PLSS Query

Query Public Land Survey System (PLSS) section boundaries within a geographic bounding box. Returns GeoJSON polygons for all matching PLSS sections at the specified zoom level.

Endpoint

GEThttps://api.landmapmagic.com/api/plss/query

Parameters

Required Parameters

Name	Type	Description
bounds*	string	Bounding box as "min_lat,min_lng,max_lat,max_lng". Defines the geographic area to query.
zoom*	number	Map zoom level. Controls which PLSS features are returned based on visibility thresholds.

Visualization Parameters

Name	Type	Description
showOnZoom	number	Minimum zoom level at which features become visible.
hideOnZoom	number	Maximum zoom level at which features remain visible.
strokeWeight	number	Border stroke width in pixels.
hoverStrokeWeight	number	Border stroke width in pixels on hover.
strokeColor	string	Border color. Accepts hex (#ff0000), rgb (rgb(255,0,0)), or named colors ("red").
fillColor	string	Fill color. Accepts hex (#ff0000), rgb (rgb(255,0,0)), or named colors ("red").
fillOpacity	number	Fill opacity from 0.0 (transparent) to 1.0 (opaque).
showLabel	boolean	Whether to display section labels on the map.

Response Attributes

Feature Properties

Attribute	Type	Description
state_name	string	Full state name (e.g. Iowa).
state_fips	string	State FIPS code (e.g. 19).
county_name	string	County name (e.g. Story).
county_fips	string	County FIPS code (e.g. 169).
section	integer	Section number, 1 through 36.
township	string	Township designation (e.g. "T100N").
township_name	string	Minor Civil Division (MCD) name for the township.
range	string	Range designation (e.g. "R50W").

Code Examples

cURL

curl -G "https://api.landmapmagic.com/api/plss/query" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "bounds=41.98,-93.68,42.08,-93.58" \
  --data-urlencode "zoom=12"

JavaScript

const params = new URLSearchParams({
  bounds: "41.98,-93.68,42.08,-93.58",
  zoom: "12",
});

const response = await fetch(
  `https://api.landmapmagic.com/api/plss/query?${params}`,
  {
    headers: {
      Authorization: "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY",
    },
  }
);

const geojson = await response.json();
console.log(geojson.features.length, "sections found");

Python

import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://api.landmapmagic.com/api/plss/query",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"},
    params={
        "bounds": "41.98,-93.68,42.08,-93.58",
        "zoom": 12,
    },
)

geojson = response.json()
print(f"{len(geojson['features'])} sections found")

Response

The response is a GeoJSON FeatureCollection. Each Feature contains a Polygon geometry representing a PLSS section boundary and properties with identifying information.

Example Response

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "properties": {
        "state_name": "Iowa",
        "state_fips": "19",
        "county_name": "Story",
        "county_fips": "169",
        "section": 4,
        "township": "T84N",
        "township_name": "Indian Creek",
        "range": "R24W"
      },
      "geometry": {
        "type": "Polygon",
        "coordinates": [
          [
            [
              -93.6319,
              42.0308
            ],
            [
              -93.6319,
              42.0452
            ],
            [
              -93.6145,
              42.0452
            ],
            [
              -93.6145,
              42.0308
            ],
            [
              -93.6319,
              42.0308
            ]
          ]
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Loading documentation...