The 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) is managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Geospatial Program to respond to growing needs for high-quality topographic data and for a wide range of other three-dimensional (3D) representations of the Nation's natural and constructed features. 3DEP informs critical decisions that are made across our Nation every day that depend on elevation data, ranging from immediate safety of life, property, and environment to long term planning for infrastructure projects. Lidar, an airborne laser detection technology for mapping features on the ground, is being collected nationwide, while Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IfSAR) is being collected over Alaska. Assessing the accuracy of the lidar point cloud data collected for 3DEP is defined in the Lidar Base Specification (https://www.usgs.gov/ngp-standards-and-specifications/lidar-base-specification-online). The vertical accuracy of the lidar and IfSAR data and the derived Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) is the most scrutinized accuracy metric. 3DEP data are assessed and reported in accordance with the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Positional Accuracy Standards for Digital Geospatial Data. Vegetated vertical accuracy (VVA) and non-vegetated vertical accuracy (NVA) are assessed for absolute vertical accuracy compared to survey-grade checkpoints collected with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers by professional land surveyors. These checkpoints are published with 3DEP projects (https://rockyweb.usgs.gov/vdelivery/Datasets/Staged/Elevation/metadata/) and represent tens of millions of dollars of high accuracy data that can be used to assess both 3DEP and other endeavors such as the Seamless 1-m DEM that the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center is producing to support the USGS 3D National Topography Model. However, these checkpoints were not standardized until Lidar Base Specification 2022 rev. A. All checkpoints prior to this revision were delivered by contractors in XML, PDFs, excel spreadsheets, CSVs, shapefiles, and geodatabase feature classes depending on the preference of the lidar contractors and 3DEP partners. In 2021, the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) consolidated the checkpoints in the 3DEP and older lidar/IfSAR data holdings gathered between 2010-2017 to support research for and the eventual publication of a journal article called “The Accuracy and Consistency of 3D Elevation Program Data: A Systematic Analysis” (https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14040940). In 2024, NGTOC enriched and standardized the points used in that paper to match the current survey point delivery schema. This included re-projecting the data horizontally to North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) (2011) geographic, deleting duplicate points, identifying the point type as NVA or VVA, identifying matching work unit and project ID numbers within the Work Unit Extent Spatial Metadata, verifying the correct geoid models, using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Geodetic Survey (NGS) VDatum tool to update the Z elevation values in the conterminous United States (CONUS) and Puerto Rico into meters and GEOID18 and everything in Hawaii and Alaska into meters and GEOID12B, determining the collection date and the publication date, and finding the URL to the source information where possible. The first version of the 3DEP checkpoints database, which included 41,958 survey-grade points from 205 lidar and IfSAR projects covering 710 published work units, was published in October 2024. NGTOC updated this database with additional checkpoints in December 2025. Version 2 of the checkpoints database includes 145,299 checkpoints from 551 lidar projects covering 1,874 published work units.

This is a tiled collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and is 2 arc-second (approximately 60 m) resolution covering Alaska. The elevations in this Digital Elevation Model (DEM) represent the topographic bare-earth surface. The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Scientists and resource managers use 3DEP data for hydrologic modeling, resource monitoring, mapping and visualization, and many other applications. The seamless 2 arc-second DEM layers are derived from diverse source data that are processed to a common coordinate system and unit of vertical measure. These data are distributed in geographic coordinates in units of decimal degrees, and in conformance with the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83). All elevation values are in meters and, over the continental United States, are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). The seamless 2 arc-second DEM layer provides coverage of the Alaska only. The seamless 2 arc-second DEM is available as pre-staged current and historical products tiled in GeoTIFF format. The seamless 2 arc-second DEM layer is updated continually as new data become available in the current folder. Previously created 1 degree blocks are retained in the historical folder with an appended date suffix (YYYYMMDD) when they were produced. Other 3DEP products are nationally seamless DEMs in resolutions of ⅓ and 1 -arc-second. These seamless DEMs were referred to as the National Elevation Dataset (NED) from about 2000 through 2015 at which time they became the seamless DEM layers under the 3DEP program and the NED name and system were retired. Other 3DEP products include one-meter DEMs produced exclusively from high resolution light detection and ranging (lidar) source data and five-meter DEMs in Alaska as well as various source datasets including the lidar point cloud and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (Ifsar) digital surface models and intensity images. All 3DEP products are public domain.

