What is the built environment?
The Land: geological landscape and features
The Structures: constructed buildings, roads, and utilities
Cities develop along transportation routes: rivers and other bodies of water, roads, and railroad tracks.
Settlements also develop around natural resources, such as phosphorus mines.
Natural topographical features shape the growth but can be altered.
Historical lake-shores, swamps, and sinkholes may not be detectable in the present.
Surveys, plats, and aerial photographs may note these features. Using these snapshots, research can approximate when and where a change occurs.
The Township and Range system (or Public Land Survey System) was developed by the Federal government in 1812 to more accurately define U.S. locations. Townships are 36 square miles in area and are sub-divided into 36 1-by-1-mile square parcels called sections. Sections are numbered from 1 to 36 for identification. Each township has a township and range designation to define its 36-square-mile area. Township is numbered north and south from the base line, and range is numbered west or east from the principal meridian. In Florida, the base line and principal meridian run through Tallahassee. A standard search request at the Site File is performed by providing the Township, Range and Section (T-R-S) of the area for which information is needed. Generally, the T-R-S (sometimes expressed as S-T-R) can be found in the legal description of parcels and properties. An example of how to write a T-R-S value is T8S R17E S33, referring to Township 8 South, Range 17 East, Section 33.
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