How do I find the elevation of a latitude and longitude?

Enter the latitude and longitude and press Get Elevation. The tool sends the point to a public digital elevation model (Copernicus GLO-90 worldwide, or USGS 3DEP for US points) and shows the ground height above mean sea level in meters and feet. For example, 39.7392, -104.9903 (downtown Denver) returns about 1,600 m (5,250 ft).

Can I enter coordinates in degrees, minutes and seconds?

Yes. Each field accepts decimal degrees (40.7128), DMS (40°42′46″N or 40 42 46 N) and degrees with decimal minutes (40 42.768 N). S and W, or a minus sign, make the value negative. DMS converts as degrees + minutes ÷ 60 + seconds ÷ 3600, so 40°42′46″ = 40.71278°.

Can I look up elevation for many points at once?

Yes. Paste up to 100 points, one per line, in the batch box. The tool returns a table with the elevation of each point, the minimum and maximum, the total ascent and descent between consecutive points, and a CSV you can download or copy.

Which data source is most accurate?

For the United States, USGS 3DEP is the most detailed (about 10 m grid nationwide and 1 m lidar in many areas). Worldwide, Copernicus GLO-90 has a 90 m grid with a specified absolute vertical accuracy better than 4 m (90% of points). SRTM has a 30 m grid and a 16 m (90%) vertical accuracy specification. A single DEM cell is an average, so sharp peaks and cliff edges read lower or higher than a spot height.

Why is this different from my GPS altitude?

GPS receivers compute height above the WGS84 ellipsoid, while elevation models report height above mean sea level (the geoid). The two differ by the geoid undulation, which ranges from about −106 m to +85 m around the world (about −32 m near New York). Many phones apply a geoid correction, but consumer GPS altitude is also typically only good to ±10–20 m.

What happens over the ocean or outside coverage?

Copernicus and SRTM return about 0 m over open water (they are land surface models, not bathymetry). USGS 3DEP covers only the United States and its territories; points outside it return no data and the tool falls back to Copernicus GLO-90.

Elevation From Coordinates

Enter latitude and longitude (decimal or degrees-minutes-seconds) to get ground elevation above mean sea level in meters and feet. Paste up to 100 points for a batch table with min, max, total gain and loss, and CSV export. Data: Copernicus GLO-90 worldwide, USGS 3DEP for the US, SRTM as fallback.

Enter Coordinates

Latitude (decimal or DMS, −90 to 90)

Longitude (decimal or DMS, −180 to 180)

You can also paste “40.7128, -74.0060” into the latitude box.

Data source

If a source fails or has no data, the next one is tried automatically.

Try an example

Batch lookup (up to 100 points, one per line)

Enter coordinates and click "Get Elevation" to see the ground altitude.

Batch elevations

Lowest

Highest

Total ascent

Total descent

#	Latitude	Longitude	m	ft

Elevation data sources compared

All three report height above mean sea level (a geoid), not the GPS ellipsoid height.

Dataset	Coverage	Grid	Vertical accuracy	Vertical datum
Copernicus GLO-90 (via Open-Meteo)	Worldwide	90 m (3″)	< 4 m absolute, 90% (spec)	EGM2008 geoid
USGS 3DEP (Elevation Point Query Service)	United States and territories	10 m nationwide, 1–3 m lidar in many areas	About 1–2 m RMSE where lidar exists	NAVD88 (CONUS)
SRTM (via Open-Elevation)	60°N to 56°S	30 m (1″)	16 m absolute, 90% (spec)	EGM96 geoid

Coordinate formats and worked examples

DMS to decimal. Decimal degrees = degrees + minutes ÷ 60 + seconds ÷ 3600, negative for S and W. Example: 40°42′46″N, 74°0′22″W → 40 + 42/60 + 46/3600 = 40.71278 and −(74 + 0/60 + 22/3600) = −74.00611.

Decimal minutes. N 40 42.768 → 40 + 42.768 ÷ 60 = 40.71280. Five decimal places in degrees is about 1 m on the ground, which is far finer than any DEM cell.

Gain and loss. For a batch, total ascent adds every rise between consecutive points and total descent adds every drop. With samples every few hundred meters this undercounts small bumps, so trail apps that sample more densely report more gain.

Place	Decimal	DMS	Approx. elevation
Mount Everest summit area	27.9881, 86.9250	27°59′17″N 86°55′30″E	≈ 8,720 m (28,600 ft)
Downtown Denver, Colorado	39.7392, −104.9903	39°44′21″N 104°59′25″W	≈ 1,600 m (5,250 ft)
Badwater Basin, Death Valley	36.2297, −116.7672	36°13′47″N 116°46′02″W	≈ −85 m (−280 ft)
Dead Sea shore, Jordan/Israel	31.5590, 35.4732	31°33′32″N 35°28′24″E	≈ −430 m (−1,410 ft)

Open-Meteo Elevation API — Copernicus DEM GLO-90, © DLR e.V. 2010–2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014–2018 provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA.
USGS Elevation Point Query Service — 3D Elevation Program (3DEP).
Open-Elevation — NASA SRTM.

Privacy: coordinates go straight from your browser to the selected public elevation service; this site does not store them.

Summary

This tool returns the ground elevation at a geographic coordinate from a public digital elevation model. It accepts decimal degrees, degrees-minutes-seconds and degrees-decimal-minutes, looks up one point or a list of up to 100, and reports meters and feet. Worldwide lookups use the Copernicus GLO-90 model (via Open-Meteo); US points can use the USGS 3D Elevation Program (EPQS); SRTM via Open-Elevation is the automatic fallback.

How it works

Enter a latitude and longitude, or paste several points (one "lat, lon" per line) into the batch box.
Coordinates can be decimal (40.7128, -74.0060), DMS (40°42′46″N 74°0′22″W) or decimal minutes (N 40 42.768 W 74 0.360).
Choose a data source: Copernicus GLO-90 (worldwide), USGS 3DEP (United States only, highest detail) or SRTM.
Your browser queries the public elevation service directly; if it fails, the tool retries with the next source and tells you which one answered.
Results show meters and feet; a batch adds min, max, total ascent and descent between consecutive points, and a CSV download.

Use cases

Check the ground elevation of a trailhead, summit or campsite before a hike.
Find the takeoff elevation for a drone flight or a model rocket launch.
Convert a list of GPS waypoints into an elevation profile with total gain and loss.
Get site elevation for a weather station, solar or HVAC altitude correction.
Cross-check GIS or survey datasets against a public DEM.
Look up the altitude of a city, landmark or address coordinates for coursework.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-10-10 · Reviewed by Nham Vu