For a first-order geodetic control network, station spacing in traverse should not be less than how many kilometers?

• A. 5.00 kilometers
• B. 7.50 kilometers
• C. 12.00 kilometers
• D. 10.00 kilometers

Answer: (D)

In a first-order geodetic control network, the strength and reliability of the traverse depend on the geometry created by how stations are spaced. If stations are too close together, the lines become short and the network geometry can become weakly conditioned, with directions clustering and less leverage to constrain the unknown coordinates. That makes the adjustment more sensitive to measurement errors and harder to tie the network to a stable reference frame.

Setting a practical minimum spacing—about 10 kilometers—gives longer, better-distributed baselines and diverse directions, which improves the conditioning of the least-squares adjustment and helps distribute observational errors more evenly across the network. This balance keeps the network accurate without adding unnecessary redundancy or cost. Therefore, the recommended minimum is 10 kilometers.