Quick Answer: To convert a legal land description to GPS coordinates, enter your LLD (e.g., SW 25 24 1 W5) into Township Canada's search box and press enter. The tool instantly returns latitude/longitude coordinates, displays the location on a map, and provides the option to export results in CSV, KML, or other formats.

Township Canada's intelligent search box enables you to locate millions of places across Canada using legal land descriptions (LLDs), addresses, or geographic coordinates. It supports various survey grid systems, geographic coordinates, and addresses. Visit our about page to learn more about the supported search queries.

The search box is the primary tool for finding locations on the map. It is positioned at the top-left corner of the map. It's a text input field accompanied by a search icon. To begin, click the text input field and type your search query. As you type, the search box will display a list of suggestions. You can either select a suggestion from the list or press enter to search with your current input. Search results, including the legal land description, geographic coordinates, and address of the location (when available), will appear both on the map and in a right-side panel.

The results panel lists the search results, where each item includes the name of the location, its legal land description, geographic coordinates, and address. Below each item are four buttons:

A "Zoom" button to focus on the location on the map
A "Directions" button for route guidance
A "Save" button to save the location
A "Remove" button to delete the location from the map

Searching by legal land description

Township Canada accommodates various survey grid systems like Dominion Land Survey (DLS), National Topographic System (NTS), Geographic Townships, and Federal Permit System (FPS), each with its unique format for legal land descriptions. For instance, the DLS system uses a grid of LSDs, Quarter Sections, Sections, and Townships.

Inputting a complete legal land description isn't mandatory; a partial description will also prompt suggestions. Choose a suggestion or press enter to search with your input. Separate components of a legal land description with spaces, hyphens, or both (e.g., SW 25 24 1 W5, SW-25-24-1-W5, or SW 25 24-1W5).

Province-specific examples

Alberta and Saskatchewan (DLS System)

The Dominion Land Survey system covers Alberta, Saskatchewan, and parts of Manitoba. Examples of valid search formats:

Section-Township-Range-Meridian: 25-24-1-W5
Quarter Section: SW 25 24 1 W5 or SW-25-24-1-W5
LSD (Legal Subdivision): 7-25-24-1-W5

British Columbia (NTS System)

British Columbia uses the National Topographic System. Example format:

Quarter Unit-Unit-Block/Map Series-Map Area-Map Sheet: A-2-F/93-P-8

Manitoba (DLS + River Lots)

Manitoba uses both DLS and the River Lot/Parish Lot system:

DLS: SW 25 24 1 W1
River Lots: RL-103-PA, PL-G-KI, OT-54-BO

Ontario (Geographic Townships)

Ontario uses the Geographic Township system with Concessions and Lots:

Township: Osprey
Concession Township: Con 4 Osprey
Lot Concession Township: Lot 2 Con 4 Osprey

Searching by geographic coordinates

Find locations using geographic coordinates such as GPS coordinates in formats like decimal degrees (e.g., 51.454928, -114.648933) and degree minute seconds (e.g., 51°27'17.7"N 114°38'56.2"W). The order of latitude and longitude is interchangeable, so both 51.454928, -114.648933 and -114.648933, 51.454928 are valid. Input the coordinates and press enter to initiate the search.

Searching by place names, addresses, or postal codes

To locate places and addresses, enter the name of a place, an address, or a postal code. The search box will offer a list of suggestions as you type. Select a suggestion or press enter to search with your current input.

Searching by clicking on the map

Alternatively, find legal land descriptions, geographic coordinates, and addresses by clicking on the map. Select the marker button from the top-right corner of the map and click on your desired location. The results will appear on the map and in the right-side panel.

Downloading search results

You can download search results in various formats, including CSV, KML, Shapefile, DXF, and GeoJSON. These formats are compatible with applications such as Excel, Google Earth, CAD, and GIS software. To download, click the "Download" button, located at the top-right corner of the results panel, and select your preferred file format; the file will then be saved to your device.

Need to convert many locations at once? Check out our batch conversion guide to process thousands of records simultaneously.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert a legal land description to GPS coordinates?

Enter your legal land description (e.g., SW 25 24 1 W5) into the Township Canada search box. The tool instantly converts it to GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) and displays the location on the map. You can then copy the coordinates or download them in various formats.

What legal land description formats are supported?

Township Canada supports Dominion Land Survey (DLS) for Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba; National Topographic System (NTS) for British Columbia; Geographic Townships for Ontario; and Federal Permit System (FPS) for Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and offshore areas.

How to Convert Legal Land Description to GPS Coordinates