Oklahoma land is described by section, township and range under the Public Land Survey System, measured from two meridians: the Indian Meridian and Indian Base Line, which run from an Initial Point set in 1870 near present-day Davis and govern all of the state except the Panhandle, and the Cimarron Meridian, which governs the Panhandle.
According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, Congress in 1864 directed that the lands of the Indian Territory be surveyed under the system laid down by the Land Ordinance of 1785, and treaties with the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations in 1866 provided for surveying Indian land east of the 98th Meridian under the federal public land survey. In 1870 the General Land Office sent surveyors E. N. Darling and Theodore H. Barrett, who selected an Initial Point about one mile south of Fort Arbuckle, roughly six miles west of present Davis in Murray County.
From that point they ran the Indian Meridian north and south and the Indian Base Line east and west. The Historical Society places the Indian Meridian about twelve miles west of the 97th meridian. Township lines run every six miles north and south of the base line and range lines every six miles east and west of the meridian; the state has twenty-nine townships north and nine south of the base line, and twenty-seven ranges east and twenty-six west of the meridian.
The Panhandle, which the Historical Society describes as a strip 34 miles wide and 169 miles long, is the exception: it is not surveyed from the Indian Meridian. The General Land Office's 1894 Manual of Surveying Instructions, reproduced in the Bureau of Land Management's history of the rectangular survey, lists the Cimarron Meridian, in longitude 103° west, with a base line at latitude 36° 30' north, as governing surveys in Oklahoma Territory west of 100° west longitude, and the Indian Meridian as governing the Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory east of 100° west.
So a Beaver, Texas or Cimarron County description names the Cimarron Meridian, and a description almost anywhere else in Oklahoma names the Indian Meridian. If a description omits the meridian, the county usually tells you which applies.
Oklahoma deeds, leases, Corporation Commission orders and well records describe land by section, township and range, often written compactly as "12-5N-3W" for Section 12, Township 5 North, Range 3 West, Indian Meridian. Each township holds 36 sections of about 640 acres, numbered from Section 1 in the northeast corner to Section 36 in the southeast corner, and sections are divided into quarters and quarter-quarters. The PLSS guide explains how to read the fractions and convert them to acres.
The same grid organizes Oklahoma well data. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission's royalty owner booklet walks through searching its well databases by section, township and range, entering one-digit numbers with a leading zero, which is the quickest way to see the wells in a section where you own minerals.
| Item | Indian Meridian | Cimarron Meridian |
|---|---|---|
| Area governed | All of Oklahoma except the Panhandle | The Panhandle (Oklahoma Territory west of 100° W) |
| Initial point | Set in 1870 about one mile south of Fort Arbuckle, roughly six miles west of present Davis | Base line at latitude 36° 30' N; meridian at longitude 103° W |
| Townships | 29 north and 9 south of the Indian Base Line | Counted north from the Cimarron base line |
| Ranges | 27 east and 26 west of the Indian Meridian | Counted east from the Cimarron Meridian |
The section, township and range on your deed is the key that links your minerals to the wells in the Corporation Commission's records, which are searchable the same way. Check the meridian too: the Indian and Cimarron meridians are almost six degrees of longitude apart, so a description read against the wrong one points to land hundreds of miles away.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Have an Oklahoma title examiner confirm what a specific description covers.
The Public Land Survey System (Township and Range)
Oil & Gas Encyclopedia — all terms
Educational information only — not legal, tax, or investment advice. Consult a qualified attorney, CPA, or landman about your specific situation.
Two. The Indian Meridian governs all of Oklahoma except the Panhandle; the Cimarron Meridian governs the Panhandle, which the 1894 surveying manual describes as Oklahoma Territory west of 100 degrees west longitude.
About one mile south of old Fort Arbuckle, roughly six miles west of present Davis in Murray County. Surveyors E. N. Darling and Theodore H. Barrett set it in 1870.
From the Indian Meridian and Base Line there are twenty-nine townships north and nine south, and twenty-seven ranges east and twenty-six west, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Section 12, Township 5 North, Range 3 West, normally of the Indian Meridian: the twelfth section of the six-mile township that is five tiers north of the Indian Base Line and three columns west of the Indian Meridian.
Search the Oklahoma Corporation Commission well databases by section, township and range. The Commission's royalty owner booklet walks through the steps.
Yes. It uses the Cimarron Meridian, at 103 degrees west longitude with a base line at 36 degrees 30 minutes north, instead of the Indian Meridian.
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