Oregon Elevation ToolsOpen Elevate a File on the map →

Data · Upload a file

Add accurate elevation to a GPX, KML, GeoJSON or CSV file

Add elevation to a GPX, KML, GeoJSON or CSV file from the USGS 3DEP lidar model: every point gets its ground elevation, replacing the noisy altitude from a GPS watch or phone, or filling an elevation column that was empty.

The file is sent to the server, processed in memory and handed straight back in its original format; it is not stored.

Free to run · pay to download

See the full result on the map free, with no account. Download the enriched file in its original format with a pass: US$29 for 24 hours, US$99 for 30 days or US$399 for 12 months, a one-off payment in US dollars that never renews. Every download on the site is included while the pass lasts.

Open Elevate a File on the map →Pass prices and what’s included

Who uses this

  • Runners, riders and hikers. Fix the climb on a GPS track.
  • Field and asset crews. Add elevations to a CSV of poles, wells or sample points.

When to use it

  • Fixing the elevation on a GPS track from a watch or phone.
  • Adding an elevation column to a CSV of sample points, poles, wells or trees.
  • Giving a drawn route real elevation before importing it into a planning tool.

Tools for your job

Elevate a File is one step in a bigger question. These are the jobs it helps with, and the tools that go with it.

For the job: Hikes, runs and rides

How much climbing, and how far?

  1. 1.Elevation Profile — Distance, total climb and descent, and the steep sections.
  2. 2.Elevate a File (this tool) — Replaces the noisy altitude in a GPX from a watch or phone with lidar ground elevation.
  3. 3.Measure — A quick flat distance between points.

For the job: Plans, CAD, GIS and 3D printing

I need the terrain as a file.

  1. 1.Download Data — Contours, a GeoTIFF elevation model, a georeferenced aerial photo or a 3D mesh for printing.
  2. 2.Contour Lines — Contours previewed on the map before you export them.
  3. 3.Elevate a File (this tool) — Adds ground elevation to your own GPX, KML, GeoJSON or CSV points.
  4. 4.Add Elevation — A single spot elevation, for a floor level or a tank.
  5. 5.Terrain Stats — The highest, lowest and mean ground elevation of an area, and how the land is spread between them.

How to use it

  1. Open Elevate a File and choose the file.
  2. A CSV needs latitude and longitude columns (lat/latitude and lon/lng/longitude); elevation_m and elevation_ft columns are added.
  3. Run. The same file comes back with elevation added to every point. Downloading it needs a pass.

Step by step: Mount Hood

We correct the elevation in a short demo GPX track along the road up to Timberline Lodge, of the kind a watch records.

1.Open Elevate a File and drop in a GPX, KML, GeoJSON or CSV file.

2.Every point gets its ground elevation from the 3DEP lidar model, and the same file comes back with _elevation in its name. The file is the download itself, so this step needs a pass.

What it showed

  • Open the new file in your mapping or training app and the climb follows the terrain instead of the watch’s barometer.
Try it yourself on Mount Hood →

How it works

The file is sent to this site’s server and processed in memory: its coordinates are read, the USGS 3DEP bare-earth model is loaded for their extent, and each point is sampled with interpolation between cells. The file comes straight back, enriched, in its original format and is not stored.

Values in the file are in meters where the format requires it: GPX <ele>, KML altitude and the GeoJSON third coordinate. A CSV gains two columns, elevation_ft in feet and elevation_m in meters.

Reading the results

Elevations are ground level at each coordinate. For a track walked on the ground that is what you want; for a drone flight it is the terrain beneath, not the flight altitude.

Limits and caveats

  • The points must fit inside a square 3.7 miles on a side. Split larger files.
  • Where lidar has not been flown, the USGS 3DEP model falls back to its 1/3 arc-second layer, about 33 ft per pixel, and downloads state what share of the area came from it. That coarser model is not fit for site-scale decisions. DOGAMI reports about 99% of Oregon covered by at least one lidar project. The fallback is rare.
  • The file is uploaded to the server, processed in memory and returned in the same request; it is not stored.

Data and attribution

Results come from the USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) bare-earth elevation model: lidar at 3.3 ft per pixel where it has been flown, and the 1/3 arc-second model, about 33 ft per pixel, elsewhere, with elevations above NAVD 88. The tools with a surface option (Sunlight, Viewshed, Sightline, Object Heights) read DOGAMI’s statewide digital surface model of trees and buildings.

USGS 3DEP elevation data and USGS maps are U.S. Government works in the public domain: you may use the results, including commercially. A credit to the USGS 3D Elevation Program is appreciated, and every file you download carries it. DOGAMI lidar products are published by the State of Oregon; credit "DOGAMI / Oregon Lidar Consortium". County taxlot boundaries are the assessor's GIS data, not surveys, and each county publishes its own disclaimer, shown with the parcel. The aerial basemap is from Esri and follows Esri's terms; it is not included in downloads.

Questions

Does it work for drone flight logs?

It gives the ground elevation beneath each point, not the flight altitude. That is useful for height above ground, but it will not correct the flight altitude itself.

What units are the elevations in?

Values in the file are in meters where the format requires it: GPX <ele>, KML altitude and the GeoJSON third coordinate. Most mapping and training apps show them in feet. A CSV gains both elevation_ft and elevation_m columns.

Ready to try it?

Open Elevate a File on the map →

Free to use, no account. Your file is processed in memory on this site’s server, with public-domain USGS 3DEP data, and is not stored. Downloading the results needs a pass: see pricing.