If you were flying across the western united states and saw the landscape was divided by roads and fields that ran precisely east-west and north-south in regular squares and rectangles you might logically assume that this part of the country had been surveyed using what system

Township and Range

The township and range system began its usage after the passage of the Northwest Ordinance in the Articles of Confederation. The geographical system divides land into townships with 36 1-square mile plots within each township. The townships are measured against a east-west and north-south range lines. This system created square divisions of land compared to the metes and bound system that used landmarks to create boarders.