thumb|350px|Elevation histogram of the surface of the Earth – approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered with water.
The
elevation of a
geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, often the
mean sea level. Elevation, or
geometric height, is mainly used when referring to points on the
Earth's surface, while
altitude or
geopotential height is used for points above the surface, such as an
aircraft in flight or a
spacecraft in orbit.
Less commonly, elevation is measured using the center of the Earth as the reference point. Due to
equatorial bulge, there is debate which of the summits of
Mt. Everest or
Chimborazo 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
A
topographical map is the main type of
map used to depict elevation, often through use of
contour lines.
In a
Geographic Information System (GIS),
digital elevation models (DEM) are commonly used to represent the surface (topography) of a place, through a
raster (grid) dataset of elevations.
Digital terrain models are another way to represent terrain in GIS.
To determine elevation of a place, it must be
surveyed, in reference to a
ground control point.
Topography
The elevation of a
mountain 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 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.
See also
