Elevation Profile Viewer: Free Elevation Chart on a Map

See the shape of the land between any points on Earth. Click the map to place up to 5 points, A to E, and this free elevation profile viewer reads the elevation of every point and draws an interactive elevation chart. Move along the chart to see the height, distance and grade at every spot, with a marker that follows on the map. You also get the total ascent and descent, the highest, lowest and mean elevation, the steepest grades, a table for each leg, a share link and a PDF report. No sign-up.

Elevation Profile Viewer: See the Height of the Ground Along Any Route

What an Elevation Profile Shows

A normal map shows the land from above, so a steep climb and a flat road look the same. An elevation profile turns the route on its side: distance runs from left to right and height runs from bottom to top. Every hill becomes a rise in the line, every valley a dip. With one look you can see how much climbing a route needs, where the steep parts are and how high the highest point is.

What This Elevation Profile Tool Does

You place up to 5 points on the map. The tool joins them in order, asks an elevation service for the height of each point in one request, and turns the answers into a chart and a set of figures. Only your points are read: between two points the chart draws a straight line. To show a hill, a pass or a valley in the profile, put a point on it. The tool works anywhere between 60° north and 56° south, from a city street to a mountain range.

How to Use the Elevation Profile Viewer

Placing, Moving and Removing Points

Start by finding the area. Use the search box for a town, an address or a mountain, press My location, or pan and zoom by hand. Then click the map: the first click places A, the next B, and so on up to E. Each point gets its own colour, and a green line joins them in order. When there are two points the profile appears. Because the height is read only at your points, place them where the ground changes: the start, the tops, the low points and the end.

To move a point, drag its pin; the line follows while you drag and the profile is read again when you let go. To remove one point, press the small x on its chip under the map; the remaining points keep their order and are lettered again. Undo last point removes the newest point, Reverse route swaps the start and the end, and Clear all starts again. After five points, a click on the map does nothing until you remove one.

Map Styles and Units

The Street map is best for towns and roads, Satellite shows the real ground, trees and buildings, and Terrain adds hill shading and contour-style colours that make valleys and ridges easy to see. The m / km and ft / mi buttons switch every number, the chart and the PDF between metric and imperial units.

Reading the Summary and the Figures

The green summary box gives the route length with its total climbing and descent, then the height at the start and the end, the net change and the average grade. The eight cards give the key figures: distance, total ascent, total descent, highest point, lowest point, mean elevation, the steepest uphill and downhill leg, and a walking time. Ascent and descent count the changes from point to point, so a climb between two points that is not marked by a point is not included.

Using the Interactive Chart

The chart plots the height of your points against the distance from A and joins them with straight lines. Coloured dashed lines and lettered circles mark the points, and the highest and lowest are labelled. Move the mouse over the chart, or slide a finger on a phone, and a tooltip shows the height on the line, the distance and the grade of that leg; close to a point it also shows the point’s letter. At the same time a black dot moves along the route on the map, so you can link any bump in the chart to a real place.

The Legs Table

Each pair of neighbouring points is a leg: A to B, B to C and so on. The table gives each leg’s distance, its height at the start and the end, the height change and the grade. This helps when a route has one hard section and several easy ones.

How to Make an Elevation Profile: Step by Step

1Find the area: search a place or move the map

Type a town, an address or a mountain in the search box and press Search, or press My location. You can also drag and zoom the map by hand, or press one of the Try buttons to load a ready-made route such as the Ben Nevis path or the Grand Canyon.

2Click the map to place up to 5 points, A to E

Each click adds the next lettered point, and a green line joins them in order. After the second point the tool reads the elevation of your points and draws the profile. Put a point on each hilltop or valley floor you want in the chart. Drag any pin to move it; the profile updates when you let go. Use the small x on a point, Undo last point or Clear all to change the route.

3Read the summary and the key figures

The green box gives the length of the route with its total climbing and descent, the start and end height and the average grade. The cards below show the distance, total ascent, total descent, highest, lowest and mean elevation, the steepest uphill and downhill leg, and an estimated walking time.

4Explore the interactive elevation chart

Move the mouse, or a finger, along the chart. A tooltip shows the elevation, the distance from A and the grade at that spot, and a black dot moves along the route on the map at the same time. Dashed lines mark your points, and the highest and lowest points are labelled.

5Check each leg of the route in the table

The Legs of the route table splits the route at your points: A to B, B to C and so on. For each leg it shows the distance, the start and end height, the height change and the grade. Switch between m / km and ft / mi at the top of the tool.

6Share the link or download the PDF report

Press Copy share link to copy a link that opens the same points, units and map style. Share on WhatsApp sends it with a short summary, and Share... uses your phone’s share menu. Download PDF report saves a report with the maplity.com letterhead, the chart and all tables.

10 Use Cases of an Elevation Profile Viewer

People in many fields need to know how the height of the land changes along a line. These are the most common.

1. Hiking and trekking

Before a day in the hills, place points at the car park, the main junctions and the summit. The total ascent and the walking time from Naismith’s rule tell you whether the walk fits into the daylight you have, and the chart shows where the steep section begins, so you can plan a rest before it.

2. Road cycling and mountain biking

Cyclists judge a climb by its length and its average and maximum grade. Put a point at the foot and the top of a pass, and the tool gives both, with the steepest part marked on the chart. It is a quick way to compare two ways over the same hills.

3. Trail running and race planning

Race organisers publish an elevation profile with the course, and runners study it to plan their pace. With up to five points you can rebuild the rough shape of a course, see where the long climbs and fast descents are, and share the link with your club.

4. Roads, rail and civil engineering

At the early planning stage, engineers compare corridors for a new road, railway or path. A profile along each option shows the highest point, the steepest grade and the overall rise, which helps rule out routes that would need too much cutting, filling or tunnelling.

5. Pipelines, canals and water supply

Water flows downhill, so gravity-fed pipes, irrigation channels and drains depend on a steady fall. Put A at the source, E at the outlet and the points in between on any rise along the line: the profile shows whether the ground falls all the way, or where a high point would need a pump.

6. Radio links and line of sight

Microwave, radio and Wi-Fi links need a clear line between two masts. Put A and E on the two sites and the points in between on the hills or ridges along the line: the profile shows whether any of them rises above the straight line between the masts. Over long links you also have to allow for the curve of the Earth, which the maths section below explains.

7. Property, building sites and flood risk

Buyers and builders can check how a plot sits against a nearby river or the coast. A short profile from the water to the building shows how many metres higher it stands, and whether the land slopes towards it or away from it.

8. Geography and geology teaching

A profile is a standard way to teach landforms. Students can draw one across a volcano, a glacial valley, a river terrace or a coastal cliff and compare the shapes. The famous-place tables below give ready-made examples from Europe and the USA.

9. Drones and paragliding

Drone pilots must keep a set height above the ground, and the ground is not flat. A profile with points on the high ground along the planned flight line shows where the terrain rises, so the flight can be planned to stay clear. Paraglider pilots use profiles to judge glide lines from a launch to a landing field.

10. Travel, driving and electric vehicles

Mountain roads, heavy vehicles and electric cars are all affected by long climbs. A profile of a pass shows how much height the vehicle must gain and lose, which helps with fuel or battery planning and with choosing a route for a caravan or a truck.

The 10 Most Useful Things to Check With This Tool

Whatever your reason for using it, these are the checks that save the most time and trouble.

Check the total climb before you commit to a route. Total ascent, not distance, is what makes a walk or ride hard. Compare it with what you have done before.
Find the steepest leg. The Steepest leg card and the legs table show which pair of points has the highest grade. Move a point to the top or the foot of the climb to measure it more closely.
Compare two routes to the same place. Build the first route, copy its share link, then build the second. Put the two PDF reports side by side.
Estimate the walking time. The Naismith figure is a fair starting point for fit walkers. Add time for breaks, bad weather and descents on rough ground.
Check that water will flow the way you need. Place points along the line of a drain, pipe or ditch, on any rise you can see. The profile should fall from each point to the next, with no high point in between.
See if a hill blocks the view or the signal. Place A and the last point on the two high points and the points in between on the hills along the line. If any middle point rises above the straight line from the first to the last, the view or the radio link is blocked.
Measure how high a house stands above a river. Place A at the water’s edge and B at the building. The height difference is a first check of flood safety, not a replacement for official flood maps.
Find the highest and lowest point of a trip. The chart labels both, and the cards give their height and distance from the start. This is useful for weather, snow and altitude planning.
Teach or learn the shape of the land. Draw across a valley, a volcano or a coastline and describe what the chart shows. The share link makes it easy to hand the same profile to a whole class.
Keep a record in a report. The PDF holds the chart, the points, the legs and the method, with the link to open the route again. It is handy for trip plans, site files and permits.

The Mathematics Behind the Elevation Profile

1. Distance Between Points: the Haversine Formula

The Earth is close to a sphere, so the distance between two points is measured along a great circle, the shortest path over the surface. The tool uses the haversine formula with a mean Earth radius R of 6,371 km:

a = sin²(Δφ / 2) + cos φ1 · cos φ2 · sin²(Δλ / 2)
d = 2R · atan2(√a, √(1 - a))
φ = latitude, λ = longitude, in radians

The route length is the sum of the leg lengths A to B, B to C and so on.

2. Joining the Points: Straight Lines Between Readings

Only the points you place are read, in a single request: a route with five points asks for five heights. The chart puts each point at its distance from A and joins neighbouring points with a straight line. When you hover between two points, the tool finds the matching place on the map along the great circle between them, and the height on the straight line of the chart:

t = (d - d_A) / (d_B - d_A) fraction of the way from point A to point B
height on the line: h(t) = h_A + (h_B - h_A) · t
place on the map: P(t) = [sin((1 - t)δ) · A + sin(tδ) · B] / sin δ, δ = angular length of the leg

The straight line is not the real ground. A hill or a valley between two points does not appear unless you put a point on it, which is why the tool is best used with points on the start, the main tops, the low points and the end.

