Hi Everyone, The diagram is a little crude, I had trouble getting the vertical lines to align, but I think it gets the point across. A township is divided into 36 sections of 640 acres. Each section is further subdivided into quarter sections., half-quarter sections, or quarter-quarter sections. Examples of these subdivisions within a township appear below. _____________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | NWNW | NENW | | | 40 Acres | 40 Acres | | | | | | | | | NE | | _____________________________ | 160 Acres | | | | | | | | | | | | | | SWNW | SENW | | | 40 acres | 40 Acres | | | | | | | | | | | __________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | N*SW | | | | 80 Acres | | | | | | | | | W*SE | E*SE | |______________________________ | 80 Acres | 80 Acres | | | | | | | | | | S*SW | | | | 80 Acres | | | | | | | | | | | | _____________________________ | ______________ | _____________ | There are 4 quarter sections [NE, NW, SW, SE] in a township. Each = 160 acres. There are 8 half-quarter sections in a township. Each = 80 acres. [The first letter indicates compass direction — N, S, E, W — the separator is an *, and the two letter combination indicates which quarter] There are 16 quarter-quarter sections in a township. Each = 40 acres. [The first two letters indicate compass direction, and the second two letters indicate which basic quarter section.] If there are no compass letters, then it indicates the whole section, except in the case where the section abutts an old land grant. Then it is the area not in the land grant. NOTE: If the designation "Lot" appears on the patent, then it can get real complicated. If Lots are used and there is no "or" mentioned, it is best to locate a good township/range map. [County Assessor's Offices, Recorder's Office, and/or Elections Department may have older maps indicating original land divisions.] Hope this helps, Anita C. Monterey County