Editing Public Land Survey System (section)

===Application===
The first surveys under the new rectangular system were in eastern Ohio in an area called the Seven Ranges. The [[Beginning Point of 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 {{convert|1112|ft}} to the north of the point.<ref>{{cite sign |title= Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey Pennsylvania |url= http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beginning_Point_of_the_U.S._Public_Land_Survey_Pennsylvania.jpg |medium= Historical monument |location= East Liverpool, OH |publisher= East Liverpool Historical Society |access-date= June 20, 2012 |archive-date= May 24, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150524142023/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beginning_Point_of_the_U.S._Public_Land_Survey_Pennsylvania.jpg |url-status= live }}</ref>

[[File:Crops Kansas AST 20010624.jpg|thumb|left|Farmland in [[Kansas]] divided into quarter [[Section (United States land surveying)|sections]]]]

Ohio was surveyed in several major subdivisions, collectively described as the [[Ohio Lands]], each with its own [[meridian (geography)|meridian]] and [[baseline (surveying)|baseline]]. The early surveying, particularly in Ohio, 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, a single [[Willamette Meridian]] serves both [[Oregon]] and [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. County lines frequently follow the survey, so there are many rectangular counties in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] and the [[Western United States|West]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}