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Terrain visualization

Online Contour Map Maker

View contours online, adjust line styling, interval filtering and elevation labels, and create terrain maps with hypsometric tinting. Export PNG for presentation, or recalculate contours from elevation rasters for DXF, GeoJSON or SVG output.

Open contour tool
Contour generationIntervals and line stylesElevation labelsHypsometric colors
Contours: map display and settings
Contours: map display and settings · View full-size image© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap

Data sources and output

Contours on the map
The map displays the contour layer from Mapbox Terrain v2, with line styling, labels and contour-interval filtering. Hypsometric tinting is a separate terrain visualization.
Exported contours
GIS export recalculates contours from the Mapbox Terrain-RGB elevation raster and clips them to the export bounds. PNG captures the map presentation; DXF, GeoJSON and SVG contain recalculated line data. The lines may differ from the map display.
Interval and accuracy
Contour interval is the height difference between adjacent elevation levels, not a measure of data accuracy. A smaller interval does not add source terrain detail. Coverage, sampling level and export extent also affect results.
Data age and vertical datum
Terrain-RGB combines sources and vertical datums, and Mapbox no longer adds elevation updates to this tileset. Output is not normalized to a project-specific vertical datum and should not be used as survey or construction data.
Mapbox terrain data documentation

GIS data export requires Pro access and credits as shown in the export panel. Check the additional cost when including elevation.

Overview

What you can do

  • Display Terrain vector contours and explore the terrain within your map extent.
  • Adjust interval, line width, color and labels to complement your basemap.
  • Combine contours with hypsometric tinting and 3D terrain, then pan the map and refine the composition.
  • PNG captures the map presentation; GIS export recalculates line data from elevation rasters.

How it works

Get started in three steps

  1. 01

    Choose an area

    Pan and zoom to the target area. Larger areas generally require more terrain data and computation.

  2. 02

    Set contour options

    Open the contour tool and choose intervals, lines, labels and terrain styling.

  3. 03

    Generate and export

    Check map lines and labels before exporting PNG. For vector files, open GIS data export to recalculate contours.

Open contour tool

Before you begin

Device performance, data sources and target software can affect results. Check your output before use.

  • Contours are derived from online terrain data and settings. They do not replace measured elevations or certified survey results.
  • Large areas and dense intervals increase data requests and computation. Choose settings appropriate to your map scale.
  • Check completeness within your target area, especially at data edges, water bodies and high latitudes.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How are contour lines generated?

The map displays the Terrain vector contour layer. GIS export recalculates contours from Terrain-RGB elevation rasters using the contour interval and clips them to the selected bounds, so exported lines may differ from the screen.

Can I change the interval and colors?

Yes. The workspace provides contour interval, line width, color and label controls. Available settings are shown in the panel.

Can I export a CAD file afterward?

Yes. Select contours as the GIS data source and choose DXF. See the contour DXF guide for the CAD workflow.

Use together

Related tools

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GIS / CAD

Generate Contours and Export DXF Online

Generate contours within map bounds and export DXF in WGS84 or Web Mercator for CAD processing. Output contains contour features only, without roads, place names or basemap content.

DXFWGS84EPSG:3857
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Map images

Export High-Resolution Map PNG Online

Set bounds, dimensions, aspect ratio and resolution to export an area as a high-resolution PNG. Create maps for reports, posters, presentation boards and large-format layouts.

PNG map imagesCustom boundsDimensions and ratios
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