How do Arizona township numbers work?

Arizona township numbers run both north and south of the Gila and Salt River baseline, which passes through the Phoenix area. Northern Arizona (above the baseline) has North township designations up to about 42N in the Grand Canyon area; southern Arizona has South township designations down to about 23S near the Mexican border. Range numbers run east and west of the Gila and Salt River Meridian line.

Why does the federal government own so much of Arizona?

Arizona was admitted to the union in 1912 as one of the last continental states, and at the time of statehood, the federal government retained ownership of the vast majority of the territory that had not been patented to private owners or granted to the new state. Unlike the original public land states in the East, where much land was sold to private buyers in the 19th century, Arizona's arid terrain attracted fewer homestead and agricultural patents, leaving most of the land in federal ownership.

Can I use this converter for Arizona mining claims?

Yes. Arizona mining claims are registered with the BLM using Gila and Salt River Meridian PLSS descriptions. Enter the section, township, and range from the claim record to map the claim area. For placer claims, which are often described by section or quarter section, the conversion is direct. For lode claims, the converted point represents the section corner or reference point for the claim, not the exact vein location.

How do I handle Arizona descriptions near the Grand Canyon?

Grand Canyon area descriptions use high North township numbers (30N and above) under the Gila and Salt River Meridian. Many sections in the Grand Canyon region were protracted rather than surveyed on the ground due to the extreme terrain. Government lots along the canyon rim and in tributary canyons carry non-standard acreages recorded on the original GLO plat. Always cross-reference with topographic layers when working with Grand Canyon area descriptions.

Arizona PLSS Converter — Section Township Range to GPS

Convert Arizona Public Land Survey System (PLSS) land descriptions to GPS coordinates using the Gila and Salt River system.

Convert Arizona Land Descriptions

Enter a Arizona PLSS land description to get GPS coordinates instantly.

Example: SE 22 3N 4E Gila & Salt River Meridian

Open the converter

Understanding Arizona's PLSS System

Arizona is one of the most geographically consistent PLSS states in the country: the entire state is governed by a single principal meridian, the Gila and Salt River Meridian, established in 1865 with its initial point at the confluence of the Gila and Salt Rivers near present-day Phoenix. This single-meridian simplicity makes Arizona descriptions easy to navigate once the basic format is understood — every Arizona PLSS description, from the Colorado River bottomlands to the high ponderosa pine forests of the Mogollon Rim, references the same initial point and the same grid.

Arizona's survey history was shaped by the extraordinary diversity of its terrain. The Sonoran Desert in the southwest, the Colorado Plateau in the northeast, the Sky Islands mountain ranges of the southeast, the Grand Canyon's vast gorge in the north, and the central desert basins all presented distinct survey challenges. Original GLO survey crews in Arizona worked in some of the most extreme conditions in American surveying history — summer temperatures exceeding 115°F in the low desert, and winters that closed mountain passes for months. The result is a higher proportion of protracted sections and government lots than in more temperate states, particularly in the Grand Canyon region, along the Colorado River, and in the rough terrain of the White Mountains and the Mazatzal range.

Land ownership in Arizona is dominated by federal and state agencies to an unusual degree. The federal government — through the BLM, National Park Service, Forest Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs — controls more than 57% of Arizona's land area. State trust land adds another 13%. Private land represents only about 17% of the total. This means that most land transactions and resource management activities in Arizona involve federal or state PLSS-described parcels, making accurate PLSS-to-GPS conversion a routine requirement for mining, ranching, energy development, and outdoor recreation management.

Principal Meridians

Gila and Salt River Meridian

Common Use Cases in Arizona

Who converts Arizona PLSS descriptions — and why.

Mining Claims and Mineral Leasing

Arizona is one of the nation's leading copper-producing states, and active mining operations, exploration claims, and federal mineral leases span millions of acres. Mining claim patents, mill site descriptions, and federal mineral lease terms all reference Gila and Salt River Meridian PLSS coordinates. Converting these to GPS supports claim boundary verification, environmental baseline surveys, and Arizona State Mine Inspector regulatory filings.

Ranching and BLM Grazing

Arizona's vast desert and grassland rangelands are managed through BLM grazing allotments and state trust land leases, all described using PLSS legal descriptions. Large cattle operations spanning dozens of sections depend on accurate GPS conversion to verify allotment boundaries, locate water rights points, and confirm improvements and range structures are within permitted areas.

Real Estate and Land Development

Arizona's population growth, particularly in the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas, drives constant demand for PLSS-to-GPS conversion. Subdivision plats, annexation petitions, and title searches for residential and commercial development all trace back to Gila and Salt River Meridian descriptions in the underlying deeds. GPS conversion is the first step in any development boundary analysis.

Solar and Wind Energy Projects

Arizona's desert terrain and abundant sunshine have made it a leading target for utility-scale solar development. Solar project right-of-way descriptions, BLM right-of-way applications, and transmission line route surveys all reference PLSS descriptions for the affected sections. Converting these to GPS supports project siting, environmental review, and Arizona Corporation Commission filings.

Industries: MiningRanchingReal Estate

How to Convert Arizona Legal Descriptions

Three steps from legal description to GPS coordinates.

Enter your Arizona legal description

Type or paste your Gila and Salt River Meridian description into the converter. A standard Arizona description looks like: SE 22 3N 4E Gila & Salt River Meridian. All Arizona PLSS descriptions reference this single meridian, so confirming 'Gila & Salt River Meridian' in the description is straightforward. Township numbers run north and south of the Gila and Salt River baseline near Phoenix.

Verify the map result

The converter plots the parcel on an interactive map. For Arizona, toggle between aerial and topographic basemap layers to confirm the parcel falls in the expected landscape — Sonoran Desert, Colorado Plateau, or mountain terrain. For mining claims and BLM parcels, cross-reference with the BLM surface management layer to confirm ownership and jurisdiction.

Export for your use case

Download coordinates as CSV, KML, or GeoJSON. Arizona mining professionals export to claim management and exploration GIS platforms; ranch managers import into grazing allotment management tools; real estate developers export to county planning department GIS viewers; solar project teams export to environmental review mapping tools.

Processing an Arizona mining district claim inventory, a BLM grazing allotment portfolio, or a solar project parcel list? Batch conversion handles any number of Gila and Salt River Meridian descriptions from a single CSV upload and returns GPS coordinates for each parcel.

Learn about batch conversion

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Arizona PLSS descriptions and conversion.

Arizona uses the Gila and Salt River Meridian for all PLSS surveys statewide. The initial point was established in 1865 at the confluence of the Gila and Salt Rivers near present-day Phoenix. All Arizona PLSS descriptions reference 'Gila & Salt River Meridian' or 'Gila and Salt River Meridian.'