Why does Mississippi have so many principal meridians?

Mississippi's multiple meridians reflect the sequence of treaty cessions and land openings that brought the state into the public domain over several decades. Each major cession — from the Natchez District (1798) to the Chickasaw cession (1832) — triggered a new survey effort often using a new meridian. The result is a state where five different survey control lines govern different parts of the same state.

How do I determine which meridian applies to a Mississippi county?

County location is the primary guide. The Washington Meridian covers the older western River counties (Warren, Claiborne, Jefferson, Adams, Wilkinson, and others). The St. Stephens Meridian covers the southwest (Pike, Lincoln, Lawrence, Jefferson Davis, Marion, Lamar, Forrest, Perry, and others). The Choctaw Meridian covers central Mississippi. The Chickasaw Meridian covers the northern tier (Alcorn, Prentiss, Tishomingo, Union, Lee, Pontotoc, and others). The Huntsville Meridian covers a few counties near the Alabama border.

What is the Choctaw Meridian and where is it used?

The Choctaw Meridian was established in 1833 to survey the territory ceded by the Choctaw Nation under the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek (1830). It governs the central Mississippi counties and covers some of the most extensive farmland and timber land in the state. Descriptions in counties like Attala, Choctaw, Winston, Noxubee, Kemper, and their neighbors typically reference the Choctaw Meridian.

Can I convert Mississippi Delta farmland descriptions to GPS?

Yes. Mississippi Delta farmland in the northwest counties (Coahoma, Bolivar, Sunflower, Leflore, Humphreys, Washington, Sharkey, Issaquena, and others) is surveyed under the Washington Meridian or the Choctaw Meridian depending on location. Enter the section, township, range, and meridian from the deed or FSA record to map the parcel. Batch conversion handles large Delta land inventories efficiently.

Mississippi PLSS Converter — Section Township Range to GPS

Convert Mississippi Public Land Survey System (PLSS) land descriptions to GPS coordinates using the Choctaw / Huntsville / St. Stephens / Washington / Chickasaw system.

Convert Mississippi Land Descriptions

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

Example: SE 5 9N 12W Choctaw Meridian

Open the converter

Understanding Mississippi's PLSS System

Mississippi holds an unusual distinction in the PLSS system: it is governed by more principal meridians than any other state in the nation. Five separate meridians control surveys across Mississippi's 82 counties — the Choctaw Meridian, the Huntsville Meridian, the St. Stephens Meridian, the Washington Meridian, and the Chickasaw Meridian. This proliferation of meridians reflects the complex sequence of treaty cessions, military survey priorities, and competing land opening schedules that characterized Mississippi's settlement history from the 1790s through the 1830s.

Each meridian corresponds to a distinct period of federal treaty acquisition and survey. The Washington Meridian was the first established, in 1803, to survey the Natchez District along the Mississippi River. The St. Stephens Meridian followed in 1804 to survey the Mobile District in the southwest. The Huntsville Meridian, established in 1807, extended into northern Mississippi from its Alabama initial point. The Choctaw Meridian was established in 1833 to survey the vast central Mississippi territory ceded by the Choctaw Nation under the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek (1830). The Chickasaw Meridian was established in 1834 to survey the northern Mississippi territory ceded by the Chickasaw Nation under the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek (1832).

Understanding which meridian applies to a Mississippi county is essential before any PLSS description can be accurately interpreted. In most cases, county location determines the meridian: the Washington Meridian covers the oldest settled western counties along the Mississippi River; the St. Stephens Meridian covers the southwest; the Huntsville Meridian covers some northern counties near the Alabama border; the Choctaw Meridian covers the central counties; and the Chickasaw Meridian covers the northern tier. Several counties at the boundaries between meridian districts require careful verification before proceeding.

Principal Meridians

Choctaw Meridian Huntsville Meridian St. Stephens Meridian Washington Meridian Chickasaw Meridian

Common Use Cases in Mississippi

Who converts Mississippi PLSS descriptions — and why.

Agricultural Land and Delta Farming

The Mississippi Delta — one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world — stretches across the alluvial floodplain counties of northwestern Mississippi. Delta farmland transactions, cash rent agreements, and FSA program records for cotton, soybeans, and rice all reference Washington and Choctaw Meridian PLSS descriptions. Accurate GPS conversion is essential for acreage verification and precision agriculture planning.

Timber and Forestry in Central and Southern Mississippi

Central and southern Mississippi's pine timber industry operates on millions of acres of industrial and private forestland described under the Choctaw and St. Stephens Meridians. Timber sale contracts, reforestation agreements, and timberland transactions all require GPS conversion of PLSS descriptions for boundary identification and field mapping.

Oil and Gas in Southwest Mississippi

Southwest Mississippi has active oil production in the Smackover and Tuscaloosa formations. Lease descriptions in Wilkinson, Amite, Pike, and Lincoln counties reference St. Stephens and Choctaw Meridian PLSS descriptions. Converting these to GPS supports lease mapping and Mississippi State Oil and Gas Board regulatory filings.

Title Research Across Multiple Meridians

Mississippi title attorneys frequently encounter chains of title that cross meridian boundaries as properties were combined or subdivided over time. GPS conversion of PLSS descriptions under each applicable meridian provides a reliable spatial framework for resolving potential boundary gaps or overlaps and confirming that descriptions from different survey eras refer to contiguous land.

Industries: AgricultureTimberOil & Gas

How to Convert Mississippi Legal Descriptions

Three steps from legal description to GPS coordinates.

Identify your county's meridian and enter the description

Mississippi's five meridians require identifying the correct one before entry. A Choctaw Meridian description reads: SE 5 9N 12W Choctaw Meridian. A Chickasaw Meridian description reads: NW 18 11S 4E Chickasaw Meridian. A Washington Meridian description reads: NE 3 14N 6W Washington Meridian. Confirm your county's meridian from the BLM records or county clerk before entering the description.

Verify the map result

The converter plots the parcel on an interactive map. For Mississippi, always cross-check the result against your expected county. A wrong meridian selection will place the result far from the true location. Toggle on aerial imagery to confirm that the parcel falls in the expected landscape — Delta farmland, pine woods, or river bottom.

Export for your application

Download coordinates as CSV, KML, or GeoJSON. Mississippi agricultural users export to FSA portal tools and precision agriculture platforms; timber companies import into forest inventory systems; oil and gas landmen export to lease mapping software; title attorneys export to county chancery court GIS viewers.

Processing a Mississippi county farmland database, a timber company land inventory spanning multiple meridians, or an oil lease portfolio? Batch conversion handles any number of descriptions — just include the meridian designation in each row for accurate results.

Learn about batch conversion

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Mississippi PLSS descriptions and conversion.

Mississippi uses five principal meridians — more than any other state: the Choctaw Meridian (central counties), the Huntsville Meridian (some northern counties near Alabama), the St. Stephens Meridian (southwest), the Washington Meridian (western Delta counties), and the Chickasaw Meridian (northern tier counties). Always include the meridian abbreviation when entering Mississippi PLSS descriptions.