes freeze over in winter, interrupting most shipping from January to March. Some icebreakers ply the lakes, keeping the shipping lanes open through other periods of ice on the lakes. The Great Lakes are connected by

9272-542: The lakes. The lakes connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River , and to the Mississippi River basin through the Illinois Waterway . The Great Lakes are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total area and the second-largest by total volume. They contain 21% of the world's surface fresh water by volume. The total surface is 94,250 square miles (244,106 km ), and

9394-415: The lakes. The province of Ontario does not border Lake Michigan, and the state of Michigan does not border Lake Ontario. New York and Wisconsin's jurisdictions extend into two lakes, and each of the remaining states into one of the lakes. As the surfaces of Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, and Erie are all approximately the same elevation above sea level, while Lake Ontario is significantly lower, and because

9516-603: The land, which then filled with meltwater. The lakes have been a major source for transportation, migration, trade, and fishing, serving as a habitat to many aquatic species in a region with much biodiversity . The surrounding region is called the Great Lakes region , which includes the Great Lakes Megalopolis . Major cities within the region include, on the American side, from east to west, Buffalo , Cleveland , Detroit , Chicago , and Milwaukee ; and, on

9638-468: The latter as the lower lakes and Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior as the upper lakes. This corresponds to thinking of lakes Erie and Ontario as "down south" and the others as "up north". Vessels sailing north on Lake Michigan are considered "upbound" even though they are sailing toward its effluent current. Lakes Huron and Michigan are sometimes considered a single lake, called Lake Michigan–Huron, because they are one hydrological body of water connected by

9760-494: The launch of the bi-national Great Lakes Fishery Commission . Several species of exotic water fleas have accidentally been introduced into the Great Lakes, such as the spiny waterflea, Bythotrephes longimanus , and the fishhook waterflea, Cercopagis pengoi , potentially having an effect on the zooplankton population. Several species of crayfish have also been introduced that may contend with native crayfish populations. More recently an electric fence has been set up across

9882-434: The lead chainman follow the correct bearing at all times, since no straightening of the chain was possible without backtracking around trees and re-measuring. It was also necessary to keep the chain level, since all surveying distances are based on the horizontal, not slope, distance. In steep terrain, this meant shortening the chain, raising one end of the chain relative to the other, or both. In areas where measuring by chain

10004-422: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PLSS&oldid=698871066 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Public Land Survey System Originally proposed by Thomas Jefferson to create

10126-623: The location somewhere between zero and six miles south of the baseline, and 114 and 120 miles east of the principal meridian. Knowing how sections are numbered within townships, section 13 is identified as therefore occupying the one square mile located 2 to 3 miles south, and 119 to 120 miles east, of the Mount Diablo initial point (in central California). Note that the sections within a township are numbered in an unconventional, Boustrophedon pattern (Fig. 2), in which alternating rows are numbered in opposite directions, starting from section 1 in

10248-476: The natural migrations of Atlantic salmon from Lake Erie into their spawning channels. In the early 19th century, the government of Upper Canada found it necessary to introduce similar legislation prohibiting the use of weirs and nets at the mouths of Lake Ontario's tributaries. Other protective legislation was passed, but enforcement remained difficult. On both sides of the Canada–United States border,

10370-474: The northeast corner and ending with section 36 in the southeast corner, as per Figure 2. Therefore, section 13 is adjacent to the eastern range line of the designated township. Numbering in this pattern ensures that numerically sequential sections within the same township are physically adjacent and share colinear boundaries. Distances were always measured in chains and links, based on Edmund Gunter 's 66-foot measuring chain . The chain – an actual metal chain –

10492-467: The order amphipoda ), two types of copepods , and the deepwater sculpin (a spiny, large-headed fish). The Great Lakes are an important source of fishing . Early European settlers were astounded by both the variety and quantity of fish; there were 150 different species in the Great Lakes. Throughout history, fish populations were the early indicator of the condition of the Lakes and have remained one of

10614-440: The original corner monument location should the monument be destroyed. It was not uncommon for squatters or homesteaders to destroy corner monuments if they felt the patenting of the land would threaten their residence on it. For this reason, destruction of corner monuments, or their accompanying witness objects was, and still is, a federal offense. At corners, corner monuments are established to mark their exact location on

