A History of Surveying

A History of Surveying

Most images have been provided by Ken Allred, ALS, CLS and Patrick Ringwood, BCLS, CLS

From Eratosthenes to GPSFrom Eratosthenes to GPS

A History of SurveyingA History of Surveying

Eratosthenes 276 B.C.

3800 BC

The oldest known topographic map on a clay tablet of a northern part of

Mesopotamia

Cadastral Plan - Mesopatamia - 1700 BC

I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.

Zechariah 2:1

The Rope Stretchers

Pythagoras

The Pyramids

Early cadastral records to 3400 BC

Early Egyptian Civilization

Flooding of the Nile

Ancient Boundary Stone

1st Century – 11th Century AD – Compass developed

• Chinese invention - south pointing spoon (lodestone)

• used as a divining tool in the practice of feng shui

• magnetized needles used as direction pointers in the 8th century AD in China

• ca. 850 and 1050 common as marine navigational aids

Gerard Mercator - c. 1550

1571Leonard Digges Invented

the Theodolite - England

The Sextant 1730

Early explorers

Samuel de Champlain

Peter Fidler

David Thompson

Captain James Cook

Samuel de Champlain

1608

Philip Turnor & Peter Fidler

Lake Athabasca - 1791

From the book: Canada’s Forgotten Surveyor by Peter Fidler

David Thompson Columbia River

1806

Peter Fidler

Elk Point, Alberta

From the ALS News Magazine

Surveyors and Statesmen

Three Surveyors and another guy!

MountRushmore

GeorgeWashington

Surveyor

1747-52

Essential for settlement

Early land information system

From an ALSA Brochure

Technological Revolution

• 1950’s - Geodimeter

– Tellurometer

• 1970’s - Desk Top Computer

– Total Stations

• 1990’s - Geographic Information Systems

• 1990’s - Satellite Positioning Systems

• 2000’s – High Resolution Imagery

Global Positioning Systems

Selective Availability Turned off in 2000