The Canadian prairies were essentially isolated from eastern Canada at that time despite the existence of the difficult Dawson overland route to the Red River from Thunder Bay. The 49th Parallel International Boundary Commission Survey (American and Canadian - between the Lake of the Woods and the Rockies), and the Canadian prairie Dominion Land Survey were both initiated almost coincidentally between the years 18, the surveyors occasionally collaborating and even sharing resources (Link). A subsequent web page will look at a number of actual historic maps and documents describing and depicting the implementation of this survey system. This web page will focus on a few simplified diagrams created to clarify the terminology, structure and basic mechanics of the DLS. These terms were used in the Canadian Dominion Land Survey (DLS) system of 1871 to describe the measurement and subdivision of land in Western Canada, much of it just then, only recently acquired from the Hudson's Bay Company. If you are researching your family history and reading about Canadian prairie homesteads, you will likely encounter the terms 'Townships', 'Ranges' and Sections'.

Township system definition