3. Reading the Height of Each Point

SRTM stores one height for each cell of a grid about 90 m wide. A point usually falls between four cell centres, so the elevation service mixes the four heights by bilinear interpolation, giving a smooth value instead of a staircase:

h(x, y) = h00(1 - x)(1 - y) + h10·x(1 - y) + h01(1 - x)y + h11·xy
x, y = position inside the cell, from 0 to 1

4. Ascent, Descent and Grade

For every pair of neighbouring readings, the rise is Δh = h(i+1) - h(i) and the horizontal distance is Δd. Positive rises are added to the total ascent and negative ones to the total descent. The grade is the rise over the run, and the slope angle comes from the arctangent:

total ascent = Σ max(Δh, 0) total descent = Σ max(-Δh, 0)
grade (%) = Δh / Δd × 100 angle = atan(Δh / Δd)
average grade of the route = (h_end - h_start) / route length × 100

Example: three readings 100 m apart at 200 m, 212 m and 205 m give an ascent of 12 m, a descent of 7 m, grades of +12% and -7%, and an average grade of (205 - 200) / 200 × 100 = +2.5%.

5. Highest, Lowest and Mean Elevation

The highest and lowest points are simply the largest and smallest readings. The mean elevation is weighted by distance using the trapezoid rule, so a long flat stretch counts for more than a short one:

mean = Σ [(h(i) + h(i+1)) / 2 × Δd(i)] / Σ Δd(i)

6. Walking Time: Naismith's Rule

The walking time uses Naismith’s rule from 1892, still the standard first estimate for hill walkers: 5 km per hour on the flat, plus one hour for every 600 m of ascent. A 12 km walk with 900 m of climbing works out as 12 / 5 + 900 / 600 = 2.4 + 1.5 = 3.9 hours.

time (h) = distance (km) / 5 + ascent (m) / 600

7. The Curve of the Earth and Line of Sight

The chart plots height above sea level along the ground, so the Earth’s curve is not drawn. For a line-of-sight check between two distant points, remember that the surface drops away below a straight line. The drop at distance d is about d² / (2R): about 8 m at 10 km, 31 m at 20 km and 196 m at 50 km. Radio engineers often use an effective radius of 4/3 R to allow for the bending of radio waves in the air.

curvature drop ≈ d² / (2R) d = 20 km: 20,000² / (2 × 6,371,000) ≈ 31 m

Data Sources and Libraries Used in This Tool

Elevation Data: SRTM 90 m

The heights come from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). In February 2000 the Space Shuttle Endeavour mapped the land between 60° N and 56° S with radar in 11 days, a joint project of NASA and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The tool uses the 3 arc-second version, with cells of about 90 m. Heights are in metres above the EGM96 geoid, which is close to mean sea level. The published target accuracy was 16 m (absolute, 90% of points); tests on open ground usually find errors of 5 to 10 m. SRTM is a surface model: the radar was reflected by roofs and treetops, so in cities and forests the reading is the top of what stands there, not the bare ground.

Elevation Service: Open Topo Data

The tool asks for elevations through the free Open Topo Data API, which serves SRTM and other public elevation datasets and interpolates between grid cells (bilinear). Requests go through Maplity’s own server, which checks the coordinates, limits how often one visitor can ask, and caches answers. One profile is always one request with only your 2 to 5 points in it.

Maps and Search

The street map is Maplity’s own vector basemap, built from OpenStreetMap data with Protomaps tiles hosted by KONAKTIVE, with CARTO and OpenStreetMap raster maps as automatic fallbacks. The satellite and terrain maps are Esri World Imagery and Esri World Topo Map. If they do not load, the map switches to the street map by itself. Place search uses Nominatim, the OpenStreetMap geocoder.

Software Libraries

The map, the lettered pins, the route line and the hover marker are drawn with Leaflet 1.9, the open-source web map library, and the vector street map with protomaps-leaflet. The PDF report is built in your browser by jsPDF, which places the letterhead, the watermark, the tables and the chart. The page and the tool run on Next.js and React. The elevation chart itself uses no chart library: it is plain SVG drawn by Maplity’s own code, so exactly the same drawing appears on the page and in the PDF.

Limits of the Data

There is no SRTM data north of 60° N, so the tool cannot read Alaska, Iceland, most of Norway, Sweden and Finland, or the far north of Russia and Canada. Water surfaces read as their surface level. Narrow gorges, cliffs and sharp summits are smoothed by the 90 m cells: summits read lower than their surveyed height and gorge floors read higher. For design, safety and legal work, use a survey or national lidar data.

Elevation of 200 Famous Places in Europe and the USA

How These Elevations Were Measured

The tables list 100 well-known places in Europe, across 29 countries, and 100 in the United States, with a short description of each. The elevations come from the same SRTM data this tool uses. At the point is the reading at the coordinates shown. Mean elevation is the average of five readings: the point itself and points 100 m north, south, east and west of it, which gives a steadier value for the area around the landmark.

Because SRTM is a 90 m surface model, the numbers can differ from official heights. Summits read lower (Mont Blanc, 4,806 m, reads about 4,780 m), and tall buildings read higher than the street (the Eiffel Tower site reads 64 m on ground that is about 35 m). The descriptions give the official heights where it matters. In this list, the highest European mean is Mont Blanc summit (4,758 m) and the lowest is Kinderdijk windmills (-2 m); in the USA the highest is Mount Elbert summit (4,359 m) and the lowest is Badwater Basin, Death Valley (-60 m).

