Benchmarking (geolocating)

Benchmarking (also known as benchmark hunting) is a hobby activity in which participants find benchmarks (also known as survey markers or geodetic control points). Technically, the term "bench mark" is only used to refer to survey markers that designate a certain elevation, but hobbyists often use the term benchmarks to include triangulation stations or reference marks. They typically then log their finds online. Like geocaching, the activity has become popular since about 1995, propelled by the availability of on-line data on the location of survey marks (with directions for finding them) and by the rise of hobbyist-oriented websites.