This is a tiled collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) covering Alaska only, and is 5-meter resolution. The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Scientists and resource managers use 3DEP data for hydrologic modeling, resource monitoring, mapping and visualization, and many other applications. The elevations in this DEM represent the topographic bare-earth surface. USGS standard 5-meter DEMs are produced exclusively from interferometric synthetic aperture radar (Ifsar) source data of 5-meter or higher resolution. Five-meter DEM surfaces are seamless within collection projects, but, not necessarily seamless across projects. This DEM is delivered in the original resolution, with the original spatial reference. All elevation units have been converted to meters. These data may be used as the source of updates to the seamless 1/3 arc-second DEM layer, which serves as the elevation layer of The National Map. Other 3DEP products are nationally seamless DEMs in resolutions of 1 and 2 arc seconds. These seamless DEMs were referred to as the National Elevation Dataset (NED) from about 2000 through 2015 at which time they became the seamless DEM layers under the 3DEP program and the NED name and system were retired. Other 3DEP products in Alaska include lidar point cloud and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (Ifsar) digital surface models and intensity images. All 3DEP products are public domain.

These data are Digital Surface Models (DSM) derived from interferometric synthetic aperture radar (ifsar) data. A DSM is a 3 dimensional representation of surface elevations in an area, including elevations of man-made structures and vegetation. The USGS performs minimal quality assurance and no reprocessing of the DSM data. USGS distributes the DSM data as received from the contractors, partners or contributing entities.

This is a tiled collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and is 1 arc-second (approximately 30 m) resolution. The elevations in this Digital Elevation Model (DEM) represent the topographic bare-earth surface. The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Scientists and resource managers use 3DEP data for hydrologic modeling, resource monitoring, mapping and visualization, and many other applications. The seamless 1 arc-second DEM layers are derived from diverse source data that are processed to a common coordinate system and unit of vertical measure. These data are distributed in geographic coordinates in units of decimal degrees, and in conformance with the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83). All elevation values are in meters and, over the continental United States, are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). The seamless 1 arc-second DEM layer provides coverage of the conterminous United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, other territorial islands, and much of Alaska and Canada. The seamless 1 arc-second DEM is available as pre-staged current and historical products tiled in GeoTIFF format. The seamless 1 arc-second DEM layer is updated continually as new data become available in the current folder. Previously created 1 degree blocks are retained in the historical folder with an appended date suffix (YYYYMMDD) when they were produced. Other 3DEP products are nationally seamless DEMs in resolutions of 1 and 1/3 arc-second. These seamless DEMs were referred to as the National Elevation Dataset (NED) from about 2000 through 2015 at which time they became the seamless DEM layers under the 3DEP program and the NED name and system were retired. Other 3DEP products include one-meter DEMs produced exclusively from high resolution light detection and ranging (lidar) source data and five-meter DEMs in Alaska as well as various source datasets including the lidar point cloud and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (Ifsar) digital surface models and intensity images. All 3DEP products are public domain.

This is a tiled collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and is 1/3 arc-second (approximately 10 m) resolution. The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Scientists and resource managers use 3DEP data for hydrologic modeling, resource monitoring, mapping and visualization, and many other applications. The elevations in this DEM represent the topographic bare-earth surface. The seamless 1/3 arc-second DEM layers are derived from diverse source data that are processed to a common coordinate system and unit of vertical measure. These data are distributed in geographic coordinates in units of decimal degrees, and in conformance with the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83). All elevation values are in meters and, over the continental United States, are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). The seamless 1/3 arc-second DEM layer provides coverage of the conterminous United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, other territorial islands, and in limited areas of Alaska. The seamless 1/3arc-second DEM is available as pre-staged current and historical products tiled in GeoTIFF format. The seamless 1/3 arc-second DEM layer is updated continually as new data become available in the current folder. Previously created 1 degree blocks are retained in the historical folder with an appended date suffix (YYYMMDD) when they were produced. Other 3DEP products are nationally seamless DEMs in resolutions of 1, and 2 arc seconds. These seamless DEMs were referred to as the National Elevation Dataset (NED) from about 2000 through 2015 at which time they became the seamless DEM layers under the 3DEP program and the NED name and system were retired. Other 3DEP products include one-meter DEMs produced exclusively from high resolution light detection and ranging (lidar) source data and five-meter DEMs in Alaska as well as various source datasets including the lidar point cloud and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (Ifsar) digital surface models and intensity images. All 3DEP products are public domain.