Elevation of 100 Famous Places in Europe

Mean and point elevation of 100 famous places in Europe, from SRTM 90 m data
#	Location	City	Country	Mean elevation	At the point	About this place
1	Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) 51.5007, -0.1246	London	United Kingdom	13 m 43 ft	15 m 49 ft	The clock tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster stands on the flat north bank of the Thames, only a few metres above the river. The tower itself is 96 m tall, so the ground here is one of the lowest points of central London.
2	Tower of London 51.5081, -0.0759	London	United Kingdom	13 m 43 ft	15 m 49 ft	The 11th-century fortress sits on the north bank of the Thames next to Tower Bridge. The White Tower was built on a slight rise above the river, but the whole site is still low, and the old moat was fed by the Thames.
3	Buckingham Palace 51.5014, -0.1419	London	United Kingdom	13 m 43 ft	13 m 43 ft	The royal residence stands at the west end of The Mall on land that was once marshy ground by the Tyburn stream. The area is almost flat, which is why the palace gardens and St James’s Park are so level.
4	Stonehenge 51.1789, -1.8262	Amesbury	United Kingdom	100 m 328 ft	102 m 335 ft	The Neolithic stone circle stands on the chalk of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. The plain is a wide, gently rolling upland, and the monument sits on a low, open rise that can be seen from far away across the grassland.
5	Edinburgh Castle 55.9486, -3.1999	Edinburgh	United Kingdom	96 m 315 ft	107 m 351 ft	The castle is built on Castle Rock, the plug of an extinct volcano. The rock rises steeply on three sides, and the Royal Mile runs down its eastern tail, a classic crag-and-tail landform shaped by ice.
6	Ben Nevis summit 56.7969, -5.0036	Fort William	United Kingdom	1,307 m 4,288 ft	1,321 m 4,334 ft	Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles, with an official height of 1,345 m. Its summit plateau rises almost from sea level at Loch Linnhe, so the climb from Fort William is one of the largest height gains in the United Kingdom.
7	Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) summit 53.0685, -4.0763	Llanberis	United Kingdom	1,024 m 3,360 ft	1,047 m 3,435 ft	Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) is the highest mountain in Wales at 1,085 m. Six main paths and a mountain railway reach the summit, which makes it a useful place to compare the elevation profiles of different routes to the same top.
8	Roman Baths 51.3811, -2.3597	Bath	United Kingdom	31 m 102 ft	31 m 102 ft	The Roman Baths sit in the valley of the River Avon in the centre of Bath, where hot spring water rises from deep below the ground. The city climbs the hills around this low point, so streets rise steeply in almost every direction.
9	Giant's Causeway 55.2408, -6.5116	Bushmills	United Kingdom	2 m 7 ft	2 m 7 ft	About 40,000 basalt columns step down into the sea on the north coast of County Antrim. The site is at sea level, below cliffs of about 100 m, so a short walk from the visitor centre drops steeply to the shore.
10	Trinity College Dublin 53.3438, -6.2546	Dublin	Ireland	8 m 26 ft	8 m 26 ft	Ireland’s oldest university stands in the centre of Dublin, close to the River Liffey and the coast of Dublin Bay. The ground is low and flat, which is typical for the whole of central Dublin.
11	Rock of Cashel 52.5200, -7.8906	Cashel	Ireland	118 m 387 ft	129 m 423 ft	The medieval church buildings stand on a limestone outcrop that rises above the plains of County Tipperary. The rock is the highest point for some distance, so the ruins can be seen from far across the flat farmland.
12	Carrauntoohil summit 51.9993, -9.7429	Killarney	Ireland	988 m 3,241 ft	1,015 m 3,330 ft	Carrauntoohil is the highest mountain in Ireland at 1,039 m, in the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks of County Kerry. The usual route climbs through the Hag’s Glen and the steep Devil’s Ladder gully.
13	Eiffel Tower 48.8584, 2.2945	Paris	France	47 m 154 ft	64 m 210 ft	The 330 m iron tower stands on the Champ de Mars on the left bank of the Seine. The ground here is about 35 m above sea level. Radar data such as SRTM reads the surface, so the tower and nearby buildings raise the reading above the real ground.
14	Louvre Museum 48.8606, 2.3376	Paris	France	46 m 151 ft	48 m 157 ft	The former royal palace lies on the right bank of the Seine in the centre of Paris. The ground slopes very gently up from the river, and the museum courtyards are only a few metres above the water level.
15	Notre-Dame de Paris 48.8530, 2.3499	Paris	France	42 m 138 ft	44 m 144 ft	The cathedral stands on the Île de la Cité, an island in the Seine. The island is low and flat, and the cathedral forecourt is only a few metres above the river.
16	Sacré-Cœur Basilica, Montmartre 48.8867, 2.3431	Paris	France	121 m 397 ft	127 m 417 ft	The white basilica crowns the butte of Montmartre, at about 130 m the highest natural point in Paris. The steps and funicular from the foot of the hill climb about 35 m, and the terrace gives a wide view over the city.
17	Palace of Versailles 48.8049, 2.1204	Versailles	France	143 m 469 ft	145 m 476 ft	The palace was built on a low plateau west of Paris. Its famous gardens were shaped by moving huge amounts of earth, and the Grand Canal lies in a shallow valley below the main terrace.
18	Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey 48.6360, -1.5114	Le Mont-Saint-Michel	France	27 m 89 ft	46 m 151 ft	The abbey sits on a rocky tidal island in the bay between Normandy and Brittany. The rock rises about 90 m above the sand flats, and the tide can come in very fast over the flat bay around it.
19	Mont Blanc summit 45.8326, 6.8652	Chamonix	France	4,758 m 15,610 ft	4,780 m 15,682 ft	Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps and in Western Europe, at about 4,806 m. Its summit is a snow dome whose height changes a little each year, and the radar data reads the smooth snow surface.
20	Aiguille du Midi 45.8785, 6.8873	Chamonix	France	3,654 m 11,988 ft	3,680 m 12,073 ft	The Aiguille du Midi is a granite needle above Chamonix with a cable car station near its 3,842 m top. The cable car climbs more than 2,800 m from the valley, one of the largest vertical rises of any cable car in the world.
21	Pont du Gard 43.9475, 4.5355	Vers-Pont-du-Gard	France	33 m 108 ft	23 m 75 ft	The three-tier Roman aqueduct bridge crosses the Gardon river in southern France. It carried water to Nîmes with a very small fall along its whole route, which shows how exact Roman surveyors were with elevation.
22	Cité de Carcassonne 43.2067, 2.3636	Carcassonne	France	146 m 479 ft	151 m 495 ft	The walled medieval city stands on a hill above the River Aude in southern France. Its double ring of walls follows the edge of the hilltop, so the approach from the new town below climbs steeply.
23	Palais des Papes 43.9508, 4.8075	Avignon	France	38 m 125 ft	44 m 144 ft	The Palace of the Popes stands on the Rocher des Doms, a rocky rise beside the Rhône in Avignon. The rock gives the palace a slightly higher site than the rest of the old town.
24	Puy de Dôme summit 45.7722, 2.9644	Clermont-Ferrand	France	1,431 m 4,695 ft	1,450 m 4,757 ft	The Puy de Dôme is a lava dome at 1,465 m, the best-known volcano of the Chaîne des Puys in the Massif Central. It rises about 1,000 m above Clermont-Ferrand, and a rack railway climbs to the summit.
25	Sagrada Família 41.4036, 2.1744	Barcelona	Spain	45 m 148 ft	46 m 151 ft	Gaudí’s basilica stands in the Eixample district of Barcelona, on the gentle slope that rises from the sea towards the Collserola hills. Its towers make the radar surface reading higher than the street level.
26	Alhambra 37.1761, -3.5881	Granada	Spain	778 m 2,552 ft	783 m 2,569 ft	The Nasrid palace-fortress stands on the Sabika hill above Granada, with the Sierra Nevada behind it. The hill rises well above the Darro and Genil river valleys, which gave the palace its strong defensive position.
27	Royal Palace of Madrid 40.4179, -3.7143	Madrid	Spain	646 m 2,119 ft	652 m 2,139 ft	The palace stands on the edge of a bluff above the Manzanares valley. Madrid is one of the highest capital cities in Europe, and the land falls away steeply on the palace’s west side to the Campo del Moro gardens.
28	Seville Cathedral and Giralda 37.3858, -5.9931	Seville	Spain	21 m 69 ft	25 m 82 ft	The Gothic cathedral and its Giralda tower stand in the flat valley of the Guadalquivir river. Seville is only a few metres above sea level even though it lies about 80 km from the coast, which is why ships can reach its river port.
29	Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba 37.8789, -4.7794	Córdoba	Spain	111 m 364 ft	113 m 371 ft	The Mosque-Cathedral stands on the north bank of the Guadalquivir, next to the Roman bridge. The old town rises only slightly from the river, and the Sierra Morena hills begin to the north of the city.
30	Guggenheim Museum Bilbao 43.2687, -2.9340	Bilbao	Spain	12 m 39 ft	15 m 49 ft	Frank Gehry’s titanium-clad museum stands on the bank of the Nervión estuary in Bilbao. The site is close to the water level, with steep hills rising on both sides of the river valley.
31	Santiago de Compostela Cathedral 42.8806, -8.5446	Santiago de Compostela	Spain	264 m 866 ft	264 m 866 ft	The cathedral is the end point of the Camino de Santiago pilgrim routes. The old town sits on a low hill in the green, rolling land of Galicia, and many pilgrims study the elevation profile of each stage before they walk it.
