How to read a DLS (Dominion Land Survey) description
DLS descriptions read from the quarter outward. Here's how to take apart a description like NE-12-34-5-W4 piece by piece.
Step by step
1. Quarter (NE): which 160-acre quarter of the section. 2. Section (12): one of 36 in the township. 3. Township (34): rows north from the baseline. 4. Range (5): columns west of the meridian. 5. Meridian (W4): the governing meridian line.
So NE-12-34-5-W4 is the north-east quarter of section 12, township 34, range 5, west of the 4th meridian.
Last reviewed June 2026. General information about survey systems — not legal, title, or survey advice.
Sources: Natural Resources Canada — About Canada Lands surveys, NRCan — Manual of Instructions for the Survey of Dominion Lands.