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Elevations from various sources

I had a call from David Katz a few days ago. He sought a reliable source for elevation data. He, like many of us, used to use USGS maps for this, and now uses Google Earth. He wondered whether there was anything better around, and wrote to USGS. He received the following reply:

Thank you for contacting the USGS Earth Resource Observation Science (EROS) Center!

To determine the latitude, longitude and elevation of your specific area, go to the following website: Seamless Data Warehouse - http://seamless.usgs.gov

Click on the ?Seamless Viewer? on the left hand side > Once the map loads, use the zoom tool to locate your area > Under the query heading on the left hand side of the screen, click on the elevation query tool (looks like a ruler next to mountains) the last box on the first row > Then click on your area on the map > Under the map, you will see the latitude, longitude, and elevation of the point you selected.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

I wondered whether this source was any more accurate than USGS Maps or Google Earth and decided on a brief field trial. I used the three methods to determine various elevations. Below are the results I got:



I found the USGS site to be slow and not user-friendly. There were too many choices for me to get my head around. I downloaded the “How to use the National Map Seamless Server” and found it confusing. I am sure that the fault does not lie fully with USGS, but at least partially with my own capabilities.

I invite commentary. For openers I suggest that trying to locate the summit of Pike’s Peak using only the Seamless Viewer would be instructive.

I’m not convinced that there is a significant difference in accuracy between the three methods, but hope that more nimble minds may correct me.
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