Sample KML File
A downloadable sample KML file containing 15 real US landmark locations as Placemarks, each with a name, description, and elevation. Open it in Google Earth or use it to test KML parsers and converters.
Geo KML Text format
sample-locations.kml
Data Preview
15 rows × 5 columns
| 1 | name | description | latitude | longitude | elevation |
| 2 | Mount Rainier | Glaciated stratovolcano in Washington | 46.8523 | -121.7603 | 4392 |
| 3 | Half Dome | Granite dome above Yosemite Valley | 37.7459 | -119.5332 | 2694 |
| 4 | Grand Canyon South Rim | Overlook near Grand Canyon Village | 36.0544 | -112.1401 | 2093 |
| 5 | Old Faithful | Predictable geyser in Yellowstone | 44.4605 | -110.8281 | 2240 |
| 6 | Denali | Highest peak in North America | 63.0692 | -151.007 | 6190 |
| 7 | Angels Landing | Ridge viewpoint in Zion Canyon | 37.269 | -112.9469 | 1765 |
| 8 | Longs Peak | Fourteener in Rocky Mountain National Park | 40.2549 | -105.616 | 4346 |
| 9 | Mauna Kea | Dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii | 19.8206 | -155.4681 | 4207 |
| 10 | Crater Lake | Deepest lake in the United States | 42.9446 | -122.109 | 1883 |
| 11 | Mount Whitney | Highest summit in the contiguous United States | 36.5785 | -118.2923 | 4421 |
| 12 | Badwater Basin | Lowest point in North America, Death Valley | 36.2461 | -116.8172 | -86 |
| 13 | Great Sand Dunes | Tallest dunes in North America | 37.7916 | -105.5943 | 2590 |
| 14 | Cadillac Mountain | Granite summit in Acadia National Park | 44.3528 | -68.2247 | 466 |
| 15 | Mount Mitchell | Highest peak east of the Mississippi | 35.7648 | -82.2652 | 2037 |
| 16 | Guadalupe Peak | Highest point in Texas | 31.8914 | -104.8607 | 2667 |
Raw File Contents
sample-locations.kml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<kml xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2">
<Document>
<Placemark>
<name>Mount Rainier</name>
<description>Glaciated stratovolcano in Washington</description>
<Point><coordinates>-121.7603,46.8523,4392</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
<Placemark>
<name>Half Dome</name>
<description>Granite dome above Yosemite Valley</description>
<Point><coordinates>-119.5332,37.7459,2694</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
<Placemark>
<name>Grand Canyon South Rim</name>
<description>Overlook near Grand Canyon Village</description>
<Point><coordinates>-112.1401,36.0544,2093</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
<Placemark>
<name>Old Faithful</name>
<description>Predictable geyser in Yellowstone</description>
<Point><coordinates>-110.8281,44.4605,2240</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
<Placemark>
<name>Denali</name>
<description>Highest peak in North America</description>
<Point><coordinates>-151.007,63.0692,6190</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
<Placemark>
<name>Angels Landing</name>
<description>Ridge viewpoint in Zion Canyon</description>
<Point><coordinates>-112.9469,37.269,1765</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
<Placemark>
<name>Longs Peak</name>
<description>Fourteener in Rocky Mountain National Park</description>
<Point><coordinates>-105.616,40.2549,4346</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
<Placemark>
<name>Mauna Kea</name>
<description>Dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii</description>
<Point><coordinates>-155.4681,19.8206,4207</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
<Placemark>
<name>Crater Lake</name>
<description>Deepest lake in the United States</description>
<Point><coordinates>-122.109,42.9446,1883</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
<Placemark>
<name>Mount Whitney</name>
<description>Highest summit in the contiguous United States</description>
<Point><coordinates>-118.2923,36.5785,4421</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
<Placemark>
<name>Badwater Basin</name>
<description>Lowest point in North America, Death Valley</description>
<Point><coordinates>-116.8172,36.2461,-86</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
<Placemark>
<name>Great Sand Dunes</name>
<description>Tallest dunes in North America</description>
<Point><coordinates>-105.5943,37.7916,2590</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
<Placemark>
<name>Cadillac Mountain</name>
<description>Granite summit in Acadia National Park</description>
<Point><coordinates>-68.2247,44.3528,466</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
<Placemark>
<name>Mount Mitchell</name>
<description>Highest peak east of the Mississippi</description>
<Point><coordinates>-82.2652,35.7648,2037</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
<Placemark>
<name>Guadalupe Peak</name>
<description>Highest point in Texas</description>
<Point><coordinates>-104.8607,31.8914,2667</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>
</Document>
</kml>
Schema
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| name | string | Landmark name, from each Placemark's name element |
| description | string | One-line description of the landmark, from the description element |
| latitude | number | WGS84 latitude in decimal degrees (second value in the coordinates tuple) |
| longitude | number | WGS84 longitude in decimal degrees (first value in the coordinates tuple) |
| elevation | number | Altitude in meters (third value in the coordinates tuple); negative for Badwater Basin |
About the KML Format
KML (Keyhole Markup Language) is the XML format Google Earth uses to describe geographic annotations. It became an OGC standard in 2008. This sample is a single <Document> holding 15 <Placemark> elements, each with a <name>, a <description>, and a <Point> whose <coordinates> element packs longitude,latitude,altitude into one comma-separated tuple — longitude first, no spaces.
For simple point data like this, KML preserves everything: names, descriptions, and full 3D coordinates. Richer attribute tables normally go into <ExtendedData> elements; this sample deliberately stays minimal so the structure is easy to read in a text editor.
How to open it
- Google Earth (web or desktop) — double-click the file or drag it in; each landmark appears as a labeled pin
- Google My Maps — import the file into a new map layer
- QGIS — opens KML directly as a vector layer via GDAL
- Any XML tooling — it is plain UTF-8 XML with a single namespace, so XPath and standard parsers work fine
Things to test with it
Badwater Basin carries a negative altitude (−86 m), a good check that your parser treats the third coordinate value as a signed number. The description for Badwater Basin also contains a comma, which is only safe because KML delimits values with XML tags — a useful contrast when you convert to CSV and quoting suddenly matters.
The same 15 locations exist in all five geo sample formats on this site — GeoJSON, KMZ, GPX, and Shapefile — so you can compare encodings of identical data. To flatten Placemarks into rows, use the KML to CSV converter; to go the other way, use CSV to KML.
FAQ
4 questionsIs anything uploaded when I download or preview this file?
No. The sample is a static file served directly from this site, and the converters here run entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or processed on a server.
Which fields does KML preserve?
All five columns of this dataset. Name and description map to each Placemark's name and description elements, and coordinates carry longitude, latitude, and altitude. Arbitrary extra columns would need ExtendedData elements, which this minimal sample does not use.
How is KML related to KMZ?
KMZ is simply a KML file zipped up, usually as doc.kml, optionally alongside icons and images. This site provides the same 15 locations as a KMZ sample too, so you can compare the two directly.
What coordinate order does KML use?
Longitude,latitude,altitude — comma-separated with no spaces, longitude first. That matches GeoJSON's x-before-y order but is the reverse of how most people say coordinates out loud.