Metes and bounds are often used in a “legal description” of a land. Legal description is the geographical description of a land that identifies its precise location, and is kept with the deed of the land. In legal descriptions, metes and bounds are considered as the most accurate description of a piece of land using carefully measured distances, angles, and directions.

A metes and bounds legal description starts from a point of beginning, then traces the outline of the property’s boundary lines until there is closure in the legal description. Natural monuments and artificial monuments can both be used as metes and bounds. For example, rivers, roads, trees, etc.