How to create an elevation profile

A step-by-step guide to drawing a route on the map and reading its profile, with tips for getting figures you can trust. Works anywhere in North Carolina, free and without an account.

Follow along on the map

Open the Elevation Profile tool in another tab and work through the steps below.

Open Elevation Profile →

What is an elevation profile?

An elevation profile is a side view of the ground along a line: distance from the start along the bottom, elevation up the side. It turns a route on a flat map into the climbs and descents you will actually walk, run or ride. Read more on the elevation profile generator page.

Method 1: draw a route on the map

Step 1: open the Elevation Profile tool

Open Elevation Profile. The map opens with the tool selected and ready for your first point.

Step 2: find your area

Search for a town, a peak or an address, or pan and zoom by hand. The USGS Topo basemap shows trails and roads; the aerial basemap helps where a trail shows as a gap in the trees.

Step 3: place your first point

Tap the map where the route starts. That point is distance zero on the chart.

Step 4: keep tapping along the route

Each tap adds a vertex, and the line is drawn straight between them. Put points close together on bends and switchbacks; on a long straight road, a few are enough. If a point lands in the wrong place, Undo removes it.

Step 5: finish the line

When you reach the end, finish the line. The tool reads the elevation model at closely spaced points all along it. The line can be up to 15.5 miles long.

Step 6: read the profile

The chart appears in the panel with the length, total climb, total descent, low point, high point and elevation range. To try another way, draw a new line.

Method 2: start from a GPX file you already have

The Elevation Profile tool does not read files. If the route is already a GPS track, put lidar elevations into the file instead:

Export the track as GPX from your watch, Strava, Garmin Connect or another app.
Open Elevate a File, which asks for a pass before the upload, and choose the file. The points must fit in a square 3.7 miles on a side.
Run it. The same file comes back with a 3DEP ground elevation on every point.
Open the new file in any app that draws an elevation profile.

The details are in the guides to adding elevation to GPX files and GPX elevation correction.

Try it on your own route

Draw any route in North Carolina and read its climb in seconds.

Create a profileFree, no account Elevate a FileLidar elevations for a GPX track

Reading your elevation profile

Read the chart from left to right, as you would travel the route. Rising sections are climbs, falling sections are descents, and the steeper the line, the steeper the ground. The elevation axis is scaled to the route, so a gentle route can look dramatic; the figures beside the chart keep it honest.

A bridge shows as a dip down to the water and a tunnel as the hill above, because the model is bare earth: no buildings, bridges, tunnels or tree canopy are in it.

Key figures explained

Length: the map length of the line you drew, in feet or miles.
Total climb: every rise along the line added together, in feet. A rise counts once it reaches 6.6 ft, so bumps smaller than the model’s noise are not added up.
Total descent: every drop added together, counted the same way.
Low point and high point: the lowest and highest elevations on the line, above NAVD 88.
Range: high point minus low point, the biggest single climb the route can hold.
Grade: elevation change divided by distance, in percent. A 10% grade climbs 10 ft in 100 ft.

Tips for more accurate profiles

Follow the trail closely. A line that cuts across switchbacks runs straight up the hillside, so it shows a steeper, shorter climb than the trail.
Zoom in while drawing. The closer you are, the easier it is to keep the line on the trail.
Split long routes. Long lines are read at a coarser resolution than short ones. Profile a long route in stages for the finest detail.
Watch for bridges and tunnels. Allow for the dip or hump they put in the chart.
Check the coverage. The model is 3.3 ft per pixel where a lidar survey at that resolution exists, about 9.8 ft per pixel where it is built from older lidar and about 33 ft per pixel elsewhere, where small features are smoothed out. The lidar coverage guide explains how to check.

Keeping and sharing a profile

The Elevation Profile tool has no file export. Save image in the map menu saves a free PNG of the map view, rendered at up to three times screen resolution, and you can note the figures from the panel. If you need the profile as data, Route Explorer exports its route as GeoJSON and its profile as CSV with a pass.

Practical uses

Trail and route planning

Compare two ways up the same hill, see where the climbing comes on a day hike, or split a backpacking trip into days with a similar amount of climb.

Race and event preparation

Draw a course, find where the long climbs fall and plan pacing and fueling around them.

Teaching geography and earth science

A profile from the Outer Banks across the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont to the Blue Ridge shows the shape of North Carolina in one chart.

Property and land

Check the fall along a planned driveway, fence line, pipe run or ditch. For a county permit, the grade rules come from the county; check with the county planning department.

Data accuracy

Ground elevations on this site come from the USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) seamless bare-earth model: 3.3 ft per pixel where a full-resolution lidar survey has been flown, about 9.8 ft per pixel where the model is built from older lidar, and about 33 ft per pixel elsewhere, with elevations above NAVD 88. The data is in the public domain. North Carolina’s statewide lidar is published through NC OneMap and carried by USGS 3DEP. USGS 3DEP serves lidar-derived elevation across North Carolina: 3.3 ft per pixel where a full-resolution lidar survey exists, about 9.8 ft per pixel where the model is built from older lidar. Accuracy is that of the lidar project behind each place, not something this tool adds. A profile is not a survey: where a legal or engineering decision depends on an elevation, get one surveyed. More from the USGS 3D Elevation Program and NC OneMap’s elevation data.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free to create elevation profiles?

Yes. Drawing a line and reading its profile is free, with no account and nothing to install. The Elevation Profile tool has no file export. A pass is only needed to download files from tools such as Route Explorer, or to run Elevate a File.

Can I upload a file to make a profile?

Not in the Elevation Profile tool, which is drawn on the map. To put lidar elevations into a GPX, KML, GeoJSON or CSV file you already have, use Elevate a File, which needs a pass to run, then open the file in an app that draws profiles.

How long does it take?

Drawing takes as long as tapping out the route. Once you finish the line, the profile usually appears within a few seconds; long lines take a little longer because more terrain is read.

Can I create profiles outside North Carolina?

No. North Carolina Elevation Tools covers North Carolina only: the elevation model is read for North Carolina, so a line outside the state does not give a usable profile. Where a line runs off the data, the tool asks for a shorter line.

Why does my profile differ from my GPS data?

GPS altitude is the least accurate thing a watch or phone records, and a barometric altimeter drifts with the weather. The profile here reads the ground from the USGS 3DEP lidar model instead, so it is steadier and usually shows less total climb than a raw recording.

Can I profile a loop or an out-and-back?

Yes. Draw the line out and back along the same trail, or finish a loop near the start. A loop that ends where it began shows about as much descent as climb.