degrees, minutes, seconds

Also called: DMS

Angle notation: 1 degree = 60 minutes, 1 minute = 60 seconds.

The sexagesimal notation used for surveying angles. One degree (°) is 60 minutes (′) and one minute is 60 seconds (″). At 1,000 feet, one minute of arc shifts the far end of a line by about 0.3 feet — which is why a dropped or misread minute shows up immediately in the closure math.

Where you'll see it

Surveying Basics

How to Read a Metes and Bounds Description

Deeds are written in their own language. Here is how to walk one line by line — and what the closure math is actually telling you at the end.

Related terms in Bearings & Angles

azimuth basis of bearing bearing

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