In many deeds, the direction is described not by azimuth (a clockwise degree measure out of 360 degrees) but instead by bearing (a direction north or south followed by a degree measure out of 90 degrees and another direction west or east). Where watercourses form part of the bounds their meander is generally taken as a straight line between the established corners and their monuments. The description then gives distance, direction and various boundary descriptions as if one were walking the bounds pacing off the distance to the next corner where there is a change of direction.

JSTOR ( November 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ī typical description for a small parcel of land would be: 'Commencing at a corner at the intersection of two stone walls near an apple tree on the north side of Muddy Creek road one mile above the junction of Muddy and Indian Creeks, thence north for 150 rods to the end of the stone wall bordering the road, thence northwest along a line to a large standing rock on the corner of the property now or formerly belonging to John Smith, thence west 150 rods to the corner of a barn near a large oak tree, thence south to Muddy Creek road, thence down the side of the creek road to the point of commencement.' The sequence begins with an identified corner serving as benchmark.

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. town boundaries) where precise definition is not required or would be far too expensive, or previously designated boundaries can be incorporated into the description. The system is often used to define larger pieces of property (e.g.

Bounds ( Abuttals and boundaries) refer to a more general boundary description, such as along a certain watercourse, a stone wall, an adjoining public road way, or an existing building.A direction may be a simple compass bearing or a precise orientation determined by accurate survey methods. Metes refers to a boundary defined by the measurement of each straight run, specified by a distance between the terminal points, and an orientation or direction.At the time the description is compiled, it may have been marked on the ground with permanent monuments placed where there were no suitable natural monuments. It may include references to other adjoining parcels (and their owners), and it, in turn, could also be referred to in later surveys. The boundaries are described in a running prose style, working around the parcel in sequence, from a point of beginning, returning to the same point compare with the oral ritual of beating the bounds.

Typically the system uses physical features of the local geography, along with directions and distances, to define and describe the boundaries of a parcel of land. While still in hand-me-down use, this system has been largely overtaken in the past few centuries by newer systems such as rectangular (government survey) and lot and block (recorded plat). By custom, it was applied in the original Thirteen Colonies that became the United States and in many other land jurisdictions based on English common law, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, India and Bangladesh.

The system is also used in the Canadian province of Ontario, and throughout Canada for the description of electoral districts. The system has been used in England for many centuries and is still used there in the definition of general boundaries. Metes and bounds is a system or method of describing land, real property (in contrast to personal property) or real estate. ( May 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Please help by editing the article to make improvements to the overall structure. This article may be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia's layout guidelines.

Metes and bounds vs lot and block