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Elevation

 
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Elevation
 
 
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The elevation of a geographic location
Location (geography)

In geography, location is a position or point in physical space that something occupies on Earths' surface. An reality location can often be designated using a specific pairing of latitude and longitude, a Cartesian coordinate system grid , a Spherical coordinate system, or an ellipsoid-based system ....
 is its height above a fixed reference point, often the mean sea level
Above mean sea level

The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum . AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach....
. Elevation, or geometric height, is mainly used when referring to points on the Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
's surface, while altitude
Altitude

Altitude has multiple uses depending on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object....
 or geopotential height
Geopotential height

Geopotential height is a vertical coordinate referenced to Earth's mean sea level ? an adjustment to geometric height using the variation of gravity with latitude and elevation....
 is used for points above the surface, such as an aircraft
Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to flight by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere, of a planet. Examples include balloons, airplanes and helicopters....
 in flight or a spacecraft
Spacecraft

A spacecraft is a Craft or machine designed for spaceflight. On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters outer space then returns to the Earth....
 in orbit.

Less commonly, elevation is measured using the center of the Earth as the reference point.






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The elevation of a geographic location
Location (geography)

In geography, location is a position or point in physical space that something occupies on Earths' surface. An reality location can often be designated using a specific pairing of latitude and longitude, a Cartesian coordinate system grid , a Spherical coordinate system, or an ellipsoid-based system ....
 is its height above a fixed reference point, often the mean sea level
Above mean sea level

The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum . AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach....
. Elevation, or geometric height, is mainly used when referring to points on the Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
's surface, while altitude
Altitude

Altitude has multiple uses depending on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object....
 or geopotential height
Geopotential height

Geopotential height is a vertical coordinate referenced to Earth's mean sea level ? an adjustment to geometric height using the variation of gravity with latitude and elevation....
 is used for points above the surface, such as an aircraft
Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to flight by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere, of a planet. Examples include balloons, airplanes and helicopters....
 in flight or a spacecraft
Spacecraft

A spacecraft is a Craft or machine designed for spaceflight. On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters outer space then returns to the Earth....
 in orbit.

Less commonly, elevation is measured using the center of the Earth as the reference point. Due to equatorial bulge
Equatorial bulge

An equatorial bulge is a bulge which a planet may have around its equator, distorting it into an oblate spheroid. The Earth has an equatorial bulge of 42.72 km due to its rotation: its diameter measured across the equatorial plane is 42.72 km more than that measured between the poles ....
, there is debate which of the summits of Mt. Everest
Mount Everest

Mount Everest, also called Sagarmatha or Chomolungma, Qomolangma or Zhumulangma is the List of highest mountains on Earth, as measured by the height of its Topographical summit above sea level, which is ....
 or Chimborazo
Chimborazo (volcano)

The inactive stratovolcano Chimborazo is Ecuador highest summit. Its last eruption is thought to have occurred some time in the first millennium AD....
 is at the higher elevation, as the Chimborazo summit is further from the Earth's center while the Mt. Everest summit is higher above mean sea level.

Maps and GIS

Topomapcropped
A topographical map
Topographic map

A topographic map is a type of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of terrain, usually using contour lines in modern mapping, but historically using a cartographic relief depiction....
 is the main type of map
Map

A map is a visual representation of an area?a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as Object , regions, and topic-comment....
 used to depict elevation, often through use of contour line
Contour line

A contour line of a Function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value. In cartography, a contour line joins points of equal elevation above a given level, such as mean sea level....
s.

In a Geographic Information System
Geographic Information System

A geographic information system captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents data that refers to or is linked to location.In the strictest sense, the term describes any Information systems that integrates, stores, edits, analyzes, shares, and displays georeference information....
 (GIS), digital elevation model
Digital elevation model

A digital elevation model is a digital representation of ground surface topography or terrain. It is also widely known as a digital terrain model ....
s (DEM) are commonly used to represent the surface (topography) of a place, through a raster
Raster

Raster may refer to:* Raster graphics, graphical techniques using arrays of pixel values* Raster scan, the pattern of image readout, transmission, storage, and reconstruction in television and computer images...
 (grid) dataset of elevations. Digital terrain models are another way to represent terrain in GIS.

To determine elevation of a place, it must be survey
Geophysical survey

Geophysical survey refers to the systematic collection of Geophysics data for spatial studies. Geophysical surveys may use a great variety of sensing instruments, and data may be collected from above or below the Earth's surface or from aerial or marine platforms....
ed, in reference to a ground control point.

Topography

The elevation of a mountain
Mountain

A mountain is a landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill....
 usually refers to its summit. The elevation of a hill also refers to the summit. A valley's elevation is usually taken from the lowest point but is often taken all over the valley.

