In surveying, monuments are used to establish:

In the practice of land surveying, a monument is a permanent physical marker, either natural (e.g., a tree, stream, or large rock) or artificial (e.g., an iron pin, concrete block, or brass disk), used to mark or reference a point on the ground. The primary function of these monuments is to establish and identify the corners, lines, and terminations of a parcel of land, thereby defining its legal boundaries. They are a critical component of the metes and bounds system of legal description, providing a tangible reference for the property's perimeter.

A. a common address: Street addresses are assigned by municipal or postal authorities for mail delivery and location identification, not by survey monuments.

C. flood elevation: Flood elevations are determined through specialized topographical and hydrological surveys using benchmarks, which are distinct from the monuments used to define property boundaries.

D. historical sites: While a monument can mark a historical site, its specific function within the context of land surveying is to delineate property lines, not to confer historical status.

1. New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. (2015). New Jersey Administrative Code, Title 13, Chapter 40, Subchapter 5: Land Surveyors; Preparation of Land Surveys. N.J.A.C. 13:40-5.1(d) specifies that a survey plat must show the "location, size, and type of all monuments found and set" and their relation to the property corners, directly linking monuments to the establishment of property boundaries.

2. American Land Title Association (ALTA) & National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS). (2021). Minimum Standard Detail Requirements for ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys. Section 3.D. states the survey must show "The character, size, and location of all monuments found... at the corners of the property surveyed," confirming their role in marking boundaries.

3. Ling, D. C., & Archer, W. R. (2018). Real Estate Principles: A Value Approach (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education. In Chapter 3, "Conveying Real Property Interests," the text explains the metes and bounds method, stating, "The survey starts at a designated point of beginning and, through a specific distance and direction (metes), identifies the boundaries of the property, using monuments as tangible boundary markers." (p. 61).