32	Mount Teide summit 28.2724, -16.6425	Tenerife	Spain	3,658 m 12,001 ft	3,685 m 12,090 ft	Mount Teide on Tenerife is the highest point of Spain at 3,715 m. Measured from the ocean floor it is one of the tallest volcanoes on Earth. A cable car climbs to just below the summit cone.
33	Montserrat Monastery 41.5933, 1.8378	Monistrol de Montserrat	Spain	734 m 2,408 ft	732 m 2,402 ft	The Benedictine monastery sits on a ledge of the jagged Montserrat massif, north-west of Barcelona. A rack railway and a cable car climb the steep cliffs from the Llobregat valley below.
34	Belém Tower 38.6916, -9.2160	Lisbon	Portugal	2 m 7 ft	1 m 3 ft	The 16th-century fortified tower stands at the edge of the Tagus estuary in Lisbon. It was built on a small rock in the river, so the ground reading here is close to sea level.
35	São Jorge Castle 38.7139, -9.1335	Lisbon	Portugal	80 m 262 ft	89 m 292 ft	The Moorish castle crowns the highest hill in central Lisbon, above the Alfama district. The streets and trams that climb to it are some of the steepest in the city.
36	Porto Cathedral (Sé do Porto) 41.1428, -8.6112	Porto	Portugal	67 m 220 ft	73 m 240 ft	Porto’s cathedral stands on the Penaventosa hill, the oldest part of the city, high above the Douro river. The streets below drop steeply to the Ribeira waterfront.
37	Pena Palace 38.7876, -9.3906	Sintra	Portugal	466 m 1,529 ft	482 m 1,581 ft	The colourful Romanticist palace stands on one of the highest peaks of the Sintra hills. On clear days it can be seen from Lisbon, and the road up from Sintra town climbs through thick forest.
38	Colosseum 41.8902, 12.4922	Rome	Italy	31 m 102 ft	28 m 92 ft	The amphitheatre stands in the valley between the Palatine, Esquiline and Caelian hills of Rome. The site was once the lake of Nero’s palace, which is why it lies lower than the hills around it.
39	Trevi Fountain 41.9009, 12.4833	Rome	Italy	35 m 115 ft	33 m 108 ft	The Baroque fountain sits in a small square at the foot of the Quirinal hill. It is the end point of the Aqua Virgo aqueduct, which brings water to Rome with a gentle fall from springs east of the city.
40	Leaning Tower of Pisa 43.7230, 10.3966	Pisa	Italy	7 m 23 ft	7 m 23 ft	The bell tower stands on the Piazza dei Miracoli in the flat plain of the River Arno. The tower leans because the soft, wet ground under it could not carry its weight evenly.
41	Florence Cathedral (Duomo) 43.7731, 11.2560	Florence	Italy	62 m 203 ft	59 m 194 ft	Santa Maria del Fiore stands in the historic centre of Florence, in the Arno valley. Brunelleschi’s dome rises about 114 m above the square, far above the surrounding city roofs.
42	Piazzale Michelangelo 43.7629, 11.2650	Florence	Italy	94 m 308 ft	99 m 325 ft	The terrace on the hills south of the Arno gives the classic view over Florence. It lies clearly above the old town across the river, and the ramps and steps up from the San Niccolò district climb steadily.
43	St Mark's Square 45.4341, 12.3388	Venice	Italy	11 m 36 ft	11 m 36 ft	The main square of Venice is one of the lowest points of the city. At high tide (acqua alta) water often floods the square, which shows how close the ground is to the level of the lagoon.
44	Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano) 45.4642, 9.1916	Milan	Italy	137 m 449 ft	139 m 456 ft	The Duomo stands at the centre of Milan in the wide, flat Po plain. The land falls very gently from the Alps towards the Po river, so Milan lies higher than cities further south in the plain.
45	Pompeii Forum 40.7491, 14.4847	Pompei	Italy	32 m 105 ft	33 m 108 ft	The Roman city was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. It stands on an old lava ridge near the mouth of the Sarno river, with Vesuvius rising about 10 km to the north.
46	Mount Vesuvius crater rim 40.8213, 14.4261	Naples	Italy	1,035 m 3,396 ft	997 m 3,271 ft	Mount Vesuvius is the active volcano above the Bay of Naples, about 1,281 m high. A path climbs from the car park to the rim of the crater, and the elevation profile along the rim rises and falls sharply.
47	Mount Etna summit area 37.7510, 14.9934	Catania	Italy	3,260 m 10,696 ft	3,266 m 10,715 ft	Mount Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe, at about 3,300 to 3,400 m. Its summit height changes after eruptions, so any fixed height is only a snapshot in time.
48	Tre Cime di Lavaredo 46.6187, 12.3025	Auronzo di Cadore	Italy	2,513 m 8,245 ft	2,507 m 8,225 ft	The Three Peaks of Lavaredo are the best-known mountains of the Dolomites. The loop walk around their base stays mostly between 2,300 and 2,450 m and is a popular route for studying a mountain elevation profile.
49	St Peter's Basilica 41.9022, 12.4539	Vatican City	Vatican City	50 m 164 ft	61 m 200 ft	The basilica stands at the foot of the Vatican Hill on the west bank of the Tiber. Its dome rises about 136 m above the ground, and the square in front of it slopes gently towards the river.
50	Brandenburg Gate 52.5163, 13.3777	Berlin	Germany	39 m 128 ft	39 m 128 ft	The 18th-century gate stands on Pariser Platz in the centre of Berlin. Berlin lies in a flat glacial valley of the Spree river, so there are very few natural slopes in the city centre.
51	Cologne Cathedral 50.9413, 6.9583	Cologne	Germany	58 m 190 ft	57 m 187 ft	The Gothic cathedral stands on a slight rise just west of the Rhine. Its twin spires reach about 157 m. The rise kept the site above most Rhine floods in the Middle Ages.
52	Neuschwanstein Castle 47.5576, 10.7498	Schwangau	Germany	940 m 3,084 ft	956 m 3,136 ft	King Ludwig II’s castle stands on a rocky ridge above the Pöllat gorge in the Bavarian Alps. The walk from the village of Hohenschwangau climbs steadily to the castle gate.
53	Marienplatz 48.1374, 11.5755	Munich	Germany	526 m 1,726 ft	525 m 1,722 ft	Munich’s central square lies on the high, gravel plain of the Isar river north of the Alps. The city is one of the highest large cities in Germany, even though the plain looks almost flat.
54	Zugspitze summit 47.4211, 10.9853	Garmisch-Partenkirchen	Germany	2,901 m 9,518 ft	2,928 m 9,606 ft	The Zugspitze is the highest mountain in Germany at 2,962 m, on the border with Austria. Cable cars and a rack railway reach the summit area, which has a weather station and a small glacier nearby.
55	Heidelberg Castle 49.4106, 8.7153	Heidelberg	Germany	189 m 620 ft	197 m 646 ft	The castle ruins stand on the Königstuhl hillside above the old town and the Neckar river. A funicular climbs from the town to the castle and further up to the Königstuhl summit.
56	Frauenkirche 51.0519, 13.7416	Dresden	Germany	116 m 381 ft	116 m 381 ft	The Baroque church stands on the Neumarkt in the Elbe valley. It was destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt by 2005. The old town lies low on the river terrace beside the Elbe.
57	Elbphilharmonie 53.5413, 9.9841	Hamburg	Germany	1 m 3 ft	0 m 0 ft	The concert hall stands at the tip of a quay in Hamburg’s HafenCity, surrounded by the Elbe. The site is close to sea level, so flood protection is built into the whole district.
58	Brocken summit 51.7991, 10.6156	Schierke (Harz)	Germany	1,135 m 3,724 ft	1,138 m 3,734 ft	The Brocken is the highest point of the Harz mountains in northern Germany, at 1,141 m. It rises high above the lowlands around it, so it has harsh weather, and a steam railway climbs to the summit.
59	Matterhorn summit 45.9764, 7.6586	Zermatt	Switzerland	3,690 m 12,106 ft	3,603 m 11,821 ft	The Matterhorn rises to 4,478 m on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its pyramid shape has very steep faces, and radar data of about 90 m resolution cannot show the sharp summit, so the readings are well below the true top.
60	Jungfraujoch 46.5475, 7.9854	Grindelwald / Wengen	Switzerland	3,476 m 11,404 ft	3,493 m 11,460 ft	The saddle between the Jungfrau and the Mönch is reached by Europe’s highest railway station, at 3,454 m. Next to it the Aletsch Glacier, the largest glacier in the Alps, begins its long flow south.
61	Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke) 47.0516, 8.3074	Lucerne	Switzerland	438 m 1,437 ft	437 m 1,434 ft	The covered wooden bridge crosses the Reuss river where it leaves Lake Lucerne. Its elevation is close to the level of the lake surface, with the Pilatus and Rigi mountains rising around the city.
62	Pilatus Kulm 46.9791, 8.2549	Lucerne	Switzerland	2,018 m 6,621 ft	2,036 m 6,680 ft	Pilatus Kulm is the top station on Mount Pilatus above Lucerne, at about 2,070 m. The cogwheel railway from Alpnachstad is one of the steepest in the world, with grades of up to 48%.
63	Château de Chillon 46.4142, 6.9275	Veytaux (Montreux)	Switzerland	376 m 1,234 ft	373 m 1,224 ft	The medieval water castle stands on a rock island in Lake Geneva, next to the shore at Veytaux. Its height is close to the lake surface, with steep vineyard slopes rising behind it.
64	Schönbrunn Palace 48.1846, 16.3122	Vienna	Austria	190 m 623 ft	192 m 630 ft	The Habsburg summer palace stands in the south-west of Vienna. The palace is in the valley, and the Gloriette crowns the hill at the top of the gardens, so the walk through the park climbs steadily.
65	St Stephen's Cathedral 48.2084, 16.3731	Vienna	Austria	189 m 620 ft	188 m 617 ft	The cathedral stands at the heart of Vienna’s old town, on a river terrace above the Danube Canal. Its south tower is about 136 m tall and is a landmark from all over the city.