10736-403: The other (southeasterly-most) 25 sections are not. This method accommodates the curvature problem within a township and also allows for any errors made during the surveying—which were nearly unavoidable because of the physical difficulty of the work and the crude equipment used—without overly compromising the basic rectangular nature of the system as a whole. At the larger multiple township scale,

10858-516: The outflows of Michigan-Huron and Erie are not regulated at all. Ontario is the most tightly regulated, with its outflow controlled by the Moses-Saunders Power Dam , which explains its consistent historical levels. The Great Lakes contain 21% of the world's surface fresh water: 5,472 cubic miles (22,810 km ), or 6.0×10 U.S. gallons, that is 6 quadrillion U.S. gallons, (2.3×10 liters). The lakes contain about 84% of

10980-466: The point on the north bank of Muddy Creek one mile above the junction of Muddy and Indian Creeks, north for 400 yards, then northwest to the large standing rock, west to the large oak tree, south to Muddy Creek, then down the center of the creek to the starting point." Particularly in New England , this system was supplemented by drawing town plats . The metes and bounds system was used to describe

11102-400: The prime meridian, are always established with reference to true, geodetic north. But it is a physical impossibility to meet this condition and still maintain a rectangular land grid, because such lines converge on the north pole. These adjustments are done at two different scales. At the small scale (within a township) it is done by starting the sectional surveys (township "subdivisions") in

11224-516: The proliferation of dams and impoundments have multiplied, necessitating more regulatory efforts. Concerns by the mid-19th century included obstructions in the rivers which prevented salmon and lake sturgeon from reaching their spawning grounds. The Wisconsin Fisheries Commission noted a reduction of roughly 25% in general fish harvests by 1875. The states have removed dams from rivers where necessary. Overfishing has been cited as

11346-429: The railroad company and each even numbered section kept by the government. This created a checkerboard pattern along proposed railways. This was supposed to guarantee that railroad access would increase the value of both the railroad-granted sections and the government-owned sections in the checkerboard. The system was devised by Senator Stephen A. Douglas , with political support from Senator Jefferson Davis . Under

11468-520: The rest of the former square-mile sections have generally filled with residential development, as well as schools, religious facilities, and parks. One example of this is the Mile Road System of Detroit, Michigan . Occasionally, and more frequently in a metropolitan region's inner postwar suburbs than in outer areas, arterials are at approximately half-mile intervals. This strictly regimented urban (or suburban) structure has coincided with

11590-428: The routine discharge of untreated sewage during the 1970s and 1980s. The International Joint Commission in 2009 summarized the change: "Since the early 1970s, the level of treatment to reduce pollution from waste water discharges to the Great Lakes has improved considerably. This is a result of significant expenditures to date on both infrastructure and technology, and robust regulatory systems that have proven to be, on

11712-436: The shoreline of all the lakes would cover a distance roughly equivalent to travelling half-way around the world at the equator. A notable modern phenomenon is the formation of ice volcanoes over the lakes during wintertime. Storm-generated waves carve the lakes' ice sheet and create conical mounds through the eruption of water and slush. The process is only well-documented in the Great Lakes, and has been credited with sparing

11834-503: The similarly strict practice of Euclidean zoning (named after the town of Euclid, Ohio , which won a 1926 Supreme Court case Village of Euclid, Ohio v. Ambler Realty Co. , which established the constitutionality of zoning). In Euclidean zoning, use of a property is dictated and regulated by zoning district, the boundaries of which are often based on locations of arterials. West of the Appalachians , road systems frequently follow

11956-487: The southeast corner and moving progressively toward the northwest corner. The algorithm used is to move northward to establish the six easternmost sections (and quarter-sections), then move west at one mile intervals, parallel to the eastern boundary of the township, repeating this process, until the western side of the township is reached. The result of this is that the northernmost and westernmost tiers of sections—11 in all—are thus allowed to deviate from one square mile, but

12078-602: The southern shorelines from worse rocky erosion. It has been estimated that the foundational geology that created the conditions shaping the present day upper Great Lakes was laid from 1.1 to 1.2 billion years ago, when two previously fused tectonic plates split apart and created the Midcontinent Rift , which crossed the Great Lakes Tectonic Zone . A valley was formed providing a basin that eventually became modern day Lake Superior. When

