DOS 3.3 VTOC Puzzle: Precise Meaning of "Last Track Allocated"

[jutland1916@hotmail.com]

I have a follow up from some earlier questions about VTOC, etc. in DOS
3.3. What is the *precise* meaning of the phrase "last track allocated"
for byte offset 30h in a standard VTOC?

Does it mean:

There is no data allocated beyond this point? (Interpreting "last"
spatially, in terms of disk geometry.)

This was the most recent track to have any data recorded, i.e. that's
where some data happened to have been put the last time the disk was in
use? (Interpreting "last" temporarily, the history of the disk's
usage.)

Specifically, I'm interested in a file found at tracks 33 and 34
decimal on a disk image. The VTOC for the image lists "last track
allocated" as 16h (22 decimal). The file, however, *does* have a normal
Catalog entry that points to track 21h (33 decimal) as its start point.
This leads me to believe that it is not a file that operates
independently of DOS, as someone had earler suggested. So ultimately
I'm trying to reconcile the VTOC entry with the Catalog entry and the
actual location of the file as visible with a hex editor.

I have a copy of Beneath Apple DOS, but have been unable to use it to
resolve this. Thanks again in advance.