Of the rest of the land, 2.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (26.6%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

Of the settled areas, 1.0% is covered with buildings, 0.2% is industrial, and 0.9% is transportation infrastructure.

[5] The municipality is located south east of Altdorf at the entrance of the Schächental valley.

The village is at the start of the road over the pass Klausenpass, which connects Uri and Glarus.

It consists of the village center of Bürglen which is located above the left bank of the Schächen river, and scattered settlements which stretch from the valley floor up the mountains to an elevation of about 1,700 m (5,600 ft).