The township is identified by a name, such as Washington Township. They are geographic and political subdivisions of a county. The township government is a local unit of government, originally rural in application. This kind of township is similar to geographic townships in the Province of Ontario. They exist in some form in all states other than the original 13 colonies, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Maine. Irregular townships with fewer than 36 sections have been created to correct for the Earth's curvature and survey errors. These townships are normally a rectangle approximately 6 miles on a side with boundaries conforming to meridians and parallels within established limits, containing thirty-six sections, some of which are designated to take up the convergence of the east and west township boundary lines or range lines. Geological Survey maps of the United States of America. A reference to the township will look something like 'Township 2 North Range 3 East', and the use is fully explained in the PLSS article. Survey townships are generally referred to by a number based on the Public Land Survey System (PLSS). Civil townships are generally given a name, sometimes abbreviated 'Twp'. #A civil township is a unit of local government. #A survey township is simply a geographic reference used to define property location for deeds and grants.

Townships range in size from 6 to 54 square miles (15.6 km² to 140.4 km²), with 36 square miles (93 km²) being the norm.

A township in the United States refers to a small geographic area.

Definition of township us geological