Metes and Bounds

Metes and bounds constitutes one of a variety of methods historically used to describe real property. A property description is used in an instrument of conveyance to provide information on the shape, size, and unique location of the parcel of land being transferred. Property descriptions are often relied upon during the parcel conversion process of creating a cadastral, or parcel, layer in a GIS.

Of the various types of property descriptions, the metes-and-bounds description is the only one that describes a parcel by delineating its perimeter. This is accomplished by describing a series of courses (directions and distances) that start at one corner of a parcel and traverse around the entire perimeter of the parcel back to the beginning corner. Metes are the directions and distances ...