Where does the elevation data come from?
From the open Terrain Tiles on AWS (Tilezen), which merge national and global elevation models such as SRTM, 3DEP and EU-DEM. MapToNap samples a grid over the site and masks out the buildings.
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Topography & slope analysis
Topography and slope analysis
How the ground rises and falls around your site: contours over a relief, where water runs downhill, and stacked ground profiles that show the shape of the land at a glance. Elevation comes from open terrain data with the buildings masked out, and the drawing tells you when the data cannot tell the ground from the roofs.
Open elevation dataBuildings masked outContours · drainage · profilesSVG · PDF · PNG
What you can make
The drawings, and what each one shows
Topography (Pro)
Elevation contours over a smooth relief with hillshade from the north-west, and the elevation range of the site.
Slope & drainage (Pro)
Streamlines that follow the steepest way down, thicker where the ground is steeper: where water will run.
Terrain wireframe (Pro)
Stacked ground profiles across the site, a quick section-like reading of the landform.
Contours on the boards (Max)
Central & Accessible and the Zoning Plan draw the terrain contours under their own content.
3D terrain model (Max)
Export the ground with the buildings to Rhino 3DM, OBJ or GLB for your own model.
Honest about the data
In very dense areas, where the elevation model records roofs instead of ground, the drawing says it cannot separate the ground rather than drawing roofs as hills.
Examples
Straight out of MapToNap
Untouched exports from real sites. Free drawings carry a watermark; Pro and Max drawings are marked.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence. The images are MapToNap output.
Guide
How to read the topography of a site
- Read the contours. Close lines mean steep ground, wide spacing means flat. Find the high and low points and the direction the site faces.
- Follow the water. Water runs perpendicular to the contours, downhill. Low points and lines where flows meet are where drainage, flooding and wet ground need attention.
- Cut sections. A few profiles across the site show the landform better than a plan, and tell you where a building steps, where entrances can be level and where retaining walls appear.
- Relate slope to sun. A slope facing the equator gets more sun; one facing the pole gets less. Combine the topography with the sun path before placing outdoor space.
- Know the limits. Open elevation data are good for reading the landform at site scale, not for levels on a construction drawing. Use a survey for that.
Frequently asked questions
Before you start
How precise is it?
The resolution depends on the source available for the region, from national models in the US and Europe to global ones elsewhere. It is good for reading the landform, not for exact levels; use a topographic survey for those.
Why does it say it cannot separate the ground?
Some elevation models record the top of buildings. In very dense areas too little open ground is left to rebuild the terrain, so MapToNap says so instead of drawing roofs as hills.
Is it free?
You can try MapToNap free: four 2D drawings (roads, land use, green and water, urban fabric) and one 3D drawing, with a watermark and no sign-up. Without the watermark and with all 68 analyses there are one-time passes: Pro €7.99 or Max €12.99 for 30 days, or a year of Max for €49. Nothing renews automatically.
Do I need to install anything? Does it work on a phone?
No installation and no setup. MapToNap runs in the browser on any computer, tablet or phone, iPhone or Android: open maptonap.com/app, type an address and press Generate. 3D drawings and simulations run smoothest on a computer.
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