Terrain Explorer
See where the land falls.
Explore the slopes and low spots behind a property report. Try the full controls on a USGS elevation sample near Asheville, North Carolina.
- Rotate the groundSee rises and dips from different angles.
- Follow water pathsFind downhill routes and places water could collect.
- Draw a profilePick two points and download the elevations as CSV.
Read the ground.
Asheville, North Carolina · USGS sample
The sample point is above 78% of sampled ground in this view. Ground height alone does not establish building height or flood risk.
View settings and data sources
USGS 3DEP bare-earth elevations. Sample spacing is 4.7 m. This is display spacing, not a statement of survey resolution or accuracy. Source resolution varies by location.
Survey acquisition date is not supplied with this surface. The model may predate grading, construction or drainage changes. Contours and profiles are estimates.
Water paths use a local terrain model with open edges. Shaded areas show depressions below their spill elevation, not measured water or a predicted flood depth.
Download a profile as CSV to keep its measurements.
A reproducible ground profile
One slope, five measurements, better questions.
This example uses the exact saved grid above, centered at 35.595° N, 82.550° W. We sampled a west-to-east line through its middle row. The calculations, chart, and table come from that grid; they are not a hypothetical flood or a claim that a home here flooded.
- Sampled ground range
- 641.4–676.6 m
- Profile length
- 595 m
- Grid sampling interval
- 4.65 m
| Checkpoint | Distance from west | Longitude | Ground elevation |
|---|---|---|---|
| West edge | 0 m | 82.553289° W | 670.7 m |
| Quarter point | 149 m | 82.551644° W | 675.7 m |
| Center | 298 m | 82.550000° W | 669.7 m |
| Three-quarter point | 447 m | 82.548356° W | 656.8 m |
| East edge | 595 m | 82.546711° W | 652.4 m |
What to try in the tool
Choose Elevation profile, then West to east to reproduce this line. Compare the rise near the west side with the lower ground toward the east, then download the CSV. If you draw your own line, your clicks may differ from the exact row used here. The interactive readout and CSV use feet (1 m = 3.28084 ft). Switch to water paths to see how the routing responds to nearby low ground.
What the measurements support
The east endpoint is 18.3 m lower than the west endpoint, but the profile rises and falls between them. A single net slope misses those changes. Use that observation to ask where runoff can leave the site and whether a local low spot has working drainage. The grid alone cannot answer either question.
Ground shape is only one part of flood research
The routing has no rainfall amount, storm duration, infiltration, sewer capacity, culverts, building floors, or inflow from outside this roughly 600 m-wide sample. A highlighted depression is a topographic feature, not a predicted water level. Grid spacing is a sampling interval, not a promise of survey accuracy. The saved sample does not carry a verified vertical-datum field; do not subtract these values from a FEMA BFE to establish a building’s freeboard.
Source: USGS 3DEP Elevation ImageServer. Retrieved ; this is a fixed demonstration, not a live survey. Interpretation added November 7, 2026. Read our publishing policy and guide to comparing elevations.
See the ground around your address.
Open a property report and choose Explore terrain above the map. Available with Pro and with a Single Property Report during its data refresh window.