Quarter Section Finder: Locate Any Quarter Section in Western Canada

A quarter section is 160 acres of land — one of the most commonly referenced parcel sizes in rural western Canada. This guide shows you how to find any quarter section by its legal description and get the GPS coordinates, map boundaries, and surrounding land details.

What Is a Quarter Section?

In the Dominion Land Survey system, every section (640 acres, roughly 1 square mile) is divided into four quarter sections:

NE — Northeast quarter (upper right)
NW — Northwest quarter (upper left)
SE — Southeast quarter (lower right)
SW — Southwest quarter (lower left)

Each quarter section is approximately 160 acres. The legal description format is Quarter-Section-Township-Range-Meridian — for example, NW 27-039-04W5.

Quarter sections are the standard unit for most land transactions in rural Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. When a farmer buys a piece of land, the title almost always references a quarter section. When a municipality assesses property taxes, the roll is organized by quarter section. When a pipeline company negotiates a right-of-way, the crossing agreements reference quarter sections.

When You Need a Quarter Section Finder

A real estate agent receives an MLS listing for a ranch near Stettler, Alberta. The listing describes the property as "NW 27-039-04W5 and adjacent quarters." The agent needs to see exactly where those quarters sit on a map and how they relate to nearby roads, waterways, and other properties.

A crop insurance adjuster in Saskatchewan needs to visit three quarter sections after a hail storm: SE 15-028-03W3, NE 15-028-03W3, and SW 22-028-03W3. Before driving out, they need GPS coordinates and directions for each one.

A municipal planner reviewing a subdivision application needs to confirm the quarter section boundaries against the proposed lot layout. Getting the exact GPS coordinates and boundary outline is the starting point.

How to Find a Quarter Section with Township Canada

Step 1: Enter the Quarter Section

Go to Township Canada and type the legal description into the search bar:

NW 27-039-04W5
NW 27-39-4-W5 (without leading zeros)
NW Sec 27 Twp 39 Rge 4 W5M (long-form)

Step 2: Review the Result

The converter returns:

GPS coordinates for the center of the quarter section
Boundary outline on the survey grid map, showing exactly which 160 acres are included
Adjacent quarters — easily see the NE, SE, and SW of the same section
Satellite imagery for visual reference (on Pro and Business plans)

Step 3: Take Action

From the result, you can:

Get turn-by-turn directions to the quarter section
Save it to your saved places for future reference
Export the location and boundary as PDF, CSV, KML, Shapefile, or GeoJSON (export guide)
Look up the individual LSDs within the quarter section for more precise 40-acre locations

Step 4: Find Multiple Quarter Sections

If you have a list of quarter sections — for instance, all parcels in a lease agreement or all fields in a farming operation — upload them as a CSV to the batch converter. Township Canada returns GPS coordinates for every quarter section in the file. This feature is available on the Business plan.

Example: Finding NW 27-039-04W5

Enter NW 27-039-04W5 into Township Canada:

Location: Northwest quarter of Section 27, Township 39, Range 4, West of the 5th Meridian
GPS: approximately 52.13°N, 114.57°W
Area: roughly 160 acres
Region: West of Red Deer, Alberta — rolling foothills with a mix of farmland and cattle ranching

This quarter section sits in a part of Alberta where land titles, oil and gas surface leases, and municipal planning all reference the quarter section as the basic unit.

Quarter Sections by Province

The quarter section system works the same way across the prairies, but the meridian references differ:

Alberta: Most land is referenced from W4 (4th Meridian, roughly east of Highway 2) or W5 (5th Meridian, west of Highway 2). Alberta has the most active oil and gas quarter section references due to AER regulatory filings.
Saskatchewan: Uses W2 (2nd Meridian, eastern SK) and W3 (3rd Meridian, western SK). Saskatchewan farmland is bought, sold, and insured by the quarter section — FCC data shows SK farmland values rose 12% year-over-year in 2024. See the Saskatchewan quarter section guide for specifics.
Manitoba: Uses W1 (1st Meridian) and E1 (East of the 1st Meridian). Manitoba also uses river lots in some historical areas near Winnipeg and along the Red River.

Quarter Sections by Industry

Agriculture: Quarter sections are the unit used on crop insurance policies (AFSC in Alberta, SCIC in Saskatchewan). Declared-acres reporting, claims filing, and premium calculations all reference the quarter section legal description.
Real estate: Rural property listings, land titles, and appraisal comparables are organized by quarter section. A 640-acre farm listing might reference four quarter sections; a 160-acre acreage listing references one.
Oil and gas: Surface lease agreements, pipeline crossing agreements, and environmental assessments reference quarter sections. Individual well locations are specified at the LSD level (40 acres), but the surrounding land agreements are quarter-section-based.
Surveying: Cadastral surveys, subdivision plans, and monument recovery projects all begin with quarter section references from the DLS grid.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Forgetting the quarter designation: Typing 27-039-04W5 without specifying NE, NW, SE, or SW gives you the full 640-acre section, not a specific quarter. Always include the quarter.
Wrong meridian: In Alberta, W4 covers the eastern half and W5 covers the western half. Getting this wrong moves your result by hundreds of kilometres. The township, range, and meridian guide explains how meridians divide the grid.
Confusing quarter section with LSD: A quarter section contains four LSDs. If your document references an LSD number (1–16), you need to include it for 40-acre precision. See the LSD finder guide for that.

For more precise locations within a quarter section, use the LSD finder. For a full overview of DLS conversions at any level — sections, quarter sections, and LSDs — see the DLS to GPS converter guide. To understand how the DLS grid system organizes western Canada into townships, ranges, and sections, read the DLS system overview.

Find Your Quarter Section Now

Try it — enter NW 27-039-04W5 into the [Township Canada converter](/?example=NW 27-039-04W5) and see the result instantly. Or enter any quarter section from your own land titles, lease agreements, or field records.

Quarter Section Finder — Locate Any Quarter Section in Western Canada