How many acres of land are contained in the tract described as "beginning at the NW corner of the SW 1/4"?

In land descriptions, the reference to a section of land such as the "NW corner of the SW 1/4" is rooted in the Public Land Survey System (PLSS). This system divides land into sections and quarters.

The term "SW 1/4" refers to the southwest quarter of a given section. Since a section in this system is typically one square mile, it contains 640 acres in total. Therefore, each quarter of a section contains 1/4 of 640 acres.

Calculating the area of the SW 1/4 involves taking 640 acres and dividing it by 4, which results in 160 acres. The "NW corner" terminology indicates that the starting point is simply a reference point within that quarter, but it does not change the total acreage contained in that quarter.

To find how many acres are located in the NW corner of the SW 1/4, we return to the understanding that you're still considering only a quarter of the section. If one were to subdivide the SW 1/4 further into quarters, that would yield a total of 40 acres each for those smaller areas (as each subsection would again be divided by 4).

Thus, while the original answer states