How to open your gold maps in Google Earth, what the colors mean, and how to read a claim box.
What’s in your gold map download
Every state comes with five map layers and a short Read Me First guide. Each layer has its own color in Google Earth.
- Active lode claimsClaims on gold in rock, like quartz veins.
- Active placer claimsClaims on loose gold in streams, gravel bars and old river beds.
- Closed lode claimsLode claims that were staked once and later dropped.
- Closed placer claimsPlacer claims that were staked once and later dropped.
- Old mines and prospectsShafts, tunnels, prospect pits, open pits, dumps and tailings from old USGS topo maps. Each pin sits where that old map marked the site, so it can be off by a little.
Each file name starts with the state and the layer, like Arizona - Active Lode Claims - November 2026.kmz. Big layers come in a few parts, split by county, like Colorado - Closed Lode Claims - Part 1 of 2 (Alamosa to Mesa counties) - November 2026.kmz. That keeps each file small enough for Google Earth on the web to show it in color. Add the parts for the area you’re going to. A Google Earth project holds up to 20,000 boxes, so a big state’s layers may not all fit in one. If a file won’t import, start a second project for it.
How to open your gold maps in Google Earth
This 4-minute video shows how to download your maps, open them in Google Earth and read them. The steps are written out below it.
Google Earth on the web
Free, with nothing to install. Go to earth.google.com/web, click New, then Import file to map project, then Upload from device, and pick a .kmz file. To add more layers to the same map, choose File, then Import file, then Upload from device.
On your phone
The free Google Earth app opens these files when you have a signal. If you set up your map on a computer, sign in to the app with the same Google account and find it under Google Drive. With no signal, use Organic Maps (below). Google Maps can’t open them.
Which app to use
- Planning at home: Google Earth on the web, on your computer, with satellite pictures and the details for every claim.
- Out with a cell signal: the Google Earth app on your phone.
- Out with no signal: Organic Maps, a free app for iPhone and Android that works fully offline.
Using Organic Maps
- Before you leave, while you still have a signal, download the map for your area in Organic Maps.
- Unzip your download on your phone and open the Organic Maps folder.
- Open a .kmz file from that folder in Organic Maps.
These files show claim outlines, not filled boxes, on a trail and road map (no satellite pictures). Big maps are split by county, so you can open one area at a time.
How to read a gold claim map
Each box is one section of the government’s land survey grid, about one square mile (640 acres). A box shows the section a claim is in, not the claim’s exact edges. A box shows up when it has at least one claim of that kind. Click a box to see:
- How many claims are in it, and which quarter of the section they’re in. A quarter is 160 acres and most claims are 20 acres, so there can still be open ground around them.
- When the newest claim was staked, or when the last one closed.
- How many claims in that section are still active today.
- The county, and the MTRS code you need to look the section up.
Inside each map the boxes are sorted into folders by county, so you can turn counties on and off.
Using active and abandoned gold claims as a guide
Active claims show where people are working right now, which is a good sign there’s gold nearby. You can’t prospect on someone’s active claim without their permission, but public land around it may be open.
Closed claims were staked by someone and later dropped, so that ground may be open to prospect or to stake again. On the closed maps, a filled box has no active claims in that section today, so it’s a good place to start looking. A closed box drawn as an outline only also has active lode or placer claims in it.
The government’s records don’t say which mineral a claim is for. Most claims in the western states are for gold, but some boxes may be for silver, copper or other minerals.
Using the abandoned gold mining claim maps as a guide
Many active gold mining claims today were at one time abandoned. Some claims are abandoned because they’ve become too difficult to access for the current owner. That might not be the case for someone else with an ATV. Some owners simply can’t work the property as planned so they just let the claim go. That claim may sit in the middle of a long line of claims that follow a popular gold prospecting creek or river. Gold claims get abandoned every year for a variety of reasons so it might be worth it to check them out, particularly if they are close by your area of interest.
Our gold maps reveal thousands of abandoned claims that are very near or surrounded by active gold mining claims. If you are planning to prospect an abandoned claim, be sure to look the claim up on BLM’s MLRS reports site (how to check a claim) to verify the claim is still abandoned. You can also check with your regional Bureau of Land Management office. The BLM always has the last word on a federal claim’s status. To stake a claim in Arizona, follow our step-by-step filing guide. Rules differ by state, so check with the county and BLM anywhere else.
Interpreting active and abandoned claim overlap in the maps
If you see overlap between active placer and active lode claims this is usually because there are both active placer and lode claims in that Section. It might also indicate claimants are on a particularly rich claim and chose to file placer, lode and mill site claims on top of each other to avoid any nuisance claims by another party. The same applies to overlap between active and abandoned claims.
Check before you go
Claims change every week, so check a spot before you prospect or stake it. Click the box, copy its BLM code (MTRS), and look it up on BLM’s MLRS reports site: choose Mining Claims – Geographic Report and enter the code. Our step-by-step MLRS guide walks through it. You can also call the BLM office for that state. Also check who runs the land (BLM, Forest Service or private). National parks and wilderness areas are closed to prospecting.
Old mine sites can be dangerous. Never go into a shaft or tunnel.