Texas Registered Professional Land Surveyor (RPLS) Practice Test

A league is a unit of measurement primarily used in a historical context for surveying large tracts of land, particularly in areas that were influenced by Spanish land grants in the early days of settlement in Texas and other parts of the southwestern United States. The term is often defined as approximately 4.6 kilometers or about 2.8 miles.

In land surveying, leagues were commonly applied to define extensive areas of land, which were essential during the period of land distribution and management, particularly in the context of ranching and agricultural development. The size of a league makes it suitable for measuring large territorial assessments, as opposed to smaller tracts that would more appropriately use units like acres or square feet.

This historical significance and practical use in measuring extensive parcels of land clarify why large territorial assessments are a common application of a league in surveying. Other options, such as measuring small tracts or subdivision mapping, are typically conducted using more precise and smaller units of measurement, which are better suited for those applications.