Most of the United States was surveyed before settlement with a rectangular survey system called the Public Land Survey (PLS). Surveyors mapped out square townships that were subdivided into one-square-mile sections that could in turn be further divided for sale or homesteading. The system began in northwest Ohio and spread westward through the Midwest and across the Great Plains. Farms took the form of these squares, roads ran along section lines, and county and other boundaries were aligned along them. The effects of the PLS in rural areas are well known; the rectangular survey produced a characteristic checkerboard pattern in agricultural areas and resulted in higher road densities in surveyed areas. The survey is often treated as homogenous, and a ubiquitous sign of federal authority inscribed on the land. This statement is not true in the Intermountain West; although the PLS was applied throughout this area, the extent of the PLS landscape in the interior West is small. There are several distinct types of gridded landscapes distinguished by the presence of agriculture and urbanization. The future spread of these landscapes is likely to be limited, although some will likely shift between types.

美国大部分地区在定居前都通过称为公共土地调查 (PLS) 的矩形调查系统进行了调查。测量员绘制出方形城镇，这些城镇被细分为一平方英里的部分，这些部分又可以进一步划分用于出售或宅基地。该系统始于俄亥俄州西北部，并向西传播穿过中西部和大平原。农场采用这些正方形的形式，道路沿着剖面线延伸，县和其他边界沿着它们排列。PLS 在农村地区的影响是众所周知的；矩形调查在农业地区产生了特有的棋盘图案，并导致调查地区的道路密度更高。这项调查通常被视为同质的，并且是刻在土地上的联邦权力无处不在的标志。这种说法在西山间并不成立；尽管 PLS 应用于整个区域，但 PLS 景观在西部内陆的范围很小。有几种不同类型的网格景观，以农业和城市化的存在为特征。这些景观未来的传播可能会受到限制，尽管有些景观可能会在类型之间发生变化。