DEM Availability
Key Global Regional DEMs Supported data formats. Bathymetery
| Scale | Spacing | Data series | Coverage | Provider | Web Source | Notes |
| Global | 5' (~10 km) | ETOPO5 | Entire world, including ocean basins | NOAA |
|
Get ETOPO1 and thin |
| 2' | ETOPO2 | Get ETOPO1 and thin. | ||||
| 2' long (lat has Mercator factor) | Smith & Sandwell Predicted topography | Entire world, including ocean basins | SIO/NOAA | Scripps | Ideal for regional base maps, especially for geologists | |
| 1' | ETOPO1 | NGDC | Entire data set, or custom grids | |||
| 30" | SRTM-15 Plus, SRTM-30_Plus: Merge of SRTM30, Smith & Sandwell, and IBCAO |
Entire world, including ocean basins | Scripps | Get the SRTM version files, with a data file and an ERS header. Open with MICRODEM which will use GDAL. You will probably have to edit the header to get the correct SW corner. | ||
| 30" (~1 km) | GTOPO30 | Entire world, land only | USGS | GTOPO30 | Use GMTED2010 as better alternative. | |
| SRTM-30 | Entire world, land only | SRTM-30 | Use GMTED2010 as better alternative. | |||
| 30", 15", and 7.5" | Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data 2010 (GMTED2010) | Entire world | USGS | GMTED | ||
| Regional | 3" (60-90 m) | Key Global Regional DEMs: SRTM-3, MERIT, COPDEM | JPL | SRTM | Entire world except for polar regions (broadly defined) | |
| 1" (20-30 m) | Key Global Regional DEMs: COP DEM, SRTM-1, ALOS Global Digital Surface Model "ALOS World 3D - 30m" (AW3D30) ,ASTER GDEM, NASDEM, FABDEM | |||||
| 1" (20-30 m) | 3DEP (formerly NED) | United States | USGS | National Map Viewer | ||
| 10 m | NOAA | |||||
| 1/3" | 3DEP (formerly NED) | United States | USGS | National Map Viewer | National Map Viewer "Best" available data from USGS. | |
| 1/3" | Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Model (CUDEM) - Third Arc-Second Resolution Bathymetric | Coastal United States | NOAA | |||
| 1/9" | 3DEP (formerly NED) | United States | USGS | National Map Viewer | National Map Viewer "Best" available data from USGS. Very limited coverage at this scale | |
| 1/9" | Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Model (CUDEM) - Ninth Arc-Second Resolution Bathymetric | Coastal United States | NOAA | https://coast.noaa.gov/htdata/raster2/elevation/NCEI_ninth_Topobathy_2014_8483/ | Tiles named for the NW corner | |
| 1 m | Coastal National Elevation Database (CONED) | Coastal United States | USGS | https://topotools.cr.usgs.gov/topobathy_viewer/ | Directions | |
| Point (Lidar) |
Bathymetry (DEMs under water)
DEM resolution: the tradeoff between detail and file size, and help on selecting the DEM series to use.
Last revision 3/26/2023