What the map does, what the score means, and how to use it to plan a trip.
It scores stream segments for natural trap geometry — slope breaks, inside bends, junctions and bedrock constrictions — computed from elevation data across an entire region. The map shows where the current slows and heavy grains would settle.
No. The score measures geometry, not gold. A high score at a stream with no gold source in its catchment is still a stream with no gold. The score tells you where to sample if gold is there.
Türkiye is live with its whole stream network scored. The other regions on the site have their pages, and their maps are in construction; each goes live when its network is scored. The region page shows the current status.
From elevation data and the stream network: the gradient along each segment and where it breaks, the curvature of bends, junctions with tributaries, and constrictions in the valley. Each segment gets a score from those four trap shapes.
Slope — where a steep stretch flattens; Inside bend — the slow side of a curve; Junction — where a tributary joins; Bedrock — where the valley narrows and rock constricts the flow. They are the same four features this guide describes.
Tap a segment and the boundary of the catchment feeding it is drawn, with every branch inside it. It answers "where would gold here come from?" and shows the junctions and bends upstream in one picture.
The segment’s place on the colour scale, its rank, and the rows that earned its points: source, bed, catchment and elevation. It shows what made the score, so you can judge it rather than just trust it.
Switches and weights for what the map shows: filters, streams and water, terrain (hillshade, slope, aspect), geology, history, access (places, roads) and your own marks. Turn them on and off and the map recolours.
The layers panel has sliders for the weights, so you can favour one trap shape over another for your own reading. The map recolours to your weights.
A dark base with hillshade and contour lines instead of satellite imagery. It shows the valley shape and slope breaks clearly and lets the score colours read at full contrast.
Yes. Parks, reserves and heritage sites are hatched on the map and the streams inside them are dropped from the lists. It is a planning aid — always confirm closures with the authority where you are.
The highest-scoring segments of your area in one list, ranked, with export as GPX or CSV so the targets go onto whatever navigation you use in the field.
Yes. Drop a marker on a selected point with an icon, a title, a date, a note and a photo. Markers stay on the map for the next trip and build your own record of the valley.
The mobile build lets you download an area in advance so the map keeps working in the valley without a signal. The store version is in preparation; today the app runs in the browser and can be added to the home screen.
Not yet — the App Store and Google Play badges say "Coming soon" and mean it. Open the app in your phone’s browser and add it to the home screen; it runs full screen.
Pick a region, look at the map for a cluster of high-scoring segments in a valley you can reach, open the catchment to see what drains into it, check the protected-area layer, then export the targets and sample them with a pan.
Measures distances and areas on the map — the length of a stretch you plan to walk, the distance from the road, the size of a catchment.
A piece of the stream network between junctions or of a bounded length, scored on its own. Scores are per segment, so a long stream shows as a chain of differently coloured pieces.
Because the geometry changes. A steep straight reach scores low; the bend below its slope break scores high; the next straight reach drops again. That variation is the point — it tells you where along the stream to stop.
Public elevation data and public stream networks; the region’s methodology page names the sources for that region. The score is computed from them, not from any claim about where gold is.
The geology and history layers show mineral occurrences and old workings where data exists, and you can weigh them in your own reading. The base score itself is geometry.
Putting two places side by side — two segments or two areas — to see how their scores and features differ before choosing where to spend a day.
Yes, through the contact page for your region. Stream networks from public data have errors; reports help fix them.
Your markers, samples and notes are yours and stay in your account. The site’s privacy pages describe what is stored and why.
Its stream network will be scored and the map will open for it; the region page will switch from "in construction" to live. Leave your email on the region’s contact page to be told when.
GOLDONGO scores entire stream networks for the trap geometry this guide describes — slope breaks, inside bends, junctions and bedrock. Pick your region and see where it stands.
This guide is general education, not advice for a specific place. A score, a map or a sentence here is not a licence to dig: the rules for prospecting, land access and protected areas differ from place to place — learn the ones that apply where you are before you go.