Layered geology
Mines, faults, lithology, LiDAR hillshade, and more. Stack what matters and peel back what doesn't.
VaGoldMaps
Virginia gold prospecting map
Virginia gold prospecting map for the Gold-Pyrite Belt: historic mines, faults, and streams before you dig.
- 541 Documented mine & prospect sites
- 34 Counties along the belt
- 150+ Mapped shafts & adits
Built for boots on the ground
Layers you can toggle, terrain you can read, and tools that respect how you actually explore.
Saved locations
Drop pins, name claims, measure distance and bearing, and share a read-only link when you want to.
Field Notes
Stories and deep dives from the belt: research, history, and how to read the ground.
Start here
Gold in Virginia
Where gold occurs, which counties and rivers to research, what's legal to pan, and how to study the belt on the map before you dig.
Coming soon · App Store
VaGoldMaps for iPhone
Native GPS, offline packs, and the same belt layers. Built for the creek when the bars disappear.
From the belt
Field Notes
- When Gold Gets Expensive, the Creek Doesn't Move
Gold went over 4,600 dollars an ounce this week. The creek does not know that number.
- Gold Claims Out West: Patented vs Unpatented
An unpatented claim is a mineral right on land the United States still owns. A patented claim is private ground. They are not the same thing.
- The Beale Papers: An 1885 Hoax Along Goose Creek, Not a Treasure Map
James B. Ward's 1885 pamphlet used a real Bedford County creek and one working cipher. There is no treasure to decode.
Ready when you are
Find your line on the belt.
No account needed to start looking. Open the map and see what's under your feet.