“Surveying is the art of determining the positions of points on or near the

earth’s surface by means of measurements in the three elements of space;

namely, distance, direction and elevation.” – Rayner and Schm idt.
“Surveying is the art of measuring horizontal and vertical distances between
objects, of measuring angles between lines, of determining the direction of
lines, and of establishing points by predetermined angular and linear
easurements.” – Davis, Foote, Anderson, and Mikhail.
Leveling is the art of determining the relative vertical distances of different
points on the surface of the earth. Therefore, in leveling, the measurements
are taken only in the vertical plane.
The aim of surveying is to prepare a plan or map to show the
relative positions of the objects on the surface of the earth.
The map is drawn to some suitable scale .It shows the natural
features of a country such as towns, villages, roads, railways,
rivers, etc. Maps may also include details of different engineering
works, such as roads, railways, irrigation, canals, etc.
To prepare a Topographical Map which show the hills, valleys,
rivers, villages, towns etc. of a country
To prepare a cadastral map showing the boundaries of fields,
houses, and other properties.
To prepare an engineering map showing details of engineering
works such as roads, railways, reservoirs, irrigation canals, etc.
To prepare a military map showing the road and railway
communications with different parts of a country. Such a map
also shows the different strategic points important for the defense
of a country.
1. To work from the whole to
the part, and never from
part to whole
2. To locate a new station by
at least two measurements
(linear or angular) from fixed
reference points.
PLANE SURVEYING is a process of surveying in which the
portion of the earth being surveyed is considered a plane.
For small areas, precise results maybe obtained with plane
surveying. To make computations, use formulas of plane
trigonometry, algebra, and analytical geometry.
Surveys for the location and constrcution of highways,
roads, canal, landing fields, and railroads.
Errors caused by earth’s curvature be considered only in
precise surveys of large areas.
GEODETIC SURVEYING is a process of surveying in
which the shape and size of the earth are considered.
Suited for large areas and long lines. Used to find precise
location of basic points needed for establishing control for
other surveys.
Allowances are made for the earth’s minor and major
diameters. The position of each geodetic station is related
to spheroid. It is expressed as latitudes (angles north or
south of the equator) and longitudes (angles east or west of
a prime meridian) or as nothings and castings on a
rectangular grid.
Based on the purpose (for which surveying is being
conducted), Surveying has been classified into:
Control surveying:
To establish horizontal and vertical positions of control points.
Land surveying:
To determine the boundaries and
areas of parcels of land, also
known as property survey,
boundary survey or cadastral
survey.
Topographic survey:
To prepare a plan/ map
of a region which
includes natural as well
as and man-made
features including
elevation.
Engineering survey:
To collect requisite data
for planning, design and
execution of engineering
projects.
Three broad steps are
1) Reconnaissance
survey:
To explore site conditions
and availability of
infrastructures.
2) Preliminary survey:
To collect adequate data
to prepare plan/map of
area to be used for
planning and design.
3) Location survey:
To set out work on the
ground for actual
construction/execution of
the project
Route survey:
To plan, design, and
laying out of route
such as highways,
railways, canals,
pipelines, and other
linear projects.
•Construction surveys:
Surveys which are
required for
establishment of
points, lines, grades,
and for staking out
engineering works
(after the plans have
been prepared and
the structural design
has been done).
Astronomic surveys:
To determine the
latitude, longitude (of
the observation
station) and azimuth
(of a line through
observation station)
from astronomical
observation.
Mine surveys:
To carry out surveying
specific for opencast
and underground
mining purposes
City Surveys:
Are surveys of the areas in and near a city for the purpose of planning
or improvements, locating property lines, fixing reference monuments,
determining the physical features and configuration of the land, and
preparing maps.
SPECIAL SURVEYS are conducted for a specific purpose and with a
special type of surveying equipment and methods.
LAND SURVEYS (sometimes called cadastral or property surveys) are
conducted to establish the exact location, boundaries, or subdivision of
a tract of land in any specified area
1. Establishing markers or monuments to define and thereby preserve
the boundaries of land belonging to a private concern, a corporation, or
the government.
2. Relocating markers or monuments legally established by original
surveys. This requires examining previous survey records, tracing what
was done. When some markers or monuments are missing, they are re-
established following recognized procedures, using whatever
information is available.
3. Rerunning old land survey lines to determine their lengths and
directions. As a result of the high cost of land, old lines are re-measured
to get more precise measurements.
4. Subdividing landed estates into parcels of predetermined sizes and
shapes.
5. Calculating areas, distances, and
directions and preparing the land map
to portray the survey data so that it
can be used as a permanent record.
6. Writing a technical description for
deeds.
GEOID is a surface coinciding with mean sea-level in the oceans,
and lying under the land. It is an equipotential gravitational
surface located approximately
at mean sea level, which is
everywhere perpendicular to the
direction of gravity.
Because of variations in the
Earth’s mass distribution and
rotation of the Earth, the geoid
has an irregular shape.
ELLIPSOID: It is a mathematical surface obtained by revolving an
ellipse about the Earth’s polar axis. The dimension of ellipse are
selected to give a good fit of the ellipsoid to the geoid over a large
area and are based upon surveys made in the area.
Units of Length
Units of Area (Land) Measurement
Units of Angular Measurement
1) Sexagesimal System
This system uses angular notation in increments of 60 by dividing
the circle into 360 degrees; degrees into 60 minutes; and
minutes into 60 seconds. Each unit has a corresponding symbol:
degrees are indicated by (°) minutes by ( ' ); and seconds by (").
1° = 60'= 3600"
1' = 60"
Units of Angular Measurement
2) Hundreds System – Grad System (gons)
A grad is defined as 1/400 of a circle. A grad is dividing into 100
centigrad, centigrad into 100 centicentigrad.
Grad is represented by the symbol (g) , centigrad by (c), centicentigrad by
(cc)

