Find the Topography of Any Property in the World

Full blog post: retipster.com/...
If you're buying vacant land, one of the things you should be researching is the elevation and topography of the property. Here is a quick tutorial on how to get some perspective with Google Earth. Download the software for free at google.com/earth
Many places in the world have unpredictable elevations, cliffs, mountains, valleys, ravines and more. In many cases, the land's topography can greatly impact a property's build-ability. For the same reasons you can't build a house on a vertical cliff, you should be doing some preliminary research to find out where your property is located and what the lay of the land is. One of the best ways to do this is using Google Earth (free). You can download the software, search for your property (using the address or coordinates), zoom in using your mouse buttons and the control and shift keys on your keyboard. This will allow you to tilt the earth on its side to see where all the hills and valleys are in the area. This software has given me a crucial perspective on dozens of the vacant land properties I've purchased.
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[@robpalesano1676]

I watched the full 7+ minutes and (unless I fell asleep) didn't see the elevation of a single property.

[@nightshade8958]

That's cuz you watched a vid on topography, not elevation.

[@LandAcademy]

Great tutorial on topography and elevation using Google Earth Pro, Seth! Thanks for sharing this knowledge with us.

[@matthewbryant3992]

Careful, that slope might not be as steep as it looks. Google Earth has a setting for the topographic view to increase the scale of the elevation to make everything appear higher, which increases changes in elevation (slope); so that nearly 45 degree angle you point out might really be smaller. An exaggerated or more dramatic topography is a very useful setting on Earth because it makes changes in elevation more apparent. From our ground perspective, significant elevation changes are easy to recognize, but as you look at it from higher and higher, the Earth appears remarkably flat. So flat, they say, that it would feel smoother than a billiard ball if you could shrink it down to billiard ball size.

[@Retipster]

Seriously? I never knew this. Does it say somewhere how much the elevations are exaggerated? It would be good to know about that when looking at slopes like this.

[@rosskeatley2132]

you didn't show how to get the actual elevation of a certain property (ex: height above/below sea level)

[@nightshade8958]

Just hover your mouse over any part of the world and you can see the elevation in the bottom right corner. Elevation ≠ Topography.

[@NightSky777]

Good stuff, Thanks!

[@richardgary7305]

is there a way to overlay the property boundary image over the GE view?

[@vickykumarbidlan2107]

Much better than phones

[@TroddinSod]

Google removed this capacity.

[@CALVINAGUSTIN]

nice really help dude! too bad i cant see some roads because the google car didnt go there lol

[@thevangoghlavenderexperien938]

Topographical lines, contours??????

[@simonatkins7836]

Hi, Seth, brevity is key. You need to get to the point quickly. The title of your video is 'Find the Elevation and Topography of Any Property in the World'. 3 minutes in and you still haven't told me how to do this! Could you not start with the property in grand rapids?

[@ashimali786]

fabulous job

[@JROrg2009]

Can we verify that this same method and data can be used also to show within fair accuracy the altitude of almost anywhere above say sea-level? The reason is that for scientific needs such as setting barometers to read accurately, one must know the current altitude at the barometer's location, generally expressed as feet above sea level, etc.

[@JROrg2009]

Appreciate the reply, Seth. I will do a few Google Earth "readings" at known-altitude locations here in East Tennessee, and report back if we can indeed use it for any "even fairly accurate" altitude readings.

[@maryvalentine9090]

You think Texas is a state with mountains?! Uh, not really. Oregonian here. I know what mountains are. Texas doesn't have mountains.

[@rubyrenton9594]

You are kidding right?

[@jackies35]

Since this was 9 years ago, would you hire an engineer?

[@Retipster]

You mean a topographic surveyor? Possibly. It would depend on how accurate I needed the information to be.

[@orgasmictomato]

still doesn't tell us elevation level, that is height above sea level.....

[@orgasmictomato]

Thanks , Seth I missed that.

[@lastmanxa]

+- 30m

[@martinwinlow]

Do get on with it! We know what the video is about from the title!

[@firecloud77]

Oh for F sake. I wasted 7 minutes. Saw NO ELEVATIONS or instructions how to.

[@Retipster]

Sorry about that. Check out this video - where I do a better job of explaining it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g57SlIiLo9dkj68