Lidar derived high resolution data updates to Living Atlas World Elevation Layers (June 2025)

ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World provides foundation elevation layers and tools to support analysis and visualization across the ArcGIS system. These layers are updated quarterly with high-resolution elevation data sourced from federal agencies, open sources, and the community maps program. Esri is providing these datasets as ready-to-use services that benefit the GIS community and extend the use of data in new and innovative ways. In this release, the world elevation layers have been enhanced with multiple lidar-derived high-resolution Digital Terrain Models (DTMs).

Terrain and TopoBathy layers are updated with:

• LGLN’s lidar derived 1 meter DTMs covering Lower Saxony state of Germany.
• Land Tyrol’s lidar derived 50 centimeters DTMs covering Tyrol state of Austria.
• Land Oberosterreich’s lidar derived 50 centimeters DTMs covering Upper Austria state of Austria.
• NZT’s lidar derived 1 and 10 meter DTMs covering entire country of Lithuania.
• Expanded coverage of USGS 3DEP 1 meter lidar derived DTMs covering areas of the conterminous United States. In this release, approximately 9,340 sq kms (~ 3600 sq miles) of new coverage has been added.
• USGS’s 1/3 arc second (~ 10 meters) seamless DEM dataset for the United States with full coverage of the 48 conterminous states, Hawaii, Alaska, and U.S. territories.
• USGS’s 1 arc second (~30 meters) seamless DEM dataset for the conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, and Mexico.

Ready-To-Use Elevation Tools:

The Ready-To-Use Elevation Tools (Profile, Viewshed and Summarize Elevation) have been updated with the latest datasets from Lithuania (10 meters), USGS (1/3 arc second, and 1 arc second)

Let’s explore a few examples that highlight the improvements.

These data updates are expected to be rolled out to the world elevation tiled services, including Elevation 3D (Terrain3D and TopoBathy3D) and Hillshade (World Hillshade and World Hillshade (Dark)), by the end of the upcoming quarter.

To see the coverage extents of each source comprising World Elevation services, check out the World Elevation Coverage Map.

You can help in improving these services by contributing high-resolution elevation data to Living Atlas of the World. To participate and learn more, check out the Esri Community Maps for Elevation program.