GET
/
v1
/
plss
/
section
curl --get 'https://osm.buntinglabs.com/v1/plss/section' \
     --data "section=31" \
     --data "range=5W" \
     --data "township=2S" \
     --data "meridian=Mount+Diablo+Meridian" \
     --data "api_key=demo"

{
  "type": "Feature",
  "properties": {
    "description": "Sec. 31, T.2S, R.5W, Mount Diablo P.M.",
    "acreage": 640,
  },
  "geometry": {
    "type": "Polygon",
    "coordinates": [[
      [ -122.462026, 37.70797 ],
      [ -122.4413432, 37.70795 ],
      [ -122.4424872, 37.72361 ],
      [ -122.4621782, 37.72367 ],
      [ -122.462026, 37.70797 ]
    ]]
  }
}

This API finds a Public Land Survey System section based on its section number, range, township, and principal meridian.

For example, if you were looking at a survey plat in San Francisco, California, it might refer to the section as being section 31 in range R05W, township T02S, and meridian MDM. This means that the section falls inside the survey township located 2 townships south and 5 townships west of the Mt. Diablo Meridian and its base line, and as section 31, it is the southwest corner of that township.

This API enables you to download the GeoJSON for a particular range, township, meridian, and section number combination.

​
Request Parameters

section
number
required

The section number, between 1 and 36 (inclusive), specifies which section of the township should be returned.

range
string
required

The range specifies the numbered distance and bearing (east or west) from the principal meridian.

township
string
required

The township specifies the numbered distance and bearing (north or south) from the baseline associated with each principal meridian.

meridian
string
required

The principal meridian for the target survey. You can find a list of principal meridians in the United States on Wikipedia.

This can take any value below. The values are provided alongside their approximate count, based on the total area surveyed to that meridian.

Principal MeridianCount
5th Meridian10342
6th Meridian9934
Mount Diablo Meridian6376
Willamette Meridian5033
Montana Meridian4191
New Mexico Meridian3994
Gila-Salt River Meridian3411
Boise Meridian2498
Extended Fourth Meridian2452
Salt Lake Meridian2429
Michigan Meridian1938
Indian Meridian1885
Tallahassee Meridian1749
San Bernardino Meridian1486
Louisiana Meridian1230
2nd Meridian1213
St. Stephens Meridian1187
3rd Meridian1135
Black Hills Meridian906
Choctaw Meridian645
Huntsville Meridian642
4th Meridian455
Ohio River Base393
Chickasaw Meridian307
St. Helena Meridian248
First Principal Meridian248
Humboldt Meridian224
Washington Meridian204
Cimarron Meridian194
US Military Baseline175
Uintah Meridian138
Wind River Meridian121
Between the Miami Rivers85
East of the First Meridian Survey80
1st Meridian49
Ute Meridian14
api_key
string
required

Your account’s API key. You can create an API key by registering for an account and copy and paste it from your account dashboard.

​
Response

When population is successfully calculated, a 200 OK response will be issued, with Content-Type: application/json. The body will be a GeoJSON Feature with a Polygon geometry. The properties will be description, an appropriate full description of the section, and acreage, of 640 acres.

In the event of an error, an error response will be issued, usually with a 5xx error code. The error will be JSON-formatted, with an error field describing the cause.

error
string

The error message if the extract request parameters were incorrectly formatted.

This response field will not be present if the extract succeeds.

​
Data Source

The boundaries and metadata for the survey townships and their sections is provided by the US Bureau of Land Management.

These boundaries should not be used as a substitute for surveying.