DCHP-2

base line † DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

• 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.

• 2

  a road that lies on or near a base line.

  See also: base-line road