12200-501: The standard parallels developed at the establishment of the baseline, so that townships widths do not continually decrease as the grid proceeds north (and is in fact the primary reason for their establishment). Thus, corrections for curvature of the Earth exist at two separate spatial scales—a smaller scale within townships and a larger scale between multiple townships and within standard parallels. A specific and terse location descriptor

12322-414: The surface freshwater of North America; if the water were evenly distributed over the entire continent's land area, it would reach a depth of 5 feet (1.5 meters). This is enough water to cover the 48 contiguous U.S. states to a uniform depth of 9.5 feet (2.9 m). Although the lakes contain a large percentage of the world's fresh water, the Great Lakes supply only a small portion of U.S. drinking water on

12444-421: The survey design is two-dimensional (rectangular), while the actual Earth is three-dimensional (approximately spherical and topographically), adjustments to land areas must be made periodically to prevent error propagation; not all sections can be one square mile nor can all townships be exactly 36 square miles. More specifically, all north–south running lines (all range lines and half of all section lines), as with

12566-413: The survey line. The purpose was to help retrace a surveyed line should that become necessary. It was also additional proof that the line had in fact been run correctly, especially in those cases where the blazed line tree's pertinent information (species, diameter and distance from previous corner) was recorded in the fieldnotes, as was often required. Records kept by the surveyors during the execution of

12688-449: The term section as a land designation, but it does not define the same area as the section used by the PLSS. Maine uses a variant of the system in unsettled parts of the state. Parts of Texas, western New York, northwest Pennsylvania, western Georgia, western Kentucky, western Tennessee, and northern Maine use state-developed survey systems similar to PLSS. Other major exceptions to PLSS are: The surveying of any regional area, such as

12810-440: The total volume (measured at the low water datum) is 5,439 cubic miles (22,671 km ), slightly less than the volume of Lake Baikal (5,666 cu mi or 23,615 km , 22–23% of the world's surface fresh water). Because of their sea-like characteristics, such as rolling waves, sustained winds, strong currents, great depths, and distant horizons, the five Great Lakes have long been called inland seas . Depending on how it

12932-562: The treatment plant, are temporarily overwhelmed by heavy rainstorms. Local sewage treatment authorities then must release untreated effluent, a mix of rainwater and sewage, into local water bodies. While enormous public investments such as the Deep Tunnel projects in Chicago and Milwaukee have greatly reduced the frequency and volume of these events, they have not been eliminated. The number of such overflow events in Ontario, for example,

13054-498: The tree were illegally cut, the stump remaining). On the exposed wood of the blaze, surveyors were required to inscribe, with wood chisels, township, range and section information, on typically either two or four bearing trees, if they were within some reasonable distance of the corner (unspecified early on but later set at a maximum of 3 chains (178 feet, 60 meters) away). Bearing trees are of vital importance not just for these land boundary purposes but also for their use by ecologists in

13176-532: The tributary rivers into the Great Lakes also dislocated sediments. In 1884, the New York Fish Commission determined that the dumping of sawmill waste (chips and sawdust) had impacted fish populations. The first U.S. Clean Water Act , passed by a Congressional override after being vetoed by U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1972, was a key piece of legislation, along with the bi-national Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement signed by Canada and

13298-416: The warmer and shallower portions of the system such as Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay , Green Bay , and the southernmost portion of Lake Michigan. By the mid-1980s, most jurisdictions bordering the Great Lakes had controlled phosphate detergents . Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria blooms, have been problematic on Lake Erie since 2011. "Not enough is being done to stop fertilizer and phosphorus from getting into

13420-430: The west pick up the air and moisture from the lake surface, which is slightly warmer in relation to the cold surface winds above. As the slightly warmer, moist air passes over the colder land surface, the moisture often produces concentrated, heavy snowfall that sets up in bands or "streamers". This is similar to the effect of warmer air dropping snow as it passes over mountain ranges. During freezing weather with high winds,

13542-427: The west, and warm, wet tropical systems from the south and the Gulf of Mexico. The lakes have a moderating effect on the climate; they can also increase precipitation totals and produce lake effect snowfall . The Great Lakes can have an effect on regional weather called lake-effect snow , which is sometimes very localized. Even late in winter, the lakes often have no icepack in the middle. The prevailing winds from

13664-480: The whole, quite effective." The commission reported that all urban sewage treatment systems on the U.S. side of the lakes had implemented secondary treatment, as had all on the Canadian side except for five small systems. Though contrary to federal laws in both countries, those treatment system upgrades have not yet eliminated combined sewer overflow events. This describes when older sewerage systems, which combine storm water with sewage into single sewers heading to

