Some Details About Surveying

By Carey Bourdier


The tasks of surveying have been highly important for thousands of years. Even the ancient Egyptians used surveyors to establish boundary lines between farms. There have been many famous surveyors throughout history, including both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Surveying is a fascinating profession with many applications, but there are types of surveying that you might not have known about.

You probably knew that surveyors often have the important tasks of defining exactly where land boundaries should be set, but you might not have known that this type of surveying is known as cadastral surveying. Determining who owns a specific piece of land or where a city or country's boundary exists has been a hugely important task since the earliest civilizations existed.

The surveyors of today use a device called a theodolite to help them make precise calculations. This device has been used for hundreds of areas and is important because it measures angles in both the horizontal and vertical plane. Today's theodolites look different than those invented long ago, but the theory is the same. Before there were theodolites, other instruments were used including a surveyor's compass and many types of levels. Ancient Egyptians used everything from ropes to plum bobs to gromas to help establish boundaries and to help with construction tasks such as the building of the Great Pyramids.

It's not just comprehensive work regarding our different types of boundary lines that concern surveyors. These highly trained professionals also work under the surface, as well. Mining beneath the earth is also something that doesn't happen without a surveying engineer present. They help assess safety when mines are being excavated, and also are used for drilling for oil on land.

In addition, surveyors map the bottom of the ocean floor for many purposes. A surveyor's map of the sea floor can be used for navigational purposes so that submarines and submersibles can navigate under water safely. One of the most important tools for many underground mining jobs is called a total station. This is a device that includes an electronic theodolite and an electronic distance meter.

The task of cartography or mapmaking has been a huge job of surveyors and is certainly related to the task of setting boundary lines. Surveyors such as Lewis and Clark, for example, traveled throughout the Louisiana Purchase to create maps of this newly purchased portion of the United States. This was a monumental task, and not only did they create maps, they also had to provide a detailed account of the flora and fauna of the area and determine the best areas as to where settlements could be built.




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