Elevation

Elevation data for any point on Earth: single lookups, batch queries, and profiles along a path with ascent/descent stats. All inputs use GeoJSON geometry objects.

Single point

POST a GeoJSON Point to get the elevation at that location:

curl -X POST https://plaza.fyi/api/v1/elevation \
  -H "x-api-key: pk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [6.8652, 45.8326] }
  }'

import Plaza from "@plazafyi/sdk";

const client = new Plaza();

const el = await client.v1.elevation({
  geometry: { type: "Point", coordinates: [6.8652, 45.8326] },
});
console.log(`${el.properties.elevation_m}m`); // 4808m (Mont Blanc summit)

import plaza

client = plaza.Client()

el = client.v1.elevation(geometry={"type": "Point", "coordinates": [6.8652, 45.8326]})
print(f"{el['properties']['elevation_m']}m")

import "github.com/plazafyi/plaza-go"

client := plaza.NewClient()

el, _ := client.V1.Elevation(ctx, plaza.ElevationParams{
    Geometry: plaza.Point(6.8652, 45.8326),
})
fmt.Printf("%dm\n", el.Properties.ElevationM)

Response — a GeoJSON Feature with a 3D Point (longitude, latitude, elevation):

{
  "type": "Feature",
  "geometry": {
    "type": "Point",
    "coordinates": [6.8652, 45.8326, 4808]
  },
  "properties": {
    "elevation_m": 4808
  }
}

elevation_m is meters above sea level. Points in the ocean return 0.

Batch lookup

POST a GeoJSON MultiPoint to get elevations for multiple points in one request:

curl -X POST https://plaza.fyi/api/v1/elevation \
  -H "x-api-key: pk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "geometry": {
      "type": "MultiPoint",
      "coordinates": [
        [6.8652, 45.8326],
        [86.9250, 27.9881],
        [-118.2923, 36.5785]
      ]
    }
  }'

const elevations = await client.v1.elevation({
  geometry: {
    type: "MultiPoint",
    coordinates: [[6.8652, 45.8326], [86.925, 27.9881], [-118.2923, 36.5785]],
  },
});

Returns a FeatureCollection with a 3D Point per input:

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [6.8652, 45.8326, 4808] },
      "properties": { "elevation_m": 4808 }
    },
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [86.9250, 27.9881, 8849] },
      "properties": { "elevation_m": 8849 }
    },
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [-118.2923, 36.5785, 4421] },
      "properties": { "elevation_m": 4421 }
    }
  ]
}

Maximum 50 points per request.

Elevation profile

POST a GeoJSON LineString (at least 2 points) to get a 3D LineString with ascent/descent statistics:

curl -X POST https://plaza.fyi/api/v1/elevation \
  -H "x-api-key: pk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "geometry": {
      "type": "LineString",
      "coordinates": [
        [7.6500, 45.9764],
        [7.6589, 45.9636],
        [7.6617, 45.9537]
      ]
    }
  }'

const profile = await client.v1.elevation({
  geometry: {
    type: "LineString",
    coordinates: [[7.65, 45.9764], [7.6589, 45.9636], [7.6617, 45.9537]],
  },
});

console.log(`Total climb: ${profile.properties.total_ascent_m}m`);
console.log(`Total descent: ${profile.properties.total_descent_m}m`);

Response:

{
  "type": "Feature",
  "geometry": {
    "type": "LineString",
    "coordinates": [
      [7.6500, 45.9764, 2480],
      [7.6589, 45.9636, 2634],
      [7.6617, 45.9537, 2352]
    ]
  },
  "properties": {
    "total_ascent_m": 342,
    "total_descent_m": 128,
    "min_elevation_m": 2150,
    "max_elevation_m": 2634,
    "avg_elevation_m": 2412
  }
}

geometry.coordinates contains [lng, lat, elevation_m] triples. properties has summary stats for the full profile.

Use cases

Hiking and cycling apps. Show elevation profiles alongside routes. Total climb matters more than peak elevation.

Gradient analysis. Sample densely along a route and compute grade between consecutive points. Flag sections steeper than 10%.

Flood risk. Batch-lookup elevation for building centroids. Compare against nearby water levels.

Route comparison. Same distance, different climb. The profile tells you which route is flatter.