66	Hohensalzburg Fortress 47.7949, 13.0476	Salzburg	Austria	499 m 1,637 ft	532 m 1,745 ft	The fortress sits on the Festungsberg hill above the old town of Salzburg and the Salzach river. A funicular climbs the steep rock, and the fortress is one of the largest medieval castles in Central Europe.
67	Hallstatt market square 47.5622, 13.6493	Hallstatt	Austria	517 m 1,696 ft	511 m 1,677 ft	The small village lies on a narrow strip of land between Lake Hallstatt and the steep Dachstein mountains. Houses are built up the slope because there is little flat ground, and salt has been mined above the village for thousands of years.
68	Grossglockner summit 47.0742, 12.6947	Heiligenblut	Austria	3,598 m 11,804 ft	3,596 m 11,798 ft	The Grossglockner is the highest mountain in Austria at 3,798 m. The Pasterze glacier lies below it, and the Grossglockner High Alpine Road nearby is one of the best-known mountain roads in Europe.
69	Rijksmuseum 52.3600, 4.8852	Amsterdam	Netherlands	8 m 26 ft	13 m 43 ft	The national museum stands on the edge of Amsterdam’s canal ring. Much of Amsterdam lies around or below sea level, and the whole city depends on dikes, pumps and careful water management.
70	Kinderdijk windmills 51.8837, 4.6397	Kinderdijk	Netherlands	-2 m -7 ft	-1 m -3 ft	The group of 19 windmills was built in the 18th century to pump water out of the low polders of the Alblasserwaard. The land here lies below sea level, which the elevation reading shows clearly.
71	Vaalserberg (Three-Country Point) 50.7548, 6.0209	Vaals	Netherlands	328 m 1,076 ft	328 m 1,076 ft	The Vaalserberg is the highest point of the European Netherlands at about 322 m, where Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands meet. It is one of very few hills in a country that is mostly flat.
72	Grand-Place 50.8467, 4.3524	Brussels	Belgium	31 m 102 ft	32 m 105 ft	The central square of Brussels lies in the lower town, near the old course of the Senne river. The streets rise steeply from here to the upper town and the Royal Palace on the hill to the east.
73	Atomium 50.8950, 4.3415	Brussels	Belgium	57 m 187 ft	58 m 190 ft	The 102 m steel structure was built for the 1958 World’s Fair on the Heysel plateau in the north of Brussels. The plateau is higher than the city centre and the old river valley.
74	Belfry of Bruges 51.2086, 3.2248	Bruges	Belgium	13 m 43 ft	12 m 39 ft	The 83 m medieval bell tower stands on the Markt of Bruges. The city lies on the flat coastal plain of Flanders, only a little above sea level.
75	Acropolis of Athens (Parthenon) 37.9715, 23.7266	Athens	Greece	131 m 430 ft	141 m 463 ft	The Parthenon and the other temples stand on a flat-topped limestone rock above Athens, about 156 m above sea level. The steep sides made the Acropolis a natural fortress long before the temples were built.
76	Mount Olympus (Mytikas) 40.0856, 22.3585	Litochoro	Greece	2,807 m 9,209 ft	2,844 m 9,331 ft	Mytikas, at 2,918 m, is the highest peak of Mount Olympus and of Greece. The mountain rises almost from the Aegean coast, so the climb from Litochoro is one of the largest height gains in the country.
77	Meteora (Great Meteoron Monastery) 39.7217, 21.6261	Kalambaka	Greece	335 m 1,099 ft	332 m 1,089 ft	The monasteries of Meteora stand on top of tall sandstone pillars above the plain of Thessaly. The Great Meteoron is the largest, and the pillars rise several hundred metres above the town of Kalambaka.
78	Oia village 36.4618, 25.3753	Santorini	Greece	114 m 374 ft	123 m 404 ft	The village of Oia is built along the rim of the flooded caldera of the Santorini volcano. The white houses stand on cliffs that drop steeply to the sea, which is why the elevation changes so fast here.
79	Temple of Apollo, Delphi 38.4824, 22.5010	Delphi	Greece	591 m 1,939 ft	585 m 1,919 ft	The sanctuary of Apollo lies on the steep southern slopes of Mount Parnassus. The ancient site climbs up the hillside in terraces, from the Temple of Apollo to the theatre and the stadium above it.
80	Prague Castle 50.0909, 14.4005	Prague	Czechia	262 m 860 ft	266 m 873 ft	The castle complex stands on a long ridge above the left bank of the Vltava. It is one of the largest castle complexes in the world, and the Old Castle Stairs climb up to it from the Malá Strana district.
81	Český Krumlov Castle 48.8127, 14.3151	Český Krumlov	Czechia	494 m 1,621 ft	497 m 1,631 ft	The castle stands on a rock above a tight bend of the Vltava river in southern Bohemia. The river loops around the old town, and the castle towers over it from the higher ground.
82	Wawel Royal Castle 50.0541, 19.9354	Kraków	Poland	227 m 745 ft	234 m 768 ft	The royal castle and cathedral stand on Wawel Hill, a limestone rise on the bank of the Vistula in Kraków. For centuries it was the seat of the Polish kings.
83	Old Town Market Place 52.2497, 21.0122	Warsaw	Poland	107 m 351 ft	109 m 358 ft	The market square is the heart of Warsaw’s Old Town, which was rebuilt after 1945. It stands on the high bank above the Vistula, and the land drops to the river on its east side.
84	Kasprowy Wierch 49.2320, 19.9817	Zakopane	Poland	1,946 m 6,385 ft	1,965 m 6,447 ft	Kasprowy Wierch is a peak of the Tatra Mountains on the Polish-Slovak border, at 1,987 m. A cable car from Kuźnice near Zakopane climbs to the summit, a well-known ski and hiking area.
85	Hungarian Parliament Building 47.5071, 19.0457	Budapest	Hungary	111 m 364 ft	119 m 390 ft	The Parliament Building stands on the Pest bank of the Danube. Pest is the flat side of Budapest, while the Buda hills rise on the opposite bank.
86	Fisherman's Bastion 47.5022, 19.0348	Budapest	Hungary	158 m 518 ft	162 m 531 ft	The terrace with seven towers stands on Castle Hill in Buda, high above the Danube. It gives one of the best views over the river and the Parliament Building on the flat Pest side.
87	Nyhavn 55.6798, 12.5910	Copenhagen	Denmark	7 m 23 ft	5 m 16 ft	The 17th-century canal and harbour front of Copenhagen is lined with colourful houses. Copenhagen is a low, flat city, and Nyhavn sits just above the water level of the harbour.
88	Stockholm Royal Palace 59.3268, 18.0717	Stockholm	Sweden	24 m 79 ft	28 m 92 ft	The Royal Palace stands on Stadsholmen in Gamla Stan, the old town of Stockholm. The city is built on islands between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea, and the land is still slowly rising after the last ice age.
89	Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) 58.9864, 6.1868	Stavanger region	Norway	597 m 1,959 ft	612 m 2,008 ft	Preikestolen is a flat rock platform about 604 m above the Lysefjord. The hike from the car park climbs about 330 m over roughly 4 km, and the cliff drops almost vertically to the water.
90	Dubrovnik Old Town (Stradun) 42.6414, 18.1094	Dubrovnik	Croatia	17 m 56 ft	15 m 49 ft	The Stradun is the main street of Dubrovnik’s walled old town on the Adriatic coast. It runs along a low, filled-in channel, while the city walls climb the slopes on both sides.
91	Plitvice Lakes (Veliki Slap) 44.9031, 15.6096	Plitvička Jezera	Croatia	516 m 1,693 ft	501 m 1,644 ft	Plitvice Lakes National Park has 16 terraced lakes joined by waterfalls. Veliki Slap is the highest waterfall in Croatia, about 78 m, where the Plitvica stream drops into the canyon.
92	Bled Castle 46.3699, 14.1006	Bled	Slovenia	547 m 1,795 ft	562 m 1,844 ft	The castle stands on a cliff about 130 m above Lake Bled. It is one of the oldest castles in Slovenia, and the view from its terraces takes in the lake island and the Julian Alps.
93	Hagia Sophia 41.0086, 28.9802	Istanbul	Türkiye	44 m 144 ft	49 m 161 ft	Hagia Sophia stands on the historic peninsula of Istanbul, on the first of the city’s seven hills. The ground rises from the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn to the square in front of it.
94	Casino de Monte-Carlo 43.7393, 7.4278	Monte Carlo	Monaco	48 m 157 ft	51 m 167 ft	The casino stands on a terrace above the harbour of Monaco. The country is very small and very steep, with streets and lifts that climb from the sea to the hills behind it.
95	St John's Co-Cathedral 35.8977, 14.5124	Valletta	Malta	57 m 187 ft	56 m 184 ft	St John’s Co-Cathedral stands in the centre of Valletta, a fortified city on a narrow peninsula of Malta. The streets fall steeply towards the harbours on both sides of the peninsula.
96	Bran Castle 45.5149, 25.3672	Bran	Romania	773 m 2,536 ft	781 m 2,562 ft	The castle stands on a rock at the entrance to the Bran pass in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. The pass was an old trade route between Transylvania and Wallachia.
97	Rila Monastery 42.1335, 23.3402	Rila	Bulgaria	1,163 m 3,816 ft	1,161 m 3,809 ft	The monastery lies deep in the valley of the Rilska river in the Rila Mountains of Bulgaria. The mountains around it rise to Musala, the highest peak of the Balkans at 2,925 m.
98	Kotor Old Town 42.4247, 18.7712	Kotor	Montenegro	15 m 49 ft	11 m 36 ft	The walled old town of Kotor lies at the head of the Bay of Kotor, close to sea level. The city walls climb about 260 m up the steep mountain behind it to the fortress of St John.
99	Vaduz Castle 47.1394, 9.5238	Vaduz	Liechtenstein	531 m 1,742 ft	536 m 1,759 ft	The home of the Prince of Liechtenstein stands on a ledge high above Vaduz. The Rhine valley lies below it, and the steep slopes of the Alps rise behind it.
100	Guaita Tower 43.9357, 12.4497	City of San Marino	San Marino	629 m 2,064 ft	648 m 2,126 ft	The Guaita is the oldest of the three towers on Monte Titano, the mountain of San Marino. The towers stand on a long limestone ridge with a steep cliff on its east side.

