Which land surveying system uses physical features of the geography to define boundaries?

• A. Metes and Bounds
• B. Long-Lot Survey System
• C. Township and Range System
• D. Clustered Settlement

Answer: (A)

Describing land parcels by following visible features in the landscape is metes and bounds. This approach starts at a defined point of beginning and then describes the boundary using directions and distances from natural or man-made landmarks—such as a river, a tree, a rock, a road, or a constructed monument—until you return to the starting point. Because it ties the boundary directly to geographic features, it can accommodate irregularly shaped parcels that follow the lay of the land and the landscape itself.

The other systems work differently: a grid-based township and range divides land into regular square parcels along surveyed lines, not tied to natural landmarks for each boundary. The long-lot system uses long, narrow parcels oriented along a water course or road, but the boundaries themselves are defined by regular lines rather than by natural feature boundaries for each individual parcel. A clustered settlement pattern describes how people live and organize housing in a area, not a method of delimiting parcel boundaries.