USGS 3DEP seamless DEM (10 m / 30 m, United States)#

3dep · theme terrain · no data

The USGS 3D Elevation Program seamless bare-earth DEM at 1/3 arc-second (~10 m) and 1 arc-second (~30 m): lidar where it has been flown, legacy sources elsewhere, so the acquisition date varies by tile. Conterminous US, Alaska (mostly coarser), Hawaii and territories; NAD83 horizontal, NAVD88 vertical. A terrain model, not a surface model: forest canopy is removed, which the global DEMs above do not do.

import easysnowdata as esd

aoi = (-121.94, 46.72, -121.54, 46.99)   # Mount Rainier
data = esd.terrain.dem.load(aoi)

No account needed for the default route

source="planetary-computer" is open. source="gee" needs earthengine — see the credentials page.

Sources#

2 routes serve this product; the first is the default and source= picks another. The return contract is the same either way.

source

provider

credentials

resolution

extent

temporal

latency

notes

planetary-computer (default)

stac

none

10 m

United States

static (tile dates 1925-2020; updated as lidar arrives)

—

signed hrefs, anonymous; one collection holding both resolutions, selected by gsd

gee

gee

earthengine

10 m

United States

static (tile dates 1925-2020)

—

the 1/3 arc-second layer as a tiled ImageCollection, mosaicked here; 10 m only

Where each route points#

planetary-computer — Planetary Computer no data

3dep-seamless

gee — Earth Engine no data

USGS/3DEP/10m_collection

Variables#

variable

units

dtype

nodata

categorical

elevation

m

float32

-999999

no

Provenance#

Licence · Public domain (US government data)

Cite the data as

U.S. Geological Survey (2019). 3D Elevation Program 1/3 arc-second and 1 arc-second Digital Elevation Models. https://www.usgs.gov/3d-elevation-program

Documentation

Loader · easysnowdata.terrain.dem.load