Traversing is commonly used to establish control; it is often utilized in surveying. Common applications include locating and establishing boundaries in property surveys, topographic mapping surveys, and layout surveys for highways or railroads.
Open traverse links have a known origination point and an unknown ending position. According to the School of Forest Resources and Conservation, open traverse links are considered risky, because computational checks are not possible in order to detect error in distance or direction.
In a closed traverse link, both the beginning and ending points are known, enabling accuracy in calculations of both distance and direction. One or more bearings are also required in a closed traverse link.