Keystone XL Pipeline Map

This CAMP map is an educational resource compiled from publicly available data about the proposed Keystone XL (KXL) Pipeline. Although the KXL would run nearly 1,200-miles through three U.S. states, much of the official data critical to the project’s environmental reports has not been made available to the public. This has made it impossible to evaluate those reports, as well as the impacts to biological resources (including thousands of water bodies), communities, and sacred Indigenous sites. This map allows for a larger discussion and understanding of this pipeline project and its continental reach.

The interactive map is best viewed in a separate window. The map displays best available information for the following types of data:

  • Keystone XL Route (proposed)
  • Keystone Pipeline (existing) and other U.S. crude oil pipelines
  • Construction camps and storage yards being used during construction
  • Pump stations
  • Federal and Tribal lands
  • Other contextual data

The map is interactive, meaning users can turn layers on and off, change the base layer, and locate themselves on the map.

The Keystone XL Pipeline Map is a collaboration between the Indigenous Environmental Network, Keystone Mapping Project, and Climate Alliance Mapping Project.

Offline Map

The Keystone Mapping Project provides a Keystone centerline map for offline use. For full instructions visit the Keystone Mapping Project’s downloads and links page and click on “KEYSTONE & KXL CENTERLINE FOR MOBILE OFFLINE.”

What is Keystone XL?

The KXL is a crude oil pipeline proposed to run 1,179 miles from Alberta, Canada to Steele City, Nebraska. The pipeline would carry tar sands oil from Alberta and American-produced oil from Baker, Montana to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Owned by TC Energy, KXL is the fourth phase of the existing Keystone Pipeline. Phase One of the Keystone from Alberta, Canada to Steele City, Nebraska was completed in 2010. The KXL was first proposed in 2008 as both a short-cut through Montana and South Dakota to Steele City, as well as an extension through Oklahoma and Texas to Gulf Coast refineries. The project faced heavy opposition for environmental concerns, including risks to local communities, climate, water, and sacred Indigenous sites. While the Oklahoma and Texas leg was approved, the northern segment from the Canadian border to Steele City was denied approval in 2015 by President Obama.

In 2017 President Trump took action to permit the pipeline’s completion, and TC Energy began construction near the Canada-Montana border in April 2020. Completion of Keystone XL is still not guaranteed, and Indigenous and environmental groups continue to fight the pipeline in court.

Why was this map created?

As part of the CAMP digital storytelling mission, this map allows for a larger understanding of KXL and its continental reach. By engaging with local communities and stakeholders, this educational resource supports a broad public discussion about the climate and environmental justice implications of new pipeline projects.

Where did the data come from?

This Keystone XL Pipeline Map builds on nearly a decade of work by the Keystone Mapping Project to identify and compile an accurate pipeline route. For a list of KMP’s sources, please visit their website.

CAMP has supplemented the map with additional contextual data, including what TC Energy calls “ancillary facilities.” These facilities include temporary construction camps housing pipeline workers, as well as pipe and contractor yards that store pipeline materials during the construction process. Locations for many facilities have changed over time, and new data is still being added to the map based on ongoing research and observation.

Data currently displayed was compiled from the following sources:

  • Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline Route – Courtesy of Keystone Mapping Project. All rights reserved.
  • Keystone Pipeline Route – Courtesy of Keystone Mapping Project. All rights reserved.
  • KXL Milepost Markers – Courtesy of Keystone Mapping Project. All rights reserved. Locations do not correspond exactly to mileposts referenced in the SEIS.
  • Crude Oil PipelinesPHMSA
  • Construction Camps – US Department of State 2019 (Final SEIS)
  • Contractor Yards – Digitized based on TC Energy Maps (2009). Locations may have changed.
  • Pipe Yards – Digitized based on TC Energy Maps (2009). Locations may have changed.
  • Pump Stations – Various: Montana DEQ, SD PUC Docket HP09-001, TC Energy 2020 (locations not exact for Nebraska Pump Stations)
  • Petroleum Product Terminals EIA 2020
  • Tribal LandsNational Atlas of the US
  • Federal LandsNational Atlas of the US
  • 1851 Sioux Territory – This boundary reflects Sioux Territory as defined by the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie and its 1969 interpretation by the Indian Claims Commission (21 ICC 381).

You can click on individual map features to learn more about the data.

Organizations Involved

The Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) is an alliance of Indigenous peoples whose mission it is to protect the sacredness of Earth Mother from contamination and exploitation by strengthening, maintaining and respecting Indigenous teachings and natural laws.

Keystone Mapping Project (KMP) is an internationally recognized multimedia and photography project examining land use, climate policy, and transparency through an exploration of the Keystone Pipeline.

The Climate Alliance Mapping Project (CAMP) builds interactive climate justice story maps that bring together scientific data and digital stories produced by affected communities to educate the public, connect local communities with global climate justice networks, and inform policy decisions.