07/27/2026
If you look at satellite images of Saskatchewan and Alberta, you'll notice a striking checkerboard pattern stretching across the landscape.
This vast network of roads, farmland, and property boundaries is the result of the Dominion Land Survey, a system introduced in the late 19th century to organize settlement across Western Canada.
The survey divided millions of acres into precisely measured squares, creating one of the largest and most systematic land-planning projects ever undertaken.
Visible even from space, this enormous grid helped shape the development of Canadian agriculture and transportation, leaving a lasting mark on the geography of the Prairie Provinces.