Trivia 11-1-17 landscape

[19thGeorgia]

Witness trees

Edit - Correct, 19thGeorgia. Congratulations on getting the right answer to a very difficult question on your first try.

Welcome to the trivia game. Hope you'll come back and play again.

hoosier

 

[mofederal]

http://www.mapoftheweek.net/Post/764/Survey-Monuments-and-the-Law.pdf

Corner monuments used as boundary markers. Originally stakes, these were replaced by a pile of stones, clay tiles or anything else available. The surveyor then made extensive notes as well a description and a narrative about the corner monuments. They are also called survey monuments.

 

[amweiner]

Does this refer to monuments? In cadastral surveying, this indicates a physical structure that serves as a corner point.
https://www.blm.gov/or/gis/geoscience/files/BLMglossary.pdf

 

[adisciu9]

Mile stones or posts

 

[skb8721]

Or simply Witness tree. (I originally said Witness oak, because that's what we have on some property where I work.)

Edit - Correct, skb8721. I extend to you the same congratulations I gave to 19thGeorgia for getting the correct answer to a very difficult question the first time you tried playing the trivia game.

Welcome to the game. Hope you'll come back and play again.

hoosier

 

[JOHN42768]

Monument-A physical structure,such as an iron post.marked stone or tree in place which marks the location of a corner point established by Cadastral Survey. Objects, to be ranked as monuments, should have certain physical properties such as visibility, durability and stability and they must define location without resorting to measurements. Originating with the Land Ordinance of 1785
Source: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/row/landsurveys/Study_material/BLM_References/BLMglossery.pdf

 

[lelliott19]

Hmmmmm. Good question @LoyaltyOfDogs !
Since I am trying to learn more about Civil War earthworks, I hope I am on the right track. I'm going with Traverses.
In military terminology, a traverse is a part of a fortification - a mass of earth or other material employed to protect troops against enfilade. It is constructed at right angles to the parapet.
In surveying, a traverse is a series of points, with angles and distances measured between, traveled around a subject, usually for use as "control" or angular reference. http://wikidiff.com/fortification/traverse

 

[William G Hendry]

I am probably wrong but I think they were called RIDGES

 

[kholland]

My guess- a Hundred

 

[MaryDee]

 

[Copperhead-mi]

After reading numerous websites about surveys and deeds, "reference points" and "witness points" that include "(trees, poles, boulders, ledges, or other semi-permanent or permanent objects)," I have to say that I have no idea but I will take a wild guess and give trees as my answer.

 

[FarawayFriend]

Bad start for me this month.
Seems all my Google search has led to nothing, so here is my train of thoughts at least, for all that its worth:

The definition of "landscape Features is:
The land, water, vegetation, and structures that compose the characteristic landscape.

As the question says: once-numerous, now declining" I guess that points to vegetation.

Based on that, singular, special trees were a landscape feature that were used for orientation and surveying over the centuries, as this site states:
Landmark - A survey mark made on a 'permanent' feature of the land such as a tree, pile of stones, etc.
http://foxsurveying.com/services/surveying-terms

Now going with trees, the connection to Civil War sites might be that there still are trees that already stood there during the Civil War. Once numerous, now declining in numbers. And there is a popular name for these trees...
So my answer is "Witness Trees".
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Witness Tree&amp=true

This was meant as the weak attempt to save my reputation as serious Trivia player 
My respect to all members who have found out about the right answer!

Edit - Your reputation is safe for at least another day.

hoosier

 

[István.AT]

I have genuinely no idea, so I'll make a wild guess: we're talking about sunken roads here.

 

[Stony]

Traverse
source-https://www.civilwar.org/glossary-civil-war-terms#T

 

[Schwallanscher]

i hate to lose on the very first day but i have no idea what this is about - i'm not even familiar with that kind of stuff in german

 

[sarladaise]

Witness trees
https//www.nps.gov./mana/learn/nature/witness-trees.htm

 

[ErnieMac]

The word landing as in Pittsburg Landing (Shiloh) comes to mind.
https://books.google.com/books?id=X...=onepage&q=landing used on land deeds&f=false

 

[hoosier]

A guess - knolls.

 

[ami]

1 Answer: Witness trees

Source: https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/gtr/gtr_nrs101.pdf

Edit - Eight people got the correct answer of "witness trees," so I'm going to let the question stand. In my opinion, it was a very, very difficult question.

My apologies to those who answered "trees," but I don't feel I can accept that answer without the word "witness." For example, at Gettysburg, the Park Service spent a lot of time and effort in recent years to cut down trees that had grown up since the battle, obscuring parts of the battlefield that were wide open in 1863. So while the number of witness trees has diminished over the years, the number of trees didn't.

hoosier