DCHP-1 Online

base line † 

• 1 in government surveys, the east-west line that functions as a starting point for the parallel lines demarcating blocks, townships, etc.

  See also: block  proof line  township  

  • On the Prairies, base lines run east and west, 24 miles apart, moving northwards, beginning at the 49th parallel; in Old Ontario (Upper Canada) the base lines tend to parallel the St. Lawrence River and the shore of Lake Ontario.

  • 1871  The east and west lines between townships 4 and 5 . . . and 16 and 17, shall be base lines, or standard parallels, in the system.
  • 1962  New Toronto wants the Municipal Board to give the . . . municipality the northeastern corner of the Toronto Township north of the Base Line and east of the Fourth Line

• 2 a road that lies on or near a base line.

  See also: base-line road  

  • 1934  You'll find the Base Line pretty straight.
  • 1958  This [road] came to be called the "Base Line," although in reality the nearest base line was six miles further north.