A 10-meter resolution land surface digital elevation model (DEM) grayscale hillshade for the island of Kahoolawe in Hawaii derived from United States Geological Survey (USGS) 1/3 arc-second DEM quadrangles. For the related dataset containing numeric elevation values for this image layer, see http://pacioos.org/metadata/usgs_dem_10m_kahoolawe.html

This is a tiled collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and is one meter resolution. The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Scientists and resource managers use 3DEP data for hydrologic modeling, resource monitoring, mapping and visualization, and many other applications. The elevations in this DEM represent the topographic bare-earth surface. USGS standard one-meter DEMs are produced exclusively from high resolution light detection and ranging (lidar) source data of one-meter or higher resolution. One-meter DEM surfaces are seamless within collection projects, but, not necessarily seamless across projects. The spatial reference used for tiles of the one-meter DEM within the conterminous United States (CONUS) is Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) in units of meters, and in conformance with the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). All bare earth elevation values are in meters and are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). Each tile is distributed in the UTM Zone in which it lies. If a tile crosses two UTM zones, it is delivered in both zones. The one-meter DEM is the highest resolution standard DEM offered in the 3DEP product suite. Other 3DEP products are nationally seamless DEMs in resolutions of 1/3, 1, and 2 arc seconds. These seamless DEMs were referred to as the National Elevation Dataset (NED) from about 2000 through 2015 at which time they became the seamless DEM layers under the 3DEP program and the NED name and system were retired. Other 3DEP products include five-meter DEMs in Alaska as well as various source datasets including the lidar point cloud and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (Ifsar) digital surface models and intensity images. All 3DEP products are public domain.

This is a tiled collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and is one meter resolution. The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Scientists and resource managers use 3DEP data for hydrologic modeling, resource monitoring, mapping and visualization, and many other applications. The elevations in this DEM represent the topographic bare-earth surface. USGS standard one-meter DEMs are produced exclusively from high resolution light detection and ranging (lidar) source data of one-meter or higher resolution. One-meter DEM surfaces are seamless within collection projects, but, not necessarily seamless across projects. The spatial reference used for tiles of the one-meter DEM within the conterminous United States (CONUS) is Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) in units of meters, and in conformance with the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). All bare earth elevation values are in meters and are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). Each tile is distributed in the UTM Zone in which it lies. If a tile crosses two UTM zones, it is delivered in both zones. The one-meter DEM is the highest resolution standard DEM offered in the 3DEP product suite. Other 3DEP products are nationally seamless DEMs in resolutions of 1/3, 1, and 2 arc seconds. These seamless DEMs were referred to as the National Elevation Dataset (NED) from about 2000 through 2015 at which time they became the seamless DEM layers under the 3DEP program and the NED name and system were retired. Other 3DEP products include five-meter DEMs in Alaska as well as various source datasets including the lidar point cloud and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (Ifsar) digital surface models and intensity images. All 3DEP products are public domain.

This is a tiled collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and is 1/9 arc-second (approximately 3 m) resolution.The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Scientists and resource managers use 3DEP data for hydrologic modeling, resource monitoring, mapping and visualization, and many other applications. The elevations in this DEM represent the topographic bare-earth surface. The seamless 1/9 arc-second DEM layers are derived from diverse source data that are processed to a common coordinate system and unit of vertical measure. These data are distributed in geographic coordinates in units of decimal degrees, and in conformance with the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83). All elevation values are in meters and, over the continental United States, are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). The seamless 1/9 arc-second DEM layer project-based coverage for portions of the conterminous United States, limited areas of Alaska, and Guam. The seamless 1/9 arc-second NED layer is available as pre-staged products tiled in 15 minute blocks in Erdas .img format. Since 2015, the seamless 1/9 arc-second DEM layer is no longer being updated. Other 3DEP products are nationally seamless DEMs in resolutions of 1/3, 1, and 2 arc seconds. These seamless DEMs were referred to as the National Elevation Dataset (NED) from about 2000 through 2015 at which time they became the seamless DEM layers under the 3DEP program and the NED name and system were retired. Other 3DEP products include one-meter DEMs produced exclusively from high resolution light detection and ranging (lidar) source data and five-meter DEMs in Alaska as well as various source datasets including the lidar point cloud and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (Ifsar) digital surface models and intensity images. All 3DEP products are public domain.