LSD Finder: Locate Any Legal Subdivision in Western Canada

An LSD (Legal Subdivision) is a 40-acre parcel within Canada's Dominion Land Survey grid, used across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. This guide shows you how to find any LSD by its number and get its exact GPS coordinates, map location, and surrounding land details using Township Canada.

What Is an LSD?

Every section of land in the DLS grid is divided into 16 Legal Subdivisions, numbered 1 through 16 in a specific serpentine pattern. Each LSD covers approximately 40 acres — one quarter of a quarter section.

An LSD is written in the format LSD-Section-Township-Range-Meridian. For example, 06-32-048-07W5 refers to Legal Subdivision 6, Section 32, Township 48, Range 7, West of the 5th Meridian. That's a specific 40-acre parcel in west-central Alberta, near Rocky Mountain House.

LSD numbers are critical in oil and gas (for well licenses and surface leases), agriculture (for crop insurance claims and grain delivery), real estate (for rural property titles), and insurance (for claims adjustments on rural properties). If you're working with any of these industries in western Canada, you'll need to find LSDs regularly.

When You'd Need an LSD Finder

A landman receives a spreadsheet of 50 well site locations listed as LSD numbers. To plan site visits, they need the GPS coordinates and driving directions for each one. Or a claims adjuster gets a policy referencing LSD 11-22-034-04W4 and needs to confirm it's the right parcel before heading out. A real estate agent listing a rural acreage near Lloydminster needs to verify the LSD shown on the land title matches the property they visited.

In each case, the task is the same: take an LSD number and find exactly where it sits on a map.

How to Find an LSD with Township Canada

Step 1: Enter the LSD

Go to Township Canada and type the LSD into the search bar. You can use any common format:

• 06-32-048-07W5
• 6-32-48-7-W5
• LSD 6 Sec 32 Twp 48 Rge 7 W5M

The search tool recognizes all standard LSD notation styles, so you don't need to worry about exact formatting.

Step 2: Review the Result

Township Canada returns the GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) for the center of that LSD. You'll also see:

• The LSD highlighted on the survey grid map
• The quarter section, section, township, and range it belongs to
• Satellite imagery (on Pro plans and above)

Step 3: Take Action

From the result, you can:

• Get directions — turn-by-turn navigation to the LSD center point
• Save the location to your saved places for quick access later
• Export the coordinates as PDF, CSV, KML, or Shapefile (Business tier)
• Convert in bulk — if you have dozens or hundreds of LSDs, use the batch converter to process them all at once

Example: Finding LSD 11-22-034-04W4

Say you need to find LSD 11-22-034-04W4. Enter it into Township Canada's search bar. The result shows:

• Location: Legal Subdivision 11, Section 22, Township 34, Range 4, West of the 4th Meridian
• GPS: approximately 51.87°N, 110.52°W
• Area: about 40 acres, east of Hanna, Alberta
• Quarter section: SE 22-034-04W4

This is a parcel in the Hanna area of east-central Alberta, typical rangeland used for cattle grazing and oil and gas activity.

Common Mistakes When Searching for LSDs

• Transposed numbers: Swapping the section and township (e.g., writing 32-06 instead of 06-32) will land you in a completely different location. Always double-check the order: LSD-Section-Township-Range-Meridian.
• Wrong meridian: W4 and W5 cover different halves of Alberta. Getting the meridian wrong shifts your location by hundreds of kilometres.
• Dropping the LSD: Searching for just 32-048-07W5 gives you the full section (640 acres), not the specific 40-acre LSD. Include the LSD number for precision.

If you need to convert an LSD to latitude and longitude specifically, see our guide on how to convert LSD to lat/long. For broader DLS conversions including quarter sections, check out the DLS to GPS converter guide.

Find Your LSD Now

Try it yourself — enter 06-32-048-07W5 into the Township Canada converter and see the result instantly. Or type in any LSD from your own files and get the GPS coordinates in seconds.