Land claim

The area that could be claimed by one person was limited to that which could be mined by a single individual or a small group.

The US system of mining claims is an application of the legal theory of prior appropriation, by which public property is granted to the first one to put it to beneficial use.

Other applications of appropriation theory were the Homestead Act, which granted public land to farmers, and water rights in the west.

The mining law has been changed numerous times, but still retains some features similar to those settled on by the California 49ers.

The concept was also used in other countries, for example during the Australian gold rushes which occurred at a similar time starting from the 1850s, and included similar groups of people including miners that migrated from the American gold rushes.

Finally, filing a claim with both the land management agency (USFS or BLM), and the local county registrar.