We’ve made a major upgrade to Contour Map Generator’s elevation data, improving coverage and detail across Canada, the United States, and now Europe.
Contour Map Generator can now use newer, higher-resolution national and regional terrain datasets across many European areas, including France LiDAR HD (0.5 m), Switzerland swissALTI3D (0.5 m), Austria ALS-DGM (1 m), Spain CNIG MDT02 (2 m), Netherlands AHN (0.5 m), Belgium/Flanders DHM (1 m), Andorra MDE (5 m), Madeira DTM (10 m), and OpenDemEurope fallback data (25 m).
Because every project depends on the quality of its elevation input, better source data means better contours, better terrain interpretation, and more reliable final maps. Of course, the map is not the territory, but a good map is a powerful approximation, and better input data makes that approximation much more useful. We’re also now including source and attribution information with delivered maps, so users can better understand the elevation data behind each project.
For regenerative designers, this is a big deal. Landform is one of the first layers of understanding a place, and more reliable elevation data supports better decisions around water movement, access, earthworks, erosion risk, planting zones, and overall site design. Better terrain inputs help designers read the landscape more clearly and create interventions that work with natural patterns instead of against them.
For areas where no better local source is available yet, we still use regional or global fallback data. Each delivered package now includes details about the elevation source used, including resolution, acquisition date when available, attribution, and whether the source is identified as LiDAR/ALS-derived.
Contour Map Generator and all its add-ons are currently free, so if you’ve generated maps for these locations in the past, it may be worth creating a fresh set with the upgraded data sources.
Visit Contour Map Generator now.
