The Utah Division of State History (UDSH) has released a new mapping dataset depicting the generalized locations of known archaeological sites across Utah. Archaeological sites are classified as protected under the State Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and exempted under federal Freedom of Information Act. Therefore, the dataset is generalized to protect the locations of archaeological sites, in compliance with the State and federal cultural resource laws. The dataset is a grid of 500 meter hexagon cells that are coded with ‘known presence’ or ‘presence unknown’ for recorded archaeological sites. The dataset was created to promote awareness and utilization (for approved uses) of the ungeneralized, site-specific archaeological site database.

The dataset provides a cursory view of whether an archaeological site(s) has been recorded at a particular area. Sites must be officially recorded and submitted to the UDSH Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), before they are represented in the database. Therefore, its possible that some sites may not be included despite being locally known. Use of this dataset will not meet an agency’s cultural resource compliance obligations. Please contact the SHPO to request allowable access to the more detailed information.

The dataset can be found be downloaded here.