Types of Surveying

Surveying is primarily classified as under:

1. Plane surveying

2. Geodetic Surveying

Plane Surveying

Is that type of surveying in which the mean surface of the earth is considered as a plane and the spheroidal shape is neglected. All triangles formed by survey lines are considered plane triangles. The level line is considered straight and all plumb lines are considered parallel. In everyday life were are concerned with small portion of earth’s surface and the above assumptions seems to be reasonable in light of the fact that the length of an arc 12 kilometers long lying in the earth’s surface is only 1cm greater than the subtended chord and further that the difference between the sum of the angles in a plane triangle and the sum of those in a spherical triangle is only one second for a triangle at the earth’s surface having an area of 195 sq. km.

Geodetic Surveying

Is that type of surveying in which the shape of the earth is taken into account. All lines lying in the surface are curved lines and the triangles are spherical triangles. It therefore, involves spherical trigonometry. All Geodetic surveys include work of larger magnitude and high degree of precision. The object of geodetic survey is to determine the precise position on the surface of the earth, of a system of widely distant points which form control stations to which surveys of less precision may be referred.