Terrain Checks Before Buying Rural Land in New York
Check the shape of the land before a site visit, then compare the map with public records and conditions on the ground.
Work from access to the house site
Confirm the parcel, inspect road frontage and draw an elevation profile along a possible driveway. Use contours and slope to compare benches and valley sides, then inspect aspect and December sunlight.
Follow water downhill
Drainage and wetness tools show how bare-earth terrain directs surface water. They do not model flood levels, groundwater, culverts, blocked drains or wetlands jurisdiction.
Check records separately
Ask the local assessor and planning office about the parcel, access and allowed uses. Check FEMA flood maps, DEC water and wetland information, local health department septic records, title and easements. In the Adirondack Park, ask about the Park Agency as well. The property report names these follow-up checks.
Data and accuracy
Ground elevations come from the public-domain USGS 3DEP seamless bare-earth model, above NAVD 88. Source detail varies by location. Lidar coverage and source resolution vary across New York. Check your location against the USGS 3DEP index; no statewide coverage percentage is asserted. Buildings and trees are excluded from every terrain analysis in this edition.
Accuracy depends on the source survey, its date and processing. Check the work-unit metadata for your site; this tool does not promise a vertical accuracy. Bare-earth elevations exclude buildings and tree canopy. Coarser source areas have less detail, and a fine contour interval does not create finer source data. These results are not a substitute for surveyed elevations where engineering or legal decisions depend on them.
DXF exports use New York State Plane, US survey feet (zone selected for the area). Each file records the exact zone and local origin.
Try it on your site
Map analysis is free. Downloads use a pass: US$29 for 24 hours, US$99 for 30 days or US$399 for 12 months, one-off payments with no subscription.
Data sources and further reading
Everything on this page is built on public elevation data from the USGS 3D Elevation Program and New York’s lidar program. If you want the raw data rather than a processed result, these are the places it lives.
Primary sources
- USGS 3DEP elevation service — Bare-earth elevation for the map and downloads, with 3.3 ft source cells where available and coarser detail elsewhere.
- USGS 3DEP lidar work units — Coverage footprints, collection dates, source resolution and quality levels.
- NYS GeoHub public tax parcels — Assessment parcel boundaries in participating counties. Reference data, not surveys.
Search, basemaps and terms
- USGS GNIS place names — Place search is restricted to New York.
- NYS GeoHub address geocoder — Public address search.
- USGS Topo — Topographic display basemap.
- Esri World Imagery — Display-only aerial basemap, under Esri terms. Aerial downloads use USGS NAIP instead.