Elevation API

Query terrain and bathymetry values in metres or feet for any geographic coordinate. Powered by SRTM15+ with variable effective resolution, interpolation where needed, and support for negative elevations.

Elevation API

The Elevation API returns the terrain height above mean sea level for any lat/lon point on Earth. Results include both metric and imperial values, the data source used, and the effective resolution at that point. Batch lookups of up to 100 points per request are supported.

Endpoints

Single point

GET https://api.mapzena.com/v1/elevation

Batch lookup

POST https://api.mapzena.com/v1/elevation/batch

Parameters - single point

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`key`	string	optional	Optional in free mode. Required for metered usage above the free allowance.
`lat`	float	required	Latitude in decimal degrees.
`lon`	float	required	Longitude in decimal degrees.
`units`	string	optional	`metric` (default) or `imperial`. Affects `elevation` field; both values are always present in the response.

Example request - single

bash - curl

curl "https://api.mapzena.com/v1/elevation?lat=45.8325&lon=6.8652&key=YOUR_KEY"

Example response - single

json

{
  "status":       "ok",
  "lat":          45.8325,
  "lon":          6.8652,
  "elevation_m":  4808,
  "elevation_ft": 15774,
  "source":       "SRTM15+",
  "resolution_m": 12.5,
  "location": {
    "display_name": "Mont Blanc, Haute-Savoie, France",
    "country_code": "FR"
  }
}

Batch request

POST a JSON body with a points array of up to 100 coordinate objects. Each batch request counts as one request unit per point.

json - POST body

{
  "points": [
    { "lat": 45.8325, "lon": 6.8652  },
    { "lat": 27.9881, "lon": 86.9250 },
    { "lat": 36.4561, "lon": 138.5044}
  ]
}

json - batch response

{
  "status": "ok",
  "count":  3,
  "results": [
    { "lat": 45.8325, "lon": 6.8652,   "elevation_m": 4808  },
    { "lat": 27.9881, "lon": 86.9250,  "elevation_m": 8849  },
    { "lat": 31.5590, "lon": 35.4732, "elevation_m": -430  }
  ]
}

Data source

Elevation and bathymetry values are sourced from SRTM15+. Effective resolution is variable and can reach down to about 1 metre in some locations, with interpolation applied where source spacing is coarser. The model supports negative elevations for below-sea-level terrain and water bodies.

Error codes

HTTP	Code	Description
400	missing_coordinates	`lat` or `lon` is absent.
400	invalid_coordinates	Coordinates out of range.
400	batch_too_large	Batch request exceeds 100 points.
404	not_found	No modeled elevation value is available for this coordinate.
429	rate_limit_exceeded	Quota reached.

Code examples

PHP - single

php

<?php
$key = 'YOUR_KEY';
$url = "https://api.mapzena.com/v1/elevation?lat=27.9881&lon=86.925&key={$key}";
$el  = json_decode(file_get_contents($url), true);

echo $el['elevation_m'] . ' m';