Notation;
133.1932g ( 133.1932 grad ) = 133g 19c 32cc
Units of Angular Measurement
3) Radian
A radian is the defined as the angle between
radius lines from either end of an arc of radius
length.
The circumference of a circle is twice the radius
length times π, or C= 2πr. Therefore, 1 circle =
2π radians
Units of Angular Measurement
Relation of angular units;
Units of Angular Measurement
Relation of angular units;
Map scale is the ratio of the length of an object or feature on a map to
the true length of the object and feature.
Map scales can be expressed as,
1. representative fraction or ratio :
1/2000 or 1: 2000
2. graphical scale :

In an interactive map, the scale, either graphical or numerical, must

continuously vary depending on the zoom level.
3. equivalence scale :
1 cm = 100 meter, indicates that 1cm on the map is equivalent to
100 meter on the object (ground).

1 cm distance on the map presents 1 km distance

In giving scale by ratio or representative fraction,
the same units are used for the map distance and
corresponding object distance.

M is expressed as a scale module

B = distance on map/plan
N = distance on the ground
M = scale module
Scales may be classified as large, medium and small.
Their respective scale ranges are as follows;
Large Scale : 1:10000 and larger
Medium Scale : 1:10000 – 1:300000
Small Scale : smaller than 1: 300000
Large Scale maps are applied where relatively high accuracy is
needed over limits areas; for example, in subdivision design and the
design of engineering projects like roads, dams, airport, and water
sewage system.
Medium scales are often used for applications such as general
preliminary planning where larger areas are covered, but only
moderate accuracy is needed. Applications include mapping general
layout of potential construction sites, proposed transportation
system , and existing facilities.
Small scale maps are commonly used for mapping large areas
where a lower order of accuracy will suffice. They are suitable for
general topographic coverage, applications in site suitability analysis,
preliminary lay out of expansive proposed construction project, and
for special applications in forestry, geology, etc.
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