Traverse (surveying)

Traversing is like playing a game of connect the dots, but with stakes higher than just making a pretty picture. Instead, it's used to figure out important things about a piece of land or a structure.

Imagine drawing a dot on the ground, and then walking a certain distance in a straight line to draw another dot. You repeat this process until you have made your way around an area in a pattern (usually a shape like a square or rectangle).

Then you use special tools - like a compass or a total station - to measure the angle of each turn you made between the dots, as well as the distance between each two dots. These measurements help you create a map of the area, which can give you valuable information like how much space there is, where key points are located, and how to build or improve structures in the area.

So, in short, traversal in surveying is like playing connect the dots to map out important information about an area.