§ 752. — Boundaries and contents of public lands; how ascertained.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 43USC752]
TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER 18--SURVEY OF PUBLIC LANDS
Sec. 752. Boundaries and contents of public lands; how
ascertained
The boundaries and contents of the several sections, half-sections,
and quarter-sections of the public lands shall be ascertained in
conformity with the following principles:
First. All the corners marked in the surveys, returned by the
Secretary of the Interior or such agency as he may designate, shall be
established as the proper corners of sections, or subdivisions of
sections, which they were intended to designate; and the corners of
half- and quarter-sections, not marked on the surveys, shall be placed
as nearly as possible equidistant from two corners which stand on the
same line.
Second. The boundary lines, actually run and marked in the surveys
returned by the Secretary of the Interior or such agency as he may
designate, shall be established as the proper boundary lines of the
sections, or subdivisions, for which they were intended, and the length
of such lines as returned, shall be held and considered as the true
length thereof. And the boundary lines which have not been actually run
and marked shall be ascertained, by running straight lines from the
established corners to the opposite corresponding corners; but in those
portions of the fractional townships where no such opposite
corresponding corners have been or can be fixed, the boundary lines
shall be ascertained by running from the established corners due north
and south or east and west lines, as the case may be, to the
watercourse, Indian boundary line, or other external boundary of such
fractional township.
Third. Each section or subdivision of section, the contents whereof
have been returned by the Secretary of the Interior or such agency as he
may designate, shall be held and considered as containing the exact
quantity expressed in such return; and the half sections and quarter
sections, the contents whereof shall not have been thus returned, shall
be held and considered as containing the one-half or the one-fourth
part, respectively, of the returned contents of the section of which
they may make part.
(R.S. Sec. 2396; Mar. 3, 1925, ch. 462, 43 Stat. 1144; 1946 Reorg. Plan
No. 3, Sec. 403, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7876, 60 Stat. 1100.)
Codification
R.S. Sec. 2396 derived from act Feb. 11, 1805, ch. 14, Sec. 2, 2
Stat. 313.
Transfer of Functions
For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies
of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of
the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950,
Secs. 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out
under section 1451 of this title.
In pars. ``First'', ``Second'' and ``Third'', reference to ``Field
Surveying Service'' changed to ``Secretary of the Interior or such
agency as he may designate'', on authority of section 403 of Reorg. Plan
No. 3 of 1946. See note set out under section 1 of this title.
Act Mar. 3, 1925, abolished office of surveyor general and
transferred administration of all activities in charge of surveyors
general to Field Surveying Service under jurisdiction of United States
Supervisor of Surveys.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 753 of this title.
