How do Washington township numbers work?

Washington townships are numbered northward from the Willamette baseline in Oregon. 1N begins just north of the Oregon-Washington border in the southwest corner of the state, and numbers increase toward the Canadian border. The highest township numbers — in the 40N range — are in the northern tier counties of Whatcom, Okanogan, and Ferry.

Why do some western Washington sections have irregular shapes?

The dense forests and rugged terrain of the Cascades and Coast Range made precise chaining extremely difficult for original GLO surveyors. Many sections in western Washington were protracted — drawn on paper from partial field measurements — rather than fully chained on the ground. Government lots along Puget Sound, Hood Canal, and major rivers also break the standard quarter-section geometry.

Can I convert Washington PLSS descriptions for timber sale boundaries?

Yes. DNR and National Forest timber sales in Washington are defined by PLSS legal descriptions in the sale contract. Enter the section, township, and range from the contract to map the sale area. For sales covering multiple sections, use batch conversion to process all parcels and export them as a single KML or GeoJSON layer.

Does Washington share its PLSS system with any other state?

Yes. Washington and Oregon both use the Willamette Meridian. The initial point and baseline are located in Oregon, and the same township and range grid extends northward across Washington. A description like 1N 4E Willamette Meridian could refer to land in either state depending on context, so always confirm the state when interpreting descriptions near the border.

Washington PLSS Converter — Section Township Range to GPS

Convert Washington Public Land Survey System (PLSS) land descriptions to GPS coordinates using the Willamette system.

Convert Washington Land Descriptions

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

Example: SW 17 20N 4E Willamette Meridian

Open the converter

Understanding Washington's PLSS System

Washington State is surveyed under the Willamette Meridian, which it shares with Oregon. The Willamette Meridian's initial point — established in 1851 on a hilltop in present-day Tualatin, Oregon — controls all township and range numbering across both states. In Washington, townships run northward from the Oregon baseline, with township numbers increasing as you move toward the Canadian border. Range numbers run both east and west of the Willamette Meridian line, which passes through the southern Willamette Valley in Oregon and extends northward as the governing line for Washington's western surveys.

The Cascade Range divides Washington into two distinct survey environments. West of the Cascades, the dense conifer forests of the Puget Sound lowlands and the Coast Range produced some of the most difficult surveys in the Pacific Northwest. Original GLO surveyors worked through stands of Douglas fir and western red cedar so thick that visual chaining was nearly impossible, and many western Washington townships show the irregular section boundaries and government lots that resulted from those conditions. East of the Cascades, the Columbia Plateau and the Palouse Hills — one of the world's most productive dryland farming regions — were surveyed across open terrain that allowed more regular rectangular grids, though the deeply incised coulees of the Columbia Basin created their own challenges.

Washington's PLSS descriptions are used across the full spectrum of the state's economy. The timber industry — historically dominant in the western counties — relies on PLSS for National Forest sales, DNR trust land management, and private timber harvest permits. Agriculture on the Columbia Plateau uses PLSS for irrigation project parcels, USDA program enrollments, and farmland transactions. The tech economy around Puget Sound has created demand for precise parcel identification in rapidly developing suburban fringe areas where legal descriptions in deeds can date back to original homestead patents.

Principal Meridians

Willamette Meridian

Common Use Cases in Washington

Who converts Washington PLSS descriptions — and why.

Timber and DNR Trust Land Management

Washington's Department of Natural Resources manages millions of acres of trust timber land for the benefit of public schools and institutions. All DNR harvest contracts, road permits, and trust land conveyances reference Willamette Meridian PLSS descriptions. Converting these to GPS is essential for field layout, boundary marking, and contract compliance.

Columbia Basin Irrigation and Farmland

The Columbia Basin Project delivers water to more than 500,000 acres of eastern Washington farmland. Bureau of Reclamation water delivery contracts and project land parcels are defined by PLSS descriptions. Irrigators, water brokers, and agricultural lenders use GPS-converted parcel boundaries to verify acreage and confirm delivery eligibility.

Rural and Suburban Real Estate

Washington's rapidly growing population has pushed development into formerly rural areas where deeds still reference original homestead PLSS descriptions. Title companies, escrow officers, and buyers rely on accurate conversions to verify that improvements and survey monuments match the deed description before closing.

Forest Service and BLM Permitting

Federal land in Washington includes large portions of the Okanogan-Wenatchee, Colville, and Gifford Pinchot National Forests. Grazing permits, outfitter licenses, and special use authorizations all carry PLSS descriptions for the areas covered. Permittees and agency staff use GPS conversion to locate boundaries in the field.

Industries: TimberAgricultureReal Estate

How to Convert Washington Legal Descriptions

Three steps from legal description to GPS coordinates.

Enter your Washington legal description

Type or paste your Willamette Meridian description into the converter. A standard Washington description looks like: SW 17 20N 4E Willamette Meridian. Washington townships are numbered north of the Willamette baseline, so a description with 20N places you roughly in the central part of the state. Range numbers run east or west of the Willamette Meridian line.

Confirm the map location

The converter plots the parcel on an interactive map. For Washington, verify that the result falls on the correct side of the Cascades — eastern and western Washington have very different land use patterns, and a transposed range direction (East vs. West) will place the parcel hundreds of miles off.

Export for downstream use

Download the GPS coordinates as CSV, KML, or GeoJSON. Washington timber professionals commonly export to ESRI products for harvest planning; agricultural users typically import into precision agriculture platforms; real estate professionals export to mapping tools for client presentations.

Converting a block of Washington DNR parcels, a Columbia Basin irrigation district inventory, or a portfolio of rural properties? Batch conversion accepts a CSV of Willamette Meridian descriptions and returns GPS coordinates for every parcel in a single pass.

Learn about batch conversion

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Washington PLSS descriptions and conversion.

Washington uses the Willamette Meridian, the same principal meridian used by Oregon. The initial point is in Tualatin, Oregon, and the baseline extends eastward across both states. Washington townships are numbered north of this baseline, with ranges running east and west of the Willamette Meridian line.