Triangulation

Triangulation locates an unknown point by measuring angles to it from known positions. The measured directions intersect to determine the point’s position.

Baseline (surveying): A measured line between two survey stations that provides a reference length for positioning. Its length and endpoints anchor the angular measurements used to locate a point.
Geodesy: The science of measuring Earth’s shape, orientation, gravity field, and changing positions. Large triangulation networks provided foundational measurements of Earth’s form.
Trilateration: A positioning method that locates a point using measured distances from known positions. Unlike triangulation, it uses ranges rather than angles as its primary measurements.
Willebrord Snell: A Dutch mathematician and astronomer who used triangulation to measure an arc of Earth’s meridian in the seventeenth century. His arc measurement helped establish triangulation as a tool for determining Earth’s size.
Angle of intersection: The angle at which two lines of sight meet at a target point. A well-shaped intersection helps determine the target’s position precisely.
Land surveying: The measurement and mapping of land boundaries, terrain, and built features. Surveyors use triangulation to establish control points beyond directly measured distances.
Multilateration: A positioning method that uses differences in distances to multiple reference points. It can locate a target from range differences without measuring bearing angles.
Triangulation of the Netherlands: Willebrord Snell’s seventeenth-century survey measuring a meridian arc through a chain of triangles. It is an early landmark application of triangulation to Earth measurement.
Triangulation network: A connected system of triangles whose measured sides or angles establish positions across a region. Surveyors extend local measurements into a region-wide framework through linked triangles.
Triangulation (navigation): A navigation method that determines position from bearings to known landmarks. It applies intersecting directions to locate a vessel or observer.

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