Hi Ann, Thamk you so much for the meridians! This is what I copied from the National Archives and as you can see, it leaves a lot to be desired where the meridians are concerned! The choice lists of each search field correspond to the elements included in a legal land descriptions. The multiple choices for each fields are as follows : Sections are divided into four quarters or into sixteen legal sub-divisions. They are numbered from 1 to 37. Townships are numbered from south to north starting at the U.S. border. They are numbered from 1 to 129 and 141. Ranges are numbered from east to west starting from each meridian, except for the west-to-east numbering used for the Principal and East of the Coast Meridians. They are numbered 1 to 34. The Meridians are as follows: * ECM (East of the Coast Meridian) * EPM (East of the Principal Meridian) * W1 (West of the Principal Meridian) * W2 (West of the 2nd Meridian) * W3 (West of the 3rd Meridian) * W4 (West of the 4th Meridian) * W5 (West of the 5th Meridian) * W6 (West of the 6th Meridian) * W7 (West of the 7th Meridian) * WCM (West of the Coast Meridian) THANK YOU !!!!!!!!! Victoria ----- Original Message ----- From: "ann ritchie" <sawomri@mb.sympatico.ca> To: <CAN-MANITOBA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2001 12:13 PM Subject: [CAN-Manitoba] MERIDIANS IN WESTERN CANADA | There have been several inquiries lately about the location of the | meridians in western Canada. This is the description I received | from a kind gentleman at Natural Resources Canada some time | ago. | Meridian West Longitude Approx. Location | > First or principal just west of Winnipeg | > Second 102 along north Man/Sask. boundary | > Third 106 east of Saskatoon | > Fourth 110 along Sask/Alberta boundary | > Fifth 114 just east of Calgary | > Sixth 118 west of Peace River, AB | > Seventh 122 east of Prince George, BC | > Eighth 122-45-39.6 thru New Westminister, BC | Hope this is of some help. | Regards, | Ann | | | | ==== CAN-MANITOBA Mailing List ==== | | | | ============================== | Shop Ancestry - Everything you need to Discover, Preserve & Celebrate | your heritage! | http://shop.myfamily.com/ancestrycatalog | |

I am enlightened by the discussion and explanations of meridians, sections, towships etc as they apply on the Prairies but can somebody answer a couple of questions that keeps puzzling me: How big is a section? How does one relate sections to townships and ranges? One chap tried to tell me that sections replaced townships as latter are known in the east. Thank you. Ron Davies Surrey, BC

One section of land was a 1 square mile... which equaled 640 acres. Each Township and Range was 6 miles... 6 x 6 equaling 36 sections of land... i.e. Township X, Range Y, would have 1 to 36 Sections available... In most cases it was further broke down to quarters (1/4), each section would have NW, NE, SE and SW quarters.. it's hard to believe that a quarter section of land supported some very large families at one time. What a great system... :-( I believe one ROD by a mile long also equaled an acre of land..? Stan ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ron Davies" <welt@dowco.com> To: <CAN-MANITOBA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, January 05, 2001 1:16 AM Subject: [CAN-Manitoba] MERIDIANS IN WESTERN CANADA > I am enlightened by the discussion and explanations of meridians, sections, > towships etc as they apply on the Prairies but can somebody answer a couple > of questions that keeps puzzling me: How big is a section? How does one relate > sections to townships and ranges? > > One chap tried to tell me that sections replaced townships as latter are known > in the east. > > Thank you. > > Ron Davies > Surrey, BC > > > ==== CAN-MANITOBA Mailing List ==== > Free Webspace at RootsWeb > http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/press/FPhistory.html > Create your Genealogy Website! > > > ============================== > The only real-time collaboration tool that allows you and other family > members to create a FREE, password-protected family tree. > http://www.ancestry.com/oft/login.asp >