Global 1-kilometer map

This map is derived from GTOPO30
GTOPO30

GTOPO30 is a digital elevation model for the world, developed by USGS. It has a 30-arc second resolution , and is split into 33 tiles stored in the USGS DEM file format....
 data that describes the elevation of Earth's terrain at intervals of 30 arcseconds (approximately 1 km). It uses color and shading instead of contour lines to indicate elevation.

Topographic30deg N60w150
Topographic30deg N60w120
Topographic30deg N60w90
Topographic30deg N60w60
Topographic30deg N60w30
Topographic30deg N60w0
Topographic30deg N60e0
Topographic30deg N60e30
Topographic30deg N60e60
Topographic30deg N60e90
Topographic30deg N60e120
Topographic30deg N60e150
Topographic30deg N30w150
Topographic30deg N30w120
Topographic30deg N30w90
Topographic30deg N30w60
Topographic30deg N30w30
Topographic30deg N30w0
Topographic30deg N30e0
Topographic30deg N30e30
Topographic30deg N30e60
Topographic30deg N30e90
Topographic30deg N30e120
Topographic30deg N30e150
Topographic30deg N0w150
Topographic30deg N0w120
Topographic30deg N0w90
Topographic30deg N0w60
Topographic30deg N0w30
Topographic30deg N0w0
Topographic30deg N0e0
Topographic30deg N0e30
Topographic30deg N0e60
Topographic30deg N0e90
Topographic30deg N0e120
Topographic30deg N0e150
Topographic30deg S0w150
Topographic30deg S0w120
Topographic30deg S0w90
Topographic30deg S0w60
Topographic30deg S0w30
Topographic30deg S0w0
Topographic30deg S0e0
Topographic30deg S0e30
Topographic30deg S0e60
Topographic30deg S0e90
Topographic30deg S0e120
Topographic30deg S0e150
Topographic30deg S30w150
Topographic30deg S30w120
Topographic30deg S30w90
Topographic30deg S30w60
Topographic30deg S30w30
Topographic30deg S30w0
Topographic30deg S30e0
Topographic30deg S30e30
Topographic30deg S30e60
Topographic30deg S30e90
Topographic30deg S30e120
Topographic30deg S30e150
Topographic30deg S60w150
Topographic30deg S60w120
Topographic30deg S60w90
Topographic30deg S60w60
Topographic30deg S60w30
Topographic30deg S60w0
Topographic30deg S60e0
Topographic30deg S60e30
Topographic30deg S60e60
Topographic30deg S60e90
Topographic30deg S60e120
Topographic30deg S60e150
Each tile is available at a resolution of 1800 × 1800 pixels (approximate file size 1 MB, 60 pixels = 1 degree, 1 pixel = 1 minute)


See also

  • altitude
    Altitude

    Altitude has multiple uses depending on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object....
  • geodesy
    Geodesy

    Geodesy , also called geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space....
    • geodesy
      Geodesy

      Geodesy , also called geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space....
       of North America
      North America

      North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
      • Sea Level Datum of 1929
        Sea Level Datum of 1929

        The Sea Level Datum of 1929 was the vertical control datum established for vertical control surveying in the United States by the General Adjustment of 1929....
         later National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29)
      • North American Vertical Datum of 1988
        North American Vertical Datum of 1988

        The North American Vertical Datum of 1988 is the vertical control Datum established for vertical control surveying in the United States based upon the General Adjustment of the North American Datum of 1988....
         (NAVD 88)
  • Highest mountain peaks of North America
    Highest mountain peaks of North America

    The following sortable table lists the 122 summit on Greater North America with at least of topographic elevation and at least of topographic prominence....
  • List of highest mountains
    List of highest mountains

    The following is a list of the world's 100+ highest mountains per height above sea level, all of which are located in Asia. Only those summits are included that, by an objective measure, may be considered individual mountains as opposed to subsidiary peaks....
  • List of highest towns by country
    List of highest towns by country

    This is a list of the highest settlement of each country. Only permanent settlements occupied year-round are included. The locally claimed altitude above sea level is given; this may be the highest point in the settlement, the lowest point, an average height or the altitude of a particular central point....
  • physical geography
    Physical geography

    Physical geography is one of the three major subfields of geography. Physical geography focuses on understanding the processes and patterns in the natural environment, as opposed to the cultural or built environment, the domain of human geography....
  • summit (topography)
    Summit (topography)

    In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematics, a summit is a local Maxima and minima in elevation....
  • topographic isolation
    Topographic isolation

    The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum horizontal distance to the nearest point of higher elevation. Topographic isolation represents a radius of dominance in which the summit is the highest point....
  • topographic map
    Topographic map

    A topographic map is a type of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of terrain, usually using contour lines in modern mapping, but historically using a cartographic relief depiction....
  • topographic prominence
    Topographic prominence

    In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height or shoulder drop or prime factor , is a concept used in the categorization of hills and mountains, also known as peaks....
  • topography
    Topography

    Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, Natural satellite, and asteroids. It is also the description of such surface shapes and features ....


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