Find the elevation of a point

Learn how to find the elevation of a point in Kaneohe, Hawaii with the ArcGIS Elevation service.

The ArcGIS Elevation service is a location service that returns elevation values for a single location or multiple locations. Elevation coverage is provided for both topography (land elevations) and bathymetry (water depths) and takes location inputs as longitude and latitude coordinates.

In this tutorial, use ArcGIS REST JS to access the Elevation service and display the elevation of a single location on a map. You can toggle between viewing elevation values relative to mean sea level or above ground level.

Prerequisites

Steps

Get the starter app

Select a type of authentication and follow the steps to create a new app.

Set up authentication

Set developer credentials

Use the API key or OAuth developer credentials so your application can access ArcGIS services.

Add script references

Reference the ArcGIS REST JS request and elevation packages to access the Elevation service. You also reference the Calcite Design System library to create the user interface.

1. Reference the request and elevation packages from ArcGIS REST JS. s

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       <!-- Load Leaflet from CDN -->
       <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/leaflet@1.9.4/dist/leaflet.css" crossorigin="">
       <script src="https://unpkg.com/leaflet@1.9.4/dist/leaflet.js" crossorigin=""></script>
   
       <!-- Load Esri Leaflet from CDN -->
       <script src="https://unpkg.com/esri-leaflet@3.0.19/dist/esri-leaflet.js"></script>
       <script src="https://unpkg.com/esri-leaflet-vector@4.3.2/dist/esri-leaflet-vector.js"></script>
   
       <!-- Load ArcGIS REST JS -->
       <script src="https://unpkg.com/@esri/arcgis-rest-request@4/dist/bundled/request.umd.js"></script>
       <script src="https://unpkg.com/@esri/arcgis-rest-elevation@1/dist/bundled/elevation.umd.js"></script>
   
   

2. Reference the Calcite Design System library.

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       <!-- Load Leaflet from CDN -->
       <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/leaflet@1.9.4/dist/leaflet.css" crossorigin="">
       <script src="https://unpkg.com/leaflet@1.9.4/dist/leaflet.js" crossorigin=""></script>
   
       <!-- Load Esri Leaflet from CDN -->
       <script src="https://unpkg.com/esri-leaflet@3.0.19/dist/esri-leaflet.js"></script>
       <script src="https://unpkg.com/esri-leaflet-vector@4.3.2/dist/esri-leaflet-vector.js"></script>
   
       <!-- Load ArcGIS REST JS -->
       <script src="https://unpkg.com/@esri/arcgis-rest-request@4/dist/bundled/request.umd.js"></script>
       <script src="https://unpkg.com/@esri/arcgis-rest-elevation@1/dist/bundled/elevation.umd.js"></script>
   
       <!-- Calcite components -->
       <script type="module" src="https://js.arcgis.com/calcite-components/2.12.1/calcite.esm.js"></script>
       <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://js.arcgis.com/calcite-components/2.12.1/calcite.css">
   

Create a toggle switch

In this step, you use Calcite to add a toggle switch. The switch will allow users to toggle between elevation values relative to mean sea level and ground level.

1. Inside <html>, create a div container for the toggle control. Use calcite-switch to create a toggle switch.

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       <div id="control">
         <label>
           <span>Show elevation relative to mean sea level</span>
           <calcite-switch id="elevationControl" checked></calcite-switch>
         </label>
       </div>
   
       <div id="map"></div>
   

2. Add CSS to position the toggle switch on top of the map.

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       body {
         margin: 0;
         padding: 0;
       }
   
       #map {
         position: absolute;
         top: 0;
         bottom: 0;
         right: 0;
         left: 0;
         font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
         font-size: 14px;
   
         z-index: 1;
         cursor: default;
   
       }
   
       #control {
         position: absolute;
         top: 15px;
         right: 15px;
         display: flex;
         flex-direction: row;
         z-index: 2;
         padding: 10px;
         background: #fff;
       }
   

Update the map

In this step, you update the map by changing the basemap and setting the viewpoint to focus on Kaneohe, Hawaii.

1. Set the basemap to arcgis/topographic.

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       const basemapEnum = "arcgis/topographic";
   

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2. To focus on Kaneohe, Hawaii, update the map's viewpoint to 21.410, -157.750 and set the zoom level to 12.

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       const map = L.map("map", {
         minZoom: 2
   
       }).setView([21.410, -157.750], 12);
   

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Get elevation data

In this step, you use the Elevation service to return the elevation data at the clicked point on the map.

1. Create a variable called elevationMeasure to store the default elevation reference (datum), which will be meanSeaLevel.