Elevation of 100 Famous Places in the USA

Mean and point elevation of 100 famous places in the United States, from SRTM 90 m data
#	Location	City	Country	Mean elevation	At the point	About this place
1	Statue of Liberty 40.6892, -74.0445	New York, NY	United States	2 m 7 ft	3 m 10 ft	The statue stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. The island is only a few metres above the water, and the statue with its pedestal rises about 93 m above the ground.
2	Empire State Building 40.7484, -73.9857	New York, NY	United States	46 m 151 ft	43 m 141 ft	The 443 m tower stands in Midtown Manhattan. The street level here is only a few tens of metres above sea level, and radar surface data is raised by the tall buildings of the block.
3	Belvedere Castle, Central Park 40.7794, -73.9691	New York, NY	United States	36 m 118 ft	37 m 121 ft	Belvedere Castle stands on Vista Rock, one of the highest natural points in Central Park. The park keeps many rock outcrops that show the hard bedrock of Manhattan.
4	One World Trade Center 40.7127, -74.0134	New York, NY	United States	12 m 39 ft	8 m 26 ft	One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere at 541 m to the tip of its spire. Lower Manhattan lies close to sea level, and parts of it are built on land filled in from the Hudson River.
5	Niagara Falls (Terrapin Point) 43.0799, -79.0747	Niagara Falls, NY	United States	110 m 361 ft	107 m 351 ft	Terrapin Point on Goat Island looks over the Horseshoe Falls. The Niagara River drops about 51 m here, on its way from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.
6	Mount Marcy summit 44.1128, -73.9237	Keene, NY	United States	1,587 m 5,207 ft	1,600 m 5,249 ft	Mount Marcy is the highest point in New York State at 1,629 m, in the Adirondack Mountains. The most used trail from Adirondak Loj is about 12 km one way with a large height gain.
7	United States Capitol 38.8899, -77.0091	Washington, DC	United States	34 m 112 ft	44 m 144 ft	The Capitol stands on Capitol Hill (once Jenkins Hill) at the east end of the National Mall. The hill is a modest rise above the Potomac and Anacostia river valleys.
8	Lincoln Memorial 38.8893, -77.0502	Washington, DC	United States	14 m 46 ft	22 m 72 ft	The memorial stands at the west end of the National Mall, on land that was reclaimed from the Potomac River. The ground is low and flat, only a few metres above the river.
9	The White House 38.8977, -77.0365	Washington, DC	United States	19 m 62 ft	22 m 72 ft	The presidential residence stands on a gentle rise north of the National Mall. The ground slopes down from Lafayette Square towards the Ellipse and the Potomac.
10	Arlington National Cemetery 38.8783, -77.0687	Arlington, VA	United States	29 m 95 ft	26 m 85 ft	The cemetery covers the hills on the Virginia bank of the Potomac, facing Washington DC. Arlington House stands on the highest ground, looking down over the river and the city.
11	Mount Vernon 38.7293, -77.1073	Mount Vernon, VA	United States	20 m 66 ft	20 m 66 ft	George Washington’s estate stands on a bluff above the Potomac River in Virginia. The mansion looks over a wide bend of the river, with the land falling steeply to the water.
12	Fort McHenry 39.2633, -76.5797	Baltimore, MD	United States	10 m 33 ft	11 m 36 ft	The star-shaped fort stands at the tip of the Locust Point peninsula in Baltimore Harbor. Its defence in 1814 inspired the words of the Star-Spangled Banner, and the site is close to sea level.
13	Independence Hall 39.9489, -75.1500	Philadelphia, PA	United States	23 m 75 ft	19 m 62 ft	Independence Hall stands in the centre of Philadelphia, on low ground between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated here.
14	Little Round Top, Gettysburg 39.7919, -77.2366	Gettysburg, PA	United States	192 m 630 ft	199 m 653 ft	The rocky hill on the Gettysburg battlefield played a key role on 2 July 1863. It rises clearly above the fields to its west, which shows how much a small height difference mattered in the battle.
15	Fallingwater 39.9063, -79.4679	Mill Run, PA	United States	427 m 1,401 ft	422 m 1,385 ft	Frank Lloyd Wright’s house is built over a waterfall on Bear Run in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania. The house steps down the rock ledges in the forested valley.
16	Boston Common 42.3551, -71.0656	Boston, MA	United States	15 m 49 ft	13 m 43 ft	The oldest public park in the United States lies in the centre of Boston. Beacon Hill rises on its north side, and the ground slopes gently down towards the Public Garden and the Charles River.
17	Fenway Park 42.3467, -71.0972	Boston, MA	United States	13 m 43 ft	16 m 52 ft	The oldest Major League Baseball stadium stands in the Fenway neighbourhood of Boston. The area was once part of the Back Bay marshes and is low and flat.
18	Cadillac Mountain summit 44.3525, -68.2253	Bar Harbor, ME	United States	454 m 1,490 ft	457 m 1,499 ft	Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park is the highest point on the US Atlantic coast at 466 m. Its summit is one of the first places in the United States to see the sunrise for part of the year.
19	Mount Washington summit 44.2706, -71.3033	Sargent’s Purchase, NH	United States	1,896 m 6,220 ft	1,907 m 6,257 ft	Mount Washington in New Hampshire is the highest peak in the north-eastern United States at 1,917 m. It is known for extreme weather, and a road and a cog railway reach the summit.
20	Mount Mitchell summit 35.7650, -82.2652	Burnsville, NC	United States	2,006 m 6,581 ft	2,021 m 6,631 ft	Mount Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River at 2,037 m, in the Black Mountains of North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Parkway passes close by.
21	Biltmore Estate 35.5405, -82.5524	Asheville, NC	United States	685 m 2,247 ft	688 m 2,257 ft	The 250-room mansion stands on a rise above the French Broad River near Asheville. The estate grounds rise and fall over wooded hills at the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
22	Wright Brothers National Memorial 36.0142, -75.6680	Kill Devil Hills, NC	United States	13 m 43 ft	18 m 59 ft	The memorial stands on Big Kill Devil Hill, a large sand dune on the Outer Banks. The Wright brothers made their first powered flights on the flat ground below it in December 1903.
23	Clingmans Dome 35.5628, -83.4985	Great Smoky Mountains, TN	United States	2,013 m 6,604 ft	2,022 m 6,634 ft	Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains and in Tennessee at 2,025 m. A steep paved path of about 800 m leads to an observation tower on the summit.
24	Graceland 35.0477, -90.0260	Memphis, TN	United States	79 m 259 ft	78 m 256 ft	Elvis Presley’s home stands in the Whitehaven area of Memphis. Memphis lies on bluffs above the Mississippi River, and the land around Graceland is gently rolling.
25	The Parthenon, Centennial Park 36.1497, -86.8133	Nashville, TN	United States	161 m 528 ft	162 m 531 ft	A full-scale copy of the Athens Parthenon stands in Centennial Park. It was built for the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition, in the hilly basin of the Cumberland River.
26	Stone Mountain summit 33.8054, -84.1457	Stone Mountain, GA	United States	498 m 1,634 ft	504 m 1,654 ft	Stone Mountain is a huge granite dome east of Atlanta, rising about 250 m above the land around it. The walk-up trail on its west side is about 1.6 km long and very steep near the top.
27	Centennial Olympic Park 33.7604, -84.3931	Atlanta, GA	United States	314 m 1,030 ft	314 m 1,030 ft	The park was built for the 1996 Olympic Games in downtown Atlanta. Atlanta is one of the highest large cities in the eastern United States, on the Piedmont plateau.
28	Forsyth Park 32.0707, -81.0950	Savannah, GA	United States	19 m 62 ft	19 m 62 ft	The park in Savannah’s historic district is known for its white fountain. Savannah sits on a bluff above the Savannah River, only a little higher than the coastal marshes around it.
29	Vehicle Assembly Building, Kennedy Space Center 28.5862, -80.6509	Merritt Island, FL	United States	50 m 164 ft	83 m 272 ft	The Vehicle Assembly Building is about 160 m tall and one of the largest buildings in the world by volume. The ground on Merritt Island is only a few metres above sea level, so the radar reading here is raised by the building itself.
30	Cinderella Castle, Magic Kingdom 28.4194, -81.5812	Bay Lake, FL	United States	37 m 121 ft	38 m 125 ft	The castle stands at the centre of Magic Kingdom park in central Florida. The land is almost flat and a little above sea level, like most of the Florida peninsula.
31	Shark Valley, Everglades National Park 25.7568, -80.7656	Miami-Dade County, FL	United States	5 m 16 ft	7 m 23 ft	Shark Valley is a wide sawgrass marsh in Everglades National Park. The water flows south very slowly over land that falls only a few centimetres per kilometre, which is why the Everglades are called a river of grass.
32	South Beach (Ocean Drive) 25.7826, -80.1341	Miami Beach, FL	United States	10 m 33 ft	12 m 39 ft	Ocean Drive runs along the beach at the southern end of Miami Beach, a barrier island. The land is only a few metres above sea level, which makes the area sensitive to storm surge and sea-level rise.
33	Southernmost Point Buoy 24.5465, -81.7975	Key West, FL	United States	3 m 10 ft	4 m 13 ft	The painted buoy marks the southernmost point of the continental United States that is open to visitors. Key West is a low coral island, and its highest natural point is only about 5.5 m.
34	Castillo de San Marcos 29.8979, -81.3115	St. Augustine, FL	United States	4 m 13 ft	4 m 13 ft	The Spanish stone fort was completed in 1695 on the shore of Matanzas Bay. It is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States and stands just above the water level.
35	U.S. Space & Rocket Center 34.7108, -86.6537	Huntsville, AL	United States	206 m 676 ft	207 m 679 ft	The museum is home to a Saturn V rocket and stands in Huntsville, where much of the US rocket programme was developed. Huntsville lies in the Tennessee Valley with ridges rising around it.
36	Jackson Square, French Quarter 29.9574, -90.0629	New Orleans, LA	United States	10 m 33 ft	9 m 30 ft	The square is the centre of the French Quarter in New Orleans, close to the Mississippi River. The French Quarter is on one of the higher natural levees, while much of New Orleans lies below sea level.
37	Bathhouse Row, Hot Springs 34.5134, -93.0540	Hot Springs, AR	United States	200 m 656 ft	192 m 630 ft	Eight historic bathhouses stand along Central Avenue in Hot Springs National Park. Hot water flows from springs on the lower slopes of Hot Springs Mountain above the street.
38	Churchill Downs 38.2031, -85.7703	Louisville, KY	United States	140 m 459 ft	140 m 459 ft	The racetrack is home to the Kentucky Derby. It stands in Louisville on the flat plain south of the Ohio River.
39	Mammoth Cave Visitor Center 37.1870, -86.1005	Mammoth Cave, KY	United States	227 m 745 ft	226 m 741 ft	Mammoth Cave has the longest known cave system in the world, with more than 680 km mapped. The visitor centre sits on the karst plateau above the Green River valley.
40	Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 41.5085, -81.6954	Cleveland, OH	United States	178 m 584 ft	182 m 597 ft	The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame stands on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland. Its height is close to the surface level of the lake.
41	Renaissance Center 42.3293, -83.0398	Detroit, MI	United States	175 m 574 ft	173 m 568 ft	The group of towers stands on the Detroit River, facing Windsor in Canada. The ground here is close to the level of the river and of the Great Lakes around it.
42	Indianapolis Motor Speedway 39.7950, -86.2347	Speedway, IN	United States	225 m 738 ft	225 m 738 ft	The 4 km oval is home to the Indianapolis 500 race. The track and the land around it in central Indiana are almost completely flat.
43	Willis Tower 41.8789, -87.6359	Chicago, IL	United States	201 m 659 ft	197 m 646 ft	Willis Tower is 442 m tall and stands in the Chicago Loop. Chicago is built on a flat plain that was once the bed of a larger glacial lake, so natural slopes are rare in the city.
44	Cloud Gate, Millennium Park 41.8827, -87.6233	Chicago, IL	United States	188 m 617 ft	187 m 614 ft	The polished steel sculpture known as The Bean stands in Millennium Park near the Lake Michigan shore. Much of the park is built over railway tracks and a car park.
45	Wisconsin State Capitol 43.0747, -89.3842	Madison, WI	United States	286 m 938 ft	288 m 945 ft	The Capitol stands on a narrow isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona in Madison. Streets run from the Capitol square down to both lakes.
46	Minnehaha Falls 44.9153, -93.2110	Minneapolis, MN	United States	244 m 801 ft	244 m 801 ft	The 16 m waterfall is on Minnehaha Creek, close to its meeting with the Mississippi River. The creek drops into a limestone gorge on its way to the river.
47	Gateway Arch 38.6247, -90.1848	St. Louis, MO	United States	134 m 440 ft	136 m 446 ft	The 192 m stainless steel arch stands on the west bank of the Mississippi River in St. Louis. It is as wide at its base as it is tall.
48	Mount Rushmore 43.8791, -103.4591	Keystone, SD	United States	1,667 m 5,469 ft	1,687 m 5,535 ft	The carved faces of four presidents are about 18 m high, on a granite mountain in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The summit of the mountain is about 1,745 m above sea level.
49	Devils Tower 44.5902, -104.7146	Crook County, WY	United States	1,373 m 4,505 ft	1,382 m 4,534 ft	Devils Tower is a steep rock formation with tall columns that rises about 265 m above the land around it. In 1906 it became the first national monument of the United States.
50	Old Faithful, Yellowstone 44.4605, -110.8281	Yellowstone National Park, WY	United States	2,246 m 7,369 ft	2,246 m 7,369 ft	The geyser erupts about every 60 to 110 minutes in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone. The park lies on a high volcanic plateau, so even the geyser basins are more than 2,200 m above sea level.
51	Grand Teton summit 43.7412, -110.8024	Jackson, WY	United States	4,000 m 13,123 ft	4,039 m 13,251 ft	The Grand Teton rises to 4,199 m, more than 2,000 m above the valley of Jackson Hole. There are no foothills on its east side, which makes the range look very sudden and steep.
52	Chimney Rock 41.7036, -103.3480	Bayard, NE	United States	1,204 m 3,950 ft	1,213 m 3,980 ft	The rock spire in western Nebraska was a famous landmark on the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails. It rises about 90 m above the North Platte River valley.
53	Colorado State Capitol 39.7393, -104.9848	Denver, CO	United States	1,619 m 5,312 ft	1,630 m 5,348 ft	One step on the west side of the Capitol is marked as exactly one mile (1,609 m) above sea level. Later surveys moved the mile-high mark slightly, and the city is still known as the Mile High City.
54	Red Rocks Amphitheatre 39.6655, -105.2053	Morrison, CO	United States	1,942 m 6,371 ft	1,946 m 6,385 ft	The open-air amphitheatre is built between huge red sandstone rocks in the foothills west of Denver. The seats climb steeply up the natural slope between the rocks.
55	Pikes Peak summit 38.8409, -105.0423	Colorado Springs, CO	United States	4,271 m 14,012 ft	4,286 m 14,062 ft	Pikes Peak rises to 4,302 m above Colorado Springs. A paved road and a cog railway reach the summit, and the view from the top inspired the song America the Beautiful.
56	Mount Elbert summit 39.1178, -106.4453	Leadville, CO	United States	4,359 m 14,301 ft	4,377 m 14,360 ft	Mount Elbert is the highest peak in Colorado and in the Rocky Mountains at 4,401 m. Its main trails climb about 1,400 m from the trailheads near Leadville.
57	Garden of the Gods 38.8784, -104.8698	Colorado Springs, CO	United States	1,951 m 6,401 ft	1,949 m 6,394 ft	The park is known for tall red sandstone fins that stand upright at the foot of Pikes Peak. Walking paths wind among the rocks on gently sloping ground.
58	Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde 37.1677, -108.4733	Montezuma County, CO	United States	2,071 m 6,795 ft	2,076 m 6,811 ft	Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in North America, built under a rock overhang in a canyon of Mesa Verde. The mesa top is high and flat, with deep canyons cut into it.
59	Delicate Arch, Arches National Park 38.7436, -109.4993	Moab, UT	United States	1,432 m 4,698 ft	1,433 m 4,701 ft	The free-standing sandstone arch is about 16 m tall and is a symbol of Utah. The trail to it climbs about 150 m over slick rock in about 2.4 km.
60	Angels Landing, Zion National Park 37.2692, -112.9477	Springdale, UT	United States	1,546 m 5,072 ft	1,583 m 5,194 ft	Angels Landing is a narrow rock fin in Zion Canyon. The trail climbs about 450 m from the canyon floor, with a steep final section along a narrow ridge with chains.
61	Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon 37.6230, -112.1661	Bryce Canyon City, UT	United States	2,410 m 7,907 ft	2,418 m 7,933 ft	Sunset Point looks over the Bryce Amphitheater and its hoodoos, the tall thin rock spires. The rim is high on the Paunsaugunt Plateau, and trails drop steeply into the amphitheatre below.
62	Temple Square 40.7704, -111.8919	Salt Lake City, UT	United States	1,332 m 4,370 ft	1,330 m 4,364 ft	Temple Square is the centre of Salt Lake City. The city lies on the flat floor of the old Lake Bonneville, with the Wasatch Range rising steeply to the east.
63	Mather Point, Grand Canyon South Rim 36.0617, -112.1077	Grand Canyon Village, AZ	United States	2,106 m 6,909 ft	2,130 m 6,988 ft	Mather Point is one of the main viewpoints on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The Colorado River flows about 1,400 m below the rim, which makes a hike to the river and back one of the largest elevation changes in the country.
64	Horseshoe Bend overlook 36.8791, -111.5104	Page, AZ	United States	1,286 m 4,219 ft	1,288 m 4,226 ft	The Colorado River makes a tight horseshoe-shaped bend here, about 300 m below the overlook. The walk from the car park to the edge is short and fairly flat.
65	Cathedral Rock 34.8200, -111.7932	Sedona, AZ	United States	1,382 m 4,534 ft	1,386 m 4,547 ft	Cathedral Rock is one of the best-known red rock formations around Sedona. The short trail to its saddle is very steep and climbs over bare rock.
66	Monument Valley (The Mittens view) 36.9829, -110.1118	Oljato-Monument Valley, AZ	United States	1,701 m 5,581 ft	1,708 m 5,604 ft	The sandstone buttes of Monument Valley rise up to 300 m above the valley floor on Navajo Nation land. The Mittens are two of the best-known buttes, seen from the viewpoint at the visitor centre.
67	Meteor Crater rim 35.0271, -111.0225	Winslow, AZ	United States	1,565 m 5,135 ft	1,564 m 5,131 ft	The crater is about 1.2 km across and about 170 m deep. It was made by a meteorite impact about 50,000 years ago, and its rim stands above the flat plateau around it.
68	Hoover Dam 36.0160, -114.7377	Boulder City, NV	United States	374 m 1,227 ft	376 m 1,234 ft	The concrete arch-gravity dam is 221 m high and holds back the Colorado River to form Lake Mead. The road crosses the top of the dam, far above the river below.
69	Bellagio Fountains, Las Vegas Strip 36.1126, -115.1767	Paradise, NV	United States	663 m 2,175 ft	671 m 2,201 ft	The Bellagio fountains stand on the Las Vegas Strip in the Las Vegas Valley. The valley floor slopes gently from the mountains in the west down to the east.
70	Carlsbad Caverns Visitor Center 32.1753, -104.4439	Carlsbad, NM	United States	1,339 m 4,393 ft	1,340 m 4,396 ft	The visitor centre sits on a ridge of the Guadalupe Mountains, above the cave. The Big Room lies about 230 m below the surface, and visitors can walk down through the natural entrance.
71	White Sands dune field 32.7872, -106.3257	Alamogordo, NM	United States	1,200 m 3,937 ft	1,201 m 3,940 ft	White Sands has the largest gypsum dune field in the world, in the Tularosa Basin of New Mexico. The dunes rise up to about 18 m and move slowly with the wind.
72	Santa Fe Plaza 35.6870, -105.9378	Santa Fe, NM	United States	2,135 m 7,005 ft	2,135 m 7,005 ft	The plaza is the historic centre of Santa Fe, the highest state capital in the United States. The city lies at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
73	Taos Pueblo 36.4394, -105.5459	Taos, NM	United States	2,169 m 7,116 ft	2,169 m 7,116 ft	Taos Pueblo is a multi-storey adobe village that has been lived in for about 1,000 years. It stands at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, near the Rio Pueblo de Taos.
74	The Alamo 29.4260, -98.4861	San Antonio, TX	United States	206 m 676 ft	205 m 673 ft	The mission church stands in the centre of San Antonio. The city lies on gently rolling land at the edge of the Texas Hill Country.
75	Texas State Capitol 30.2747, -97.7404	Austin, TX	United States	177 m 581 ft	183 m 600 ft	The Capitol in Austin is taller than the US Capitol in Washington DC. It stands on a hill above the Colorado River, at the edge of the Balcones Escarpment.
76	Space Center Houston 29.5518, -95.0981	Houston, TX	United States	13 m 43 ft	14 m 46 ft	Space Center Houston is the visitor centre of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The land near Clear Lake and Galveston Bay is flat and only a few metres above sea level.
77	Guadalupe Peak summit 31.8913, -104.8607	Culberson County, TX	United States	2,595 m 8,514 ft	2,617 m 8,586 ft	Guadalupe Peak is the highest point in Texas at 2,667 m. The trail to the summit is about 13.5 km round trip and climbs about 900 m.
78	Chisos Basin, Big Bend 29.2701, -103.3007	Big Bend National Park, TX	United States	1,647 m 5,404 ft	1,646 m 5,400 ft	The Chisos Basin is a high bowl in the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park. The mountains rise above the Chihuahuan Desert and are cooler and greener than the land around them.
79	Badwater Basin, Death Valley 36.2297, -116.7672	Inyo County, CA	United States	-60 m -197 ft	-72 m -236 ft	Badwater Basin in Death Valley is the lowest point in North America at 86 m below sea level. Telescope Peak, about 25 km away, rises to 3,366 m, so the elevation profile between them is one of the most extreme in the country.
80	Mount Whitney summit 36.5785, -118.2923	Lone Pine, CA	United States	4,340 m 14,239 ft	4,381 m 14,373 ft	Mount Whitney is the highest point in the contiguous United States at 4,421 m. It is less than 140 km from Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America.
81	Half Dome summit, Yosemite 37.7459, -119.5332	Yosemite National Park, CA	United States	2,471 m 8,107 ft	2,537 m 8,323 ft	Half Dome is a granite dome that rises about 1,450 m above the floor of Yosemite Valley. Its summit is reached by a long trail with a very steep final section on cables. Its sheer face is too steep for 90 m data to show exactly.
82	Tunnel View, Yosemite 37.7156, -119.6770	Yosemite National Park, CA	United States	1,340 m 4,396 ft	1,345 m 4,413 ft	Tunnel View is a famous viewpoint at the east end of the Wawona Tunnel. It looks along Yosemite Valley to El Capitan, Bridalveil Fall and Half Dome.
83	Golden Gate Bridge (south end) 37.8078, -122.4750	San Francisco, CA	United States	44 m 144 ft	47 m 154 ft	The 2.7 km suspension bridge spans the Golden Gate strait. Its towers rise 227 m above the water, and the southern end sits on the headland of the Presidio above Fort Point.
84	Alcatraz Island 37.8267, -122.4230	San Francisco, CA	United States	16 m 52 ft	27 m 89 ft	Alcatraz Island lies in San Francisco Bay. The former prison stands on the highest part of the rocky island, with steep cliffs dropping to the cold water around it.
85	Hollywood Sign 34.1341, -118.3215	Los Angeles, CA	United States	467 m 1,532 ft	477 m 1,565 ft	The Hollywood Sign stands on Mount Lee in the Santa Monica Mountains. Its letters are about 13.7 m tall. Trails from Griffith Park climb to viewpoints behind and above the sign.
86	Santa Monica Pier 34.0092, -118.4976	Santa Monica, CA	United States	3 m 10 ft	4 m 13 ft	The pier stands at the west end of Route 66 in Santa Monica. It reaches out over the Pacific Ocean, so the elevation readings here are close to sea level.
87	Balboa Park 32.7341, -117.1446	San Diego, CA	United States	64 m 210 ft	62 m 203 ft	The large cultural park lies on a mesa above downtown San Diego. The canyons that cut into the mesa give the park its ups and downs.
88	Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe 38.9540, -120.1100	South Lake Tahoe, CA	United States	1,999 m 6,558 ft	2,005 m 6,578 ft	Emerald Bay is a sheltered inlet on the south-west shore of Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is one of the largest alpine lakes in North America, with its surface at about 1,897 m.
89	General Sherman Tree, Sequoia 36.5818, -118.7511	Sequoia National Park, CA	United States	2,131 m 6,991 ft	2,133 m 6,998 ft	The General Sherman Tree is the largest known single-stem tree on Earth by volume. It grows in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park, on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada.
90	Rim Village, Crater Lake 42.9100, -122.1343	Crater Lake National Park, OR	United States	2,151 m 7,057 ft	2,166 m 7,106 ft	Crater Lake fills the caldera of Mount Mazama, which collapsed about 7,700 years ago. It is the deepest lake in the United States at about 594 m, and Rim Village sits high above the water.
91	Mount Hood summit 45.3736, -121.6960	Government Camp, OR	United States	3,360 m 11,024 ft	3,386 m 11,109 ft	Mount Hood is a volcano and the highest peak in Oregon at 3,429 m. Its glaciers and year-round skiing make it one of the best-known mountains of the Cascade Range.
92	Multnomah Falls 45.5762, -122.1158	Columbia River Gorge, OR	United States	205 m 673 ft	210 m 689 ft	The two-step waterfall drops about 189 m in the Columbia River Gorge. A path climbs from the lodge to the Benson Bridge and then on to the top of the falls.
93	Space Needle 47.6205, -122.3493	Seattle, WA	United States	47 m 154 ft	52 m 171 ft	The 184 m tower was built for the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle. It stands in the Seattle Center, near the lower slopes of Queen Anne Hill.
94	Mount Rainier summit 46.8529, -121.7604	Pierce County, WA	United States	4,359 m 14,301 ft	4,368 m 14,331 ft	Mount Rainier is an active volcano and the highest mountain in Washington at 4,392 m. It carries more glacier ice than any other peak in the contiguous United States.
95	Johnston Ridge, Mount St. Helens 46.2766, -122.2168	Skamania County, WA	United States	1,285 m 4,216 ft	1,287 m 4,222 ft	Johnston Ridge looks straight into the crater of Mount St. Helens, which erupted in 1980. The ridge is about 8 km from the crater and shows the valley filled by the landslide.
96	Logan Pass, Glacier National Park 48.6966, -113.7182	Glacier National Park, MT	United States	2,029 m 6,657 ft	2,026 m 6,647 ft	Logan Pass is the highest point on the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, on the Continental Divide. It is a starting point for trails to Hidden Lake.
97	Mauna Kea summit 19.8207, -155.4681	Hawaiʻi Island, HI	United States	4,176 m 13,701 ft	4,190 m 13,747 ft	Mauna Kea is the highest point in Hawaii at 4,207 m. Measured from its base on the ocean floor it is more than 10,000 m tall, and its summit is home to many large observatories.
98	Diamond Head crater (Lēʻahi) 21.2620, -157.8060	Honolulu, HI	United States	72 m 236 ft	71 m 233 ft	Diamond Head (Lēʻahi) is a volcanic tuff cone next to Waikiki. The reading is taken inside the crater, whose floor lies well below the 232 m summit on the rim. The narrow rim is too thin for 90 m data to show its full height.
99	Waikiki Beach 21.2766, -157.8278	Honolulu, HI	United States	13 m 43 ft	17 m 56 ft	Waikiki Beach runs along the south shore of Oʻahu in Honolulu. The land behind the beach is low and flat, with Diamond Head rising at its eastern end.
100	Haleakalā summit 20.7097, -156.2533	Maui, HI	United States	3,033 m 9,951 ft	3,041 m 9,977 ft	Haleakalā is the volcano that forms most of east Maui, rising to 3,055 m. The summit road climbs from near sea level to the top in about 60 km, one of the largest height gains of any road in the world.

