4 replies to this topic

[JRF]

I’m trying to obtain shape files for Canadian Dominion Land Survey data. I only need the 4 western provinces. It will be used for a drilling company’s printed map, limited use. Any ideas?

Thanks!

[eli]

What exactly are you looking for? An index shapefile for the Survey?

[JRF]

What exactly are you looking for? An index shapefile for the Survey?

Yes, a shapefile for the Survey lines is what I'm looking for.

thanks,

[eli]

You will likely have to go province by province, as provinces usually manage spatial data like that. Also, you may have to pay for it. For Saskatchewan you might find what you're looking for here or here. For Alberta, you can try AlatLIS (free, if you're ok with small scale data. otherwise, $$$$). For BC... can't even think of where you could find it.

[SaultDon]

The other sources for what you are looking for are correct.

In BC, the DLS survey was conducted on a need-to-do basis.

These areas encompassed thee railroad in the south and the Agricultural Land Reserves (contact the ALC - Agricultural Land Commission) in the north east portion of the province. The reason for your difficulty in obtaining DLS information for the western provinces is because they were some of the last explored regions of Canada, particularly the northern portions of these provinces.

There is lots of documentation available that describes the methodology used to create the grid and this can be followed and generated in almost any GIS program.