Texas Topographic Map

The most detailed topographic map of the State of Texas.

Find, build and share high-resolution topographic maps using Equator.

Needle Peak Texas Topography
Madre Lagoon Texas Topography

Who is the map for?

Texas topography, accessible in Equator, is used by infrastructure design professionals such as:

  • Planners
  • Architects
  • Civil Engineers
  • Flood Analysts 
  • Construction Professionals
  • Landscape Designers

What can I do with the map?

The Texas topographic map can be used for a variety of tasks, including:

  • Viewing 3D surfaces from built-in LiDAR
  • Generating contours
  • Sourcing and view LiDAR point clouds
  • Cutting cross sections on the fly
  • Extracting elevation data
  • Creating markups, labels and figures
  • Link sharing data
Rio Grande Topographic Map Cross Section
Highway 30 LiDAR Point Cloud Greenville

Where does the topographic data come from?

The Texas topographic data is sourced from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), specifically their 3D Elevation Program (3DEP). You can read more about the 3DEP here. In general, built-in Texas elevation data is sourced from a library of airborne LiDAR surveys that are managed by the USGS, and connected to Equator for ease of access.

How accurate is the map?

Most of the elevation data in Texas that you will find in Equator is derived from Quality Level 2 (QL2) LiDAR. This means that you should expect that the non-vegetated vertical accuracy (NVA) and vegetated vertical accuracy (VVA) to be 19.6 cm and 30.0 cm (or better) at a 95% confidence level.

minnesotatopographicmap
West Texas LiDAR Contours Sanderson

Can I extract contours?

Yes! Contours can be extracted from the Texas topographic map at the resolution of your choosing. Contours can be exported to a variety of formats including shapefile (.shp) and drawing (.dxf). In addition, digital elevation models (DEMs) are also available.

How do I bring contours into Civil 3D?

Contours can be opened in AutoDesk Civil3D (or similar) simply by opening an dxf file or shapefile exported from Equator. This tutorial explains how to create a 3D surface in Civil 3D directly from a shapefile.

Screenshot of Civil3D showing a park in Toronto

Why should I use Equator to access Texas Topograph?

Equator allows users to access local LiDAR surveys to the best available resolution.  Experience 3D topography in high-resolution, unlike never before.

  • Revolutionary 3D platform for viewing data

  • Most detailed online map of Texas topography, accessible on a globe

  • Easily extract the data you need