What is a 3D topographic map?
Terrain maps describe the shape of the ground rather than the roads on top of it. This guide explains the pieces — elevation data, hillshade, 3D relief, contours — in the order they are actually built.
Elevation first: the digital elevation model
Every terrain map starts with a DEM: a grid where each cell holds a height in metres. The elevation data behind this site comes from the AWS Terrain Tiles dataset, which stitches SRTM, NED and other national programmes into one global ~30 m grid, and is decoded in the browser.
From grid to picture: hillshade
Hillshade treats the DEM as a surface lit from a chosen bearing and height. Slopes facing the light brighten, slopes facing away darken, and the result looks like a relief model even though it is flat. In the app you can move the light to read a ridge from the direction you care about.
How to make a 3D topographic map
The short version: pick the area, set the vertical relief, choose a palette and export. This site does the DEM decoding and meshing in the browser; if you want the GIS route instead, QGIS plus the DEMto3D plugin (for prints) or Blender displacement (for renders) are the standard alternatives.
- Choose a country, state or county — or box any area on Earth.
- Set relief (8–12 % looks natural for most terrain) and add contours if you want a topographic look.
- Export STL/OBJ/GLB for 3D, a 16-bit heightmap for game engines, or an A3/A2 poster for print.
From picture to model: 3D relief
3D relief displaces each grid point upward by its elevation, tiles the result into a mesh and paints a surface texture on top. The relief percentage controls vertical exaggeration; base thickness controls how much plinth sits under the model — thin for a floating slab, thicker for a printable block.
Reading the ground: contours and slope
- Contours connect points of equal elevation. Tightly packed lines mean steep ground; the interval can be set from 25 m to 500 m.
- Slope shading colours the surface by gradient (green below 20°, then yellow, orange and red above 35°) — the classic backcountry avalanche-reading aid.
- Profiles sample the grid along a line, giving distance, ascent, highest and lowest point for a route.
Formats, and what each is for
| Output | Use it for |
|---|---|
| PNG (2× / 4×) | Slides, documents, web |
| Poster A3 / A2 (300 dpi) | Printing and framing |
| STL / OBJ / GLB | 3D printing, Blender, CAD, game prototypes |
| 16-bit heightmap PNG | Unity terrain, Unreal landscapes, Godot, Blender displacement |
| MP4 | A 30-second orbit clip for social or teaching |
Questions
- What is a digital elevation model (DEM)?
- A DEM is a regular grid of ground elevations — every pixel stores a height in metres. The AWS Terrain Tiles dataset used here mixes SRTM, NED and national programmes at roughly 30 m resolution globally, finer in many countries.
- What is the difference between hillshade and 3D relief?
- Hillshade shades the DEM as if a light were shining across it, producing a flat map that reads like a physical surface. 3D relief displaces the same grid into a mesh you can orbit, and is what gets exported for printing.
- How accurate is a 30 m terrain map?
- At 30 m each pixel is about a football pitch. Valleys and ridges read correctly at town-to-mountain scale; single buildings, cliffs and narrow gorges are smoothed. For engineering you want LiDAR or a national 1–5 m DEM.
- What is vertical exaggeration?
- Also called the relief percentage here: the vertical scale relative to horizontal. Around 8–12 percent usually looks natural, while a higher value makes gentle terrain dramatic — useful for teaching and posters.
- Which format should I export?
- PNG for a finished picture or poster; STL/OBJ/GLB for 3D printing and Blender; 16-bit heightmap for game engines and displacement; MP4 for a short orbit clip.
- How do I make a 3D topographic map?
- Pick the area, set vertical relief and slope/contour options, then export. This free browser tool handles DEM decoding, meshing and rendering; exporting STL gives a printable model and PNG gives a flat topographic map.
- What is the difference between a topographic map and a 3D topographic map?
- A topographic map shows elevation with contours and shading on a flat sheet; a 3D topographic map displaces that same elevation grid into a surface you can orbit and print.
- What is a DEM?
- A digital elevation model is a grid where each cell stores a ground height. This site uses ~30 m global tiles assembled from SRTM, NED and national programmes.