The Cimarron meridian is a survey line in the United States at longitude 103° west from Greenwich. It extends from latitude 36° 30′ to 37° north, and, with the baseline in latitude 36° 30′ north, governs the surveys in Oklahoma west of 100° west longitude from Greenwich, i.e. the Oklahoma Panhandle.
The meridian was established by Richard O. Chaney and William W. Smith in the fall of 1881.[1]
The initial point for the Cimarron meridian is confused with the marker known as Texhomex, which was placed during a resurvey. The Cimarron meridian initial point marker establishes the place where the 103° west meridian intersects the baseline from whence land in the Oklahoma Panhandle (formerly No Man's Land) is surveyed.[2] It was the last meridian established in the Continental United States.
The initial point is about 2 miles east of the northwest corner of Texas, both of which were surveyed to lie on the 103° west meridian in the 19th century before longitudinal accuracy was assured. While theoretically in the same ___location, the surveys used radically different methods.
The northern end of the meridian was established for the northwestern point of Oklahoma. While instrumental in establishing the 103° west meridian still being used for the border between Oklahoma and New Mexico, its position about 929 feet (283 m) north of the line used as the 37° north line makes it of little importance to surveyors.[3]
Northern marker
editWhen Levi S. Preston found the Cimarron meridian markers, he used them to re-establish the 103° west meridian during his 1900 resurvey. But he setup his own marker at the tri-point (the place where three states meet) of Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico that would follow the Colorado-New Mexico border established by John J. Major in 1874.
The 1881 Chaney monument is located at 37°0′9.72817″N 103°00′8.40630″W / 37.0027022694°N 103.0023350833°W, nearly 1000 feet north of the Preston monument that marks the tri-state corner.[2][3]
Southern marker
editThe southern Cimarron meridian marker was replaced by a modern one in 1932.[4] It is located at 36°30′5.26313″N 103°0′8.59234″W / 36.5014619806°N 103.0023867611°W. It is about 350 feet (110 m) north of Texhomex.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ The Northwest Boundary of Texas, No. 194, Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey, 1902.
- ^ a b PID HJ0488 CBN Control Station
- ^ a b PID HJ0392 CBN Control Station
- ^ PID BBFV27 OPUS Station
Sources
edit- Raymond, William Galt (1914). Plane Surveying for Use in the Classroom and Field (via Internet Archive). New York: American Book Company.
- The Nevada Traverse, Journal of the Professional Land Surveyors of Nevada, Vol. 45, No.4, December 2018
- Surveys and Surveyors of the Public Domain, 1785-1975, Lola Cazier, US Department of Interior, USGPO, Washington, 1978, p.202
External links
edit- "Oklahoma". U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Archived from the original on 2013-02-22. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
- "Cimarron Meridian". The Center for Land Use Interpretation. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
- "Cimarron Principal Meridian Oklahoma (Clayton, NM)". Principal Meridian Project. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
- The Northwest Boundary of Texas, No. 194, Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey, 1902.