13786-476: The work varied over time. Furthermore, how well individual surveying parties actually met the requirements or recommendations at the time, also varied. The following is a list of the more commonly required landscape and surveying items that were either required or requested be noted, over much of the nineteenth century. The following table indicates some distance and area conversions in the PLSS: Based on

13908-567: The world. The second-largest island is Isle Royale in Lake Superior. Both of these islands are large enough to contain multiple lakes themselves—for instance, Manitoulin Island's Lake Manitou is the world's largest lake on a freshwater island. Some of these lakes even have their own islands, like Treasure Island in Lake Mindemoya in Manitoulin Island. The Great Lakes also have several peninsulas between them, including

14030-523: The zooplankton community of the lake. Scientists understand that the micro-aquatic life of the lakes is abundant but know very little about some of the most plentiful microbes and their environmental effects in the Great Lakes. Although a drop of lake water may contain 1 million bacteria cells and 10 million viruses , only since 2012 has there been a long-term study of the lakes' micro-organisms. Between 2012 and 2019 more than 160 new species have been discovered. Native habitats and ecoregions in

14152-558: Was Ontario's Collingwood Harbour in 1994; Ontario's Severn Sound followed in 2003. Presque Isle Bay in Pennsylvania is formally listed as in recovery, as is Ontario's Spanish Harbour. Dozens of other Areas of Concern have received partial cleanups such as the Rouge River (Michigan) and Waukegan Harbor (Illinois). Phosphate detergents were historically a major source of nutrient to the Great Lakes algae blooms in particular in

14274-1202: Was adopted without issue. "...the measurements of every plot of ground in the United States have been made in acres, feet, and inches, and are publicly recorded with the titles to the land according to the record system peculiar to this country." —Franklin Institute of Philadelphia (1876). Because of this, redefining property boundaries could create a large amount of legal issues and property owner confusion. Many local zoning laws are defined in feet/square feet. Conversion of units for surveyors are not simple, and complex decisions are frequently required (such as non-universal conversion factors, soft/hard conversions, number rounding). As roads have typically been laid out along section boundaries spaced one mile (1.6 km) apart, growing urban areas have adopted road grids with mile-long "blocks" as their primary street network. Such roads in urban areas are known as section line roads , usually designed primarily for automobile travel and limited in their use for non-motorized travel. In post- World War II suburbs, commercial development has largely occurred along and at intersections of arterials , while

14396-517: Was eliminated as the mussels were harvested for use as buttons by early Great Lakes entrepreneurs. The Great Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book (1972) notes: "Only pockets remain of the once large commercial fishery." Water quality improvements realized during the 1970s and 1980s, combined with successful salmonid stocking programs, have enabled the growth of a large recreational fishery. The last commercial fisherman left Milwaukee in 2011 because of overfishing and anthropogenic changes to

14518-443: Was made up of 100 links, each being 7.92 inches (201 mm) long. Eighty chains constitute one U.S. survey mile (which differs from the international mile by a few millimeters). There were two chainmen, one at each end, who physically made the measurements, one of them typically also acting as "compassman" to establish the correct bearing at each chain placement. In forested areas, it was essential for rapid progress and accuracy that

14640-532: Was not possible, such as extremely steep terrain or water obstructions, distances were calculated by triangulation . Monumentation is the establishment of permanent on-the-ground objects that mark exact locations of surveyed points and lines. They are the legally binding markers used for setting property lines and as such are the culminating work of any survey. They consist of both corner monuments as well as nearby accessory objects that "witness" to them. Witness objects allow subsequent surveyors and landowners to find

14762-431: Was performed with more speed than care, with the result that many of the oldest townships and sections vary considerably from their prescribed shape and area. Proceeding westward, accuracy became more of a consideration than rapid sale, and the system was simplified by establishing one major north–south line ( principal meridian ) and one east–west (base) line that control descriptions for an entire state or more. For example,

14884-578: Was perpetrated by the Benson Syndicate , operating primarily in California in the 1880s. The PLSS is considered one of the major points of contention in the adoption of the metric system in the United States . The PLSS has used the Gunter's chain as a basic measurement. In Canada, however, where the land survey is based on the same units of measure as the U.S. land survey, the metric system

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