Surveying GPS/GNSS, level and rod

Survey Says

Bench marks – What Are Those?

Russell Hammond - Tuesday, August 15, 2017

 

  

After days of rain and cloudy skies, the sun is finally emerging to shine once again. This is the kind of day to take a stroll outside and bask in the warmth. Find a bench and let the winter blues melt away. Land Surveyors rejoice for sunny dry weather, for they too are searching for benches.

This isn’t a structure that you sit on after an afternoon walk.

It is, however, a bench or a rest spot for a leveling rod. The term bench mark originated from the chiseled horizontal marks that surveyors made in stone structures, into which an angle-iron could be placed to form a “bench” for a leveling rod. This ensured that a leveling rod could be accurately repositioned in the same place in the future.

What does that mean?

Simply put, a bench mark is an object that could be:

  • a metal disk
  • a stone
  • a metal rod

This object is then driven into the ground permanently to be used again for a reference point.

You might notice bench marks around your area. Share with us if you spot one.


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