Comparative law notes
a plat (a plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors draft township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bearing between section corners, sometimes including topographic or vegetation information. City, town or village plats show subdivisions into blocks with streets and alleys. Further refinement often splits blocks into individual lots, usually for the purpose of selling the described lots (also now known as subdivisions).