The point of beginning is a surveyor's mark at the beginning location for the wide-scale surveying of land.

An example is the Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey

Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey

The Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey is a monument at the border between the U.S. states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, on the north side of the Ohio River. It is near the three-way intersection of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the northern tip of West Virginia, in both the Pittsburgh...

 that led to the opening of the Northwest Territory

Northwest Territory

The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...

, and is the starting point of the surveys of almost all other lands to the west, reaching all the way to the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. On September 30, 1785, Thomas Hutchins

Thomas Hutchins

Thomas Hutchins was an American military engineer, cartographer, geographer and surveyor.He joined the militia during the French and Indian War and later took a regular commission with British forces...

, first and only Geographer of the United States, began surveying the Seven Ranges

Seven Ranges

The Seven Ranges was a land tract in eastern Ohio that was the first tract to be surveyed in what became the Public Land Survey System. The tract is across the northern edge, on the western edge, with the south and east sides along the Ohio River...

 at the point of beginning.

Points of beginning

• Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey
  Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey
  The Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey is a monument at the border between the U.S. states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, on the north side of the Ohio River. It is near the three-way intersection of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the northern tip of West Virginia, in both the Pittsburgh...
  
   – East Liverpool, Ohio
  East Liverpool, Ohio
  As of the census of 2000, there were 13,089 people, 5,261 households, and 3,424 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,010.3 people per square mile . There were 5,743 housing units at an average density of 1,320.8 per square mile...
  
  
• Point of Beginning in Wisconsin