New York Elevation ToolsOpen the map →

Check a lot or rural acreage in New York before you buy

Check land before buying it: select the tax parcel on the map, or draw the land, and see how steep it is, how much winter sun it gets, where water runs in heavy rain and how high it sits, from the USGS 3DEP lidar elevation model, anywhere in New York.

Compare up to 5 parcels side by side, and take a terrain report as a PDF to your lender, your builder or your family. Everything runs on screen for free before you decide.

Slope map: green on gentle ground, yellow on moderate slopes, red on the steepest faces
Sample output: a slope map of the Mount Marcy summit area. Green is gentle ground that is easy to build on; red is steep.

The workflow

  1. Step 1 · Property

    Select the parcel

    The public tax parcel as the working area, so every number applies to that parcel.

    Open Property →How it works

  2. Step 2 · Slope & Aspect

    How steep is it?

    The share of the parcel in each slope class, and where building is easy or hard.

    Open Slope & Aspect →How it works

  3. Step 3 · Sunlight

    How much winter sun?

    Hours of direct sun on December 21, with shadows from the hills and ridges around it.

    Open Sunlight →How it works

  4. Step 4 · Water & Drainage

    Where does the water go?

    Drainage channels, and the low spots where water sits after heavy rain.

    Open Water & Drainage →How it works

  5. Step 5 · Saved Properties

    Compare the shortlist

    Up to 5 parcels in one table: elevation, slope, winter sun and drainage.

    Open Saved Properties →How it works

  6. Step 6 · Property Report

    Take a report with you

    A PDF terrain report for the parcel you are weighing up.

    Open Property Report →How it works

Free to run · pay to download

See the full result on the map free, with no account. Download the property report as a PDF and its data bundle, and slope, sun and drainage data as GeoTIFF, GeoJSON or KML with a pass: US$29 for 24 hours, US$99 for 30 days or US$399 for 12 months, a one-off payment in US dollars that never renews. Every download on the site is included while the pass lasts.

Start on the map →Pass prices and what’s included

What it doesn’t replace

  • The tools show terrain, not zoning, setbacks, access, water, septic or soils. Check with the town, city or village and the local health department, and read the listing and disclosures.
  • This is not a flood or landslide map. Check FEMA’s flood maps and state and local hazard information; the property report lists where to find them.
  • Tax parcel lines are the assessor’s maps, not surveys, and can differ from fences on the ground. For a boundary question, hire a licensed land surveyor.

Questions

Can I see whether a parcel floods or slides?

Not directly. The tools show where the terrain sends water and how steep the ground is, but flood zones are on FEMA’s flood maps and landslide hazards on state and local hazard information. The property report’s checklist links to both.

How do I know whether a lot gets winter sun?

Run Sunlight for December 21, the shortest day, which is the default. You see hours of direct sun for every part of the parcel, with shadows from the terrain around it; buildings and trees are excluded.

Can several people use one pass?

A pass lives in the browser it was bought in, with no account. Anyone can run the tools for free; downloads work in the browser that holds the pass.

Guides

Data

Everything runs on the USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) bare-earth elevation model: lidar at 3.3 ft per pixel where it has been flown, and the 1/3 arc-second model, about 33 ft per pixel, elsewhere. Every result says how much of the area came from that coarser model.

USGS 3DEP elevation and USGS maps are U.S. Government works in the public domain. Credit the USGS 3D Elevation Program. NYS public tax parcels are assessment data provided as is, not surveys. Esri World Imagery follows its own terms and is display-only; downloaded aerial imagery comes from USGS NAIP. Sample image: Elevation data from USGS 3D Elevation Program. USGS 3DEP data is in the public domain (U.S. Government work).