Survey marker
object placed to mark a point
In surveying and geodesy, a marker (also called a mark, monument, or station) is an object firmly installed to indicate points on the Earth's surface with known coordinates. A benchmark is a type of survey marker that indicates elevation (vertical position). Horizontal position markers used for triangulation are also known as triangulation stations. A set of interrelated geodetic markers form a geodetic network. An active station or reference station is occupied permanently with a measurement instrument, such as GPS/GNSS continuously operating reference stations (CORS).
Benchmarking or trigpointing is the hobby of searching for these marks.
Types
All sorts of different objects, ranging from the familiar brass disks to liquor bottles, clay pots, and rock cairns, have been used over the years as survey markers. Some markers have been used to designate tripoints, or the meeting points of three or more countries. In the 19th century, these marks were often drill holes in rock ledges, crosses or triangles chiseled in rock, or copper or brass bolts sunk into bedrock.
Today in the United States, the most common geodetic survey marks are cast metal disks with stamped legends on their face set in rock ledges, embedded in the tops of concrete pillars, or affixed to the tops of pipes that have been sunk into the ground.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Survey marker” is object placed to mark a point. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Survey, marker and object, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “object placed to mark a point” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q352956. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Survey marker”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Survey marker primary sources, Survey marker archive and Survey research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Survey marker”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Survey marker” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.