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       /* Use for API key authentication */
       const accessToken = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";
   
       // or
   
       /* Use for user authentication */
       // const session = await arcgisRest.ArcGISIdentityManager.beginOAuth2({
       //   clientId: "YOUR_CLIENT_ID", // Your client ID from OAuth credentials
       //   redirectUri: "YOUR_REDIRECT_URL", // The redirect URL registered in your OAuth credentials
       //   portal: "YOUR_PORTAL_URL" // Your portal URL
       // })
   
       // const accessToken = session.token;
   
       const basemapEnum = "arcgis/topographic";
   
       const map = L.map("map", {
         minZoom: 2
   
       }).setView([21.410, -157.750], 12);
   
       L.esri.Vector.vectorBasemapLayer(basemapEnum, {
         token: accessToken
       }).addTo(map);
   
       let elevationMeasure = "meanSeaLevel"; // default
   
   

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2. Add an event listener to your toggle to update the elevationMeasure accordingly.

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       /* Use for API key authentication */
       const accessToken = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";
   
       // or
   
       /* Use for user authentication */
       // const session = await arcgisRest.ArcGISIdentityManager.beginOAuth2({
       //   clientId: "YOUR_CLIENT_ID", // Your client ID from OAuth credentials
       //   redirectUri: "YOUR_REDIRECT_URL", // The redirect URL registered in your OAuth credentials
       //   portal: "YOUR_PORTAL_URL" // Your portal URL
       // })
   
       // const accessToken = session.token;
   
       const basemapEnum = "arcgis/topographic";
   
       const map = L.map("map", {
         minZoom: 2
   
       }).setView([21.410, -157.750], 12);
   
       L.esri.Vector.vectorBasemapLayer(basemapEnum, {
         token: accessToken
       }).addTo(map);
   
       let elevationMeasure = "meanSeaLevel"; // default
   
       document.getElementById("elevationControl").addEventListener("calciteSwitchChange", (event) => {
         elevationMeasure = event.target.checked ? "meanSeaLevel" : "ellipsoid";
       });
   
   

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3. Add a click event handler to create a marker on the clicked point and request elevation data for the point.

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       let circleMarker = null;
   
       map.on("click", async (e) => {
   
         const { lat, lng } = e.latlng;
   
         if (circleMarker) {
           map.removeLayer(circleMarker);
         }
   
         circleMarker = L.circle([lat, lng], {
           color: "#00000",
           fillColor: "#FF0000",
           radius: 75,
           fillOpacity: 1
         }).addTo(map);
   
         const response = await arcgisRest.findElevationAtPoint({
           lon: lng,
           lat: lat,
           relativeTo: elevationMeasure,
           authentication: arcgisRest.ApiKeyManager.fromKey(accessToken)
         });
   
       });
   

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Display results

In this step, you extract the elevation data from the response and display it in a popup on the map.

1. Extract the x, y, and z values from the elevation request response.

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       let circleMarker = null;
   
       map.on("click", async (e) => {
   
         const { lat, lng } = e.latlng;
   
         if (circleMarker) {
           map.removeLayer(circleMarker);
         }
   
         circleMarker = L.circle([lat, lng], {
           color: "#00000",
           fillColor: "#FF0000",
           radius: 75,
           fillOpacity: 1
         }).addTo(map);
   
         const response = await arcgisRest.findElevationAtPoint({
           lon: lng,
           lat: lat,
           relativeTo: elevationMeasure,
           authentication: arcgisRest.ApiKeyManager.fromKey(accessToken)
         });
   
         const { x, y, z } = response.result.point;
   
       });
   

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2. Use L.popup() to show the elevation (z value) at the clicked location in a popup format.

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       let circleMarker = null;
   
       map.on("click", async (e) => {
   
         const { lat, lng } = e.latlng;
   
         if (circleMarker) {
           map.removeLayer(circleMarker);
         }
   
         circleMarker = L.circle([lat, lng], {
           color: "#00000",
           fillColor: "#FF0000",
           radius: 75,
           fillOpacity: 1
         }).addTo(map);
   
         const response = await arcgisRest.findElevationAtPoint({
           lon: lng,
           lat: lat,
           relativeTo: elevationMeasure,
           authentication: arcgisRest.ApiKeyManager.fromKey(accessToken)
         });
   
         const { x, y, z } = response.result.point;
   
         L.popup()
           .setLatLng(e.latlng)
           .setContent(
             `<b>Elevation relative to ${elevationMeasure === "meanSeaLevel" ? "mean sea level" : "ground level"}</b><br>
             Latitude: ${y.toFixed(5)}<br>
             Longitude: ${x.toFixed(5)}<br>
             Elevation: ${z} m`
           )
           .openOn(map);
   
       });
   

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Run the app

Run the app.

You should now see a map centered over Kaneohe, Hawaii. Click on the map to access the Elevation service to return elevation information and view the results in a popup.

What's next?

Learn how to use additional location services in these tutorials: