A
plat ( or ) in the United States (
plan or
cadastral map) is a
map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States
General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of
Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bearing between section corners, sometimes including topographic or vegetation information. City, town or village plats show subdivisions into
blocks with streets and alleys. Further refinement often splits blocks into individual
lots, usually for the purpose of selling the described lots; this has become known as
subdivision.