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Metes and Bounds
Practical Law Glossary Item 5-507-1527 (Approx. 2 pages)
Glossary
Metes and Bounds
The legal description of a parcel of land that is measured in distances, angles, and directions. A surveyor uses directions and distances from physical monuments to define and describe the boundaries of the parcel of land. The monuments used by the surveyor can be either exclusive or a combination of:
- Natural monuments existing on the land, such as trees, streams, or a neighbor's adjoining parcel of land.
- Artificial monuments placed on the property by the surveyor, such as an identifiable stake in the ground.
A metes and bounds legal description starts from a point of beginning (POB). After the POB, the legal description traces the outline of the property's boundary lines until there is closure in the legal description. To achieve closure in the legal description, the last course and distance call of the legal description should end at the POB.
Metes and bounds legal descriptions are most often used in state land states.