Cadastre

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A cadastre (also spelled cadaster) is a register of the real property of a country, with details of the area, the owners and the value.

The word came into English by way of French and Italian, variously attributed to the Late Latin capitastrum, a register of the poll tax, and the Greek katastikhon, a list or register, from kata stikhon, literally, "down the line" in the sense of "line by line."

It gives rise to the adjective cadastral, used in surveying and public administration, and referring to the division of land into units for surveying, taxation or administrative purposes. Cadastral units may include counties, parishes, ridings, hundreds, or blocks.

Accurate cadastral surveys help prevent disputes and lawsuits between landowners and allow for reliable land valuation. An example from England is the Domesday Book. However, the term is sometimes used loosely of the Ordnance Survey of the United Kingdom where it is on a sufficiently large scale to show the area of every field or piece of ground.

Cadastral map of village Pielnia, 1852, Galicia, Poland

A cadastral map is a map showing boundaries and ownership of land. Some cadastral maps show, as well as boundaries and ownership details, such details as Survey District Names, Block Numbers (within each Survey District), Certificate of Title numbers, positions of existing older structures, government described runhold section and/or lot numbers and their respective areas, adjoining and adjacent street names, selected boundary dimensions and references to prior founding maps.

In the United States, Cadastral Survey within the Bureau of Land Management is responsible for maintaining records of all public lands. Such surveys often required detailed investigation of the history of land use, legal accounts and other documents.

Cadastre

See also