§13.5 - Descriptions of Subdivided Tracts

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§13.5 DESCRIPTIONS OF SUBDIVIDED TRACTS

Various methods of describing subdivided tracts are discussed in this section.

(1) Metes and bounds descriptions

When a tract of land is not platted, or when its irregular shape makes it impracticable to describe as a portion of a section, it is usually described by a metes and bounds description. Metes are measures of length, such as feet or rods. Bounds are boundaries, both natural and artificial, such as streams, rivers, streets, or railroad rights-of-way. In a metes and bounds description, the surveyor in effect walks off the boundary of the land, as Figure 7 and its text version illustrate.

TEXT DESCRIPTION: That portion of the NE-1/4 of the NE-1/4 of Section 10, Township 25 North, Range 4 East WM, described as follows:

Beginning at the southwest corner of said subdivision; thence North 90º 00' 00" East, 305 feet; thence North 00º 00' 00" East, 235 feet to the TRUE POINT OF BEGINNING; thence North 90º 00' 00" East, 40 feet; thence North 60º 20' 00" East, 250 feet; thence North 29º 56' 15" West, 60 feet; thence North 60º 20' 00" East, 65 feet; thence North 60º 12' 15" West, 148 feet; thence South 30º 08' 00" West, 148 feet; thence South 60º 12' 15" East, 58 feet; thence South 45º 00' 00" West, 190 feet to the TRUE POINT OF BEGINNING.

A metes and bounds description must start at an established monument or some other well-known point that is capable of being located. In the metes and bounds example above, the established corner of a subdivision was used as a starting point. Although most surveys describe property by course and distance from an established point, such as a section corner, sometimes a survey will refer to a prior recorded document in order to fix a corner, a line, or a point of beginning. Washington courts have held that this type of fixed boundary constitutes a monument. Fagan v. Walters, 115 Wash. 454, 197 P. 635 (1921).

In running out a metes and bounds description, the directions of the lines of description are measured, like compass points, by degrees,minutes, and seconds, as divisions of the circumference of a circle containing 360 degrees. Each degree contains 60 minutes and each minute 60 seconds. Although the circumference totals 360 degrees, a surveyor's description never exceeds 90 degrees in any one direction.

To illustrate, divide a compass into four quadrants by running two perpendicular lines, one line north-south, the other line east-west, which intersect in the center of the compass. Each quadrant has a right angle containing 90 degrees. All lines projecting east are described as the number of degrees east, due north or south, depending on whether the line extends above or below the east-west line. For example, a line running diagonally through the NE-1/4, as shown in Figure 8, would be described as"Beginning at the center of Section 2, Township 24 North, Range 3 East WM;thence north 40º 20' 16" East 700 feet." The angle measured is that between the north-south line and the line drawn. If this line were extended into the SW-1/4, that portion would be described as "Beginning at the center of Section 2, Township 24 North, Range 3 East WM; thence South 40º 20' 16" West."

True north-south lines always run 0º and true east-west...