10 Most Asked Questions About Elevation Profiles

What is an elevation profile?

An elevation profile is a side view of the ground along a line or a route. Distance runs along the bottom and height runs up the side, so the chart shows every climb, drop, peak and valley between the start and the end. It answers questions a flat map cannot: how much you will climb, where the steep parts are and how high the highest point is.

How do I make an elevation profile between two points?

Click the map once to place point A and once more to place point B. The tool reads the elevation of the two points and draws the elevation chart straight away. The chart joins the points with a straight line, so to see a hill or a valley between them, add up to three more points (C, D and E) on it. You can drag any point to adjust it.

Where does the elevation data come from?

The heights come from SRTM, the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission flown by NASA in February 2000, at a resolution of 3 arc-seconds (about 90 m). The tool reads it through the free Open Topo Data service. SRTM covers the land between 60° north and 56° south, which includes all of the contiguous United States, Hawaii and almost all of Europe.

How accurate is the elevation profile?

SRTM heights are usually within about 5 to 10 m of the true height on open, gently sloping ground. The error is larger in cities, where buildings raise the radar reading, in dense forest, and on steep mountains, where sharp summits and narrow gorges are smoothed out by the 90 m cells. Use the profile for planning and comparing routes, not for engineering or legal work.

What is total ascent, and why is it bigger than the height difference?

Total ascent is every climb along the route added together. The height difference only compares the start with the end. A route that goes up 300 m, down 200 m and up 100 m again has a total ascent of 400 m but a height difference of 200 m. Total ascent is the number that tells you how hard a walk or ride will feel.

Why does my GPS watch show a different total ascent?

A watch or phone measures height with a barometer or GPS as you move, and every small up and down adds to its total. This tool reads the height only at the points you place and adds up the changes from point to point, so every climb and drop between two points is left out, and its total is usually lower. The real trail also bends more than the straight lines between your points. Place points on the main tops and low points to get closer to the real total.

How many points can I add, and how long can the route be?

You can place up to 5 points, A to E, which makes up to 4 legs. There is no fixed limit on the length of the route. Each profile is one request to the elevation service with only your points in it, so a route with 5 points asks for 5 elevations.

Does the profile follow roads and trails?

No. The profile follows straight lines (great-circle lines) between the points you place. To follow a winding trail or road more closely, put your points on its main bends. For a long, twisting route, the real path will be longer and usually less steep than the straight line.

How do I share an elevation profile?

Press Copy share link under the chart. The link stores your points, the units and the map style, so anyone who opens it sees the same profile. Share on WhatsApp sends the link with a one-line summary, and on a phone the Share... button opens the normal share menu.

Is the Elevation Profile Viewer free?

Yes. The tool, the share links and the PDF report are free and need no account, email or sign-up. The points you place are only used to read the elevation data, and the PDF is made in your own browser.

Elevation Profile Viewer: Interactive Elevation Chart for Any Route