Download Contour Lines as SVG for Design and Laser Cutting

Generate contour lines for any place in New York from USGS 3DEP lidar elevation data and download them as clean SVG vector graphics, ready for Illustrator, Inkscape, the web and laser cutters.

What is SVG?

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is the open vector image format of the web. It describes shapes as paths rather than pixels, so an SVG stays sharp at any size, from a phone icon to a wall print.

For contours, every line is a path you can recolor, thicken, move or delete. That makes SVG the natural format for posters, branding, maps for the web and machines that cut or engrave along vector lines.

What you get in the file

• Vector paths: one path per contour line, drawn to the true shape of your area.
• Colored by elevation: low contours in blue, through cyan, green and yellow, to red at the top.
• Elevation on every path: data-elevation in feet, plus a title such as “1,250 ft” (data-elevation-m holds the same value in meters).
• Clean canvas: a white background rectangle and no other decoration, ready for your own design.
• Source credit: the file’s description names the USGS 3D Elevation Program and states that elevations are in feet above NAVD 88.

Software that uses SVG

Graphic design

• Adobe Illustrator: full editing of paths, colors and layers.
• Inkscape: free and open source, with SVG as its native format.
• Affinity Designer: imports SVG for illustration and print work.

UI and web design

• Figma: drop the SVG in as editable vectors for backgrounds and hero images.
• Sketch: imports SVG for interface work.

Web development

• Browsers: display SVG directly.
• CSS and JavaScript: style and animate inline SVG; D3 can select paths by elevation.

Cutting and engraving

• LightBurn: imports SVG for laser cutting and engraving.
• Cricut Design Space and Silhouette Studio: import SVG for vinyl and paper cutters.

How to download contour lines as SVG

1. Open the map: go to Download Data and search for a place or peak.
2. Select the area: draw a rectangle, or click a parcel to select the rectangle around it. The area can be up to 7.5 miles per side.
3. Choose the interval in feet (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 100, 200, 500 ft):
   • 5–20 ft: detailed artwork of a small area, such as a city park or a single hill
   • 40–100 ft: bold, graphic lines for posters of mountains like Mount Marcy
   • For laser-cut layered models, choose the interval that matches your sheet thickness at the scale you plan
4. Choose SVG among the contour formats.
5. Download: the contours are free to view on the map; the file needs a pass.
6. Open it: in Illustrator, Inkscape, Figma or your cutting software.

Using SVG contours in Illustrator

1. Open: File > Open, and the contours come in as paths.
2. Select by level: click a line and use Select > Same > Stroke Color to pick every line at that elevation.
3. Organize: move index contours (every fifth level) to their own layer.
4. Style: set stroke weights and colors to suit your design; heavier index contours read best.
5. Remove the background: delete the white rectangle if you want a transparent design.
6. Export: save as SVG, PDF or PNG for wherever it is going.

Common uses

Web design

Contours make subtle, on-theme backgrounds for outdoor brands, ski areas, wineries and trail races. As vectors they stay crisp on every screen.

Branding and marketing

A designer can turn the contours of a real place, such as Mount Marcy, the Catskills or the Hudson Highlands, into a logo, pattern or label that ties a brand to its landscape.

Posters and prints

Contour posters of favorite mountains and home towns are a popular wall print. Scale them to any size with no loss of quality.

Laser-cut and layered models

Makers cut each contour level from wood, acrylic or card and stack them into a layered terrain model. Lines that reach the edge of your area are open, so close each level along the border in your design program before cutting. For a printed 3D model instead, see terrain as STL.

Data visualization

Journalists and analysts use contours as a base layer for stories about wildfire, snowpack or development, with data drawn on top.

Teaching and science

Clean contour graphics make clear diagrams of mountains, valleys and watersheds for slides, papers and worksheets.

Tips

Keep files small

Every contour point is a coordinate in the file. Choose the coarsest interval that still gives the look you want, and run the result through SVGO for the web. Output resolution scales with the size of the area you select. Exports are capped at 1,024 pixels on the longest side, with a floor of 3.3 ft per pixel — so a 900 ft building site is delivered at the full lidar detail, while a block 7.5 miles on a side is resampled to roughly 39 ft per pixel. Select a smaller area when you need fine detail.

Style with CSS

Inline the SVG and target paths by elevation, for example path[data-elevation="500"], to change colors or weights for one level without touching the file.

Use layers

Split index and intermediate contours onto separate layers early. It makes later restyling and cutting much easier.

Responsive use

The file has a viewBox, so it scales with its container. Set the width in CSS and let the height follow.

Combine with other elements

Add place names, trails or a frame on top in your design program. Keep the contours light so they support the design rather than compete with it.

SVG or another format?

SVG or PDF

For a finished, printable map with a scale bar and legend, download contours as PDF. For design and cutting, SVG is easier to work with.

SVG or DXF

DXF is for CAD: real coordinates in New York State Plane, US survey feet (zone selected for the area), with elevations on Z. SVG is for graphics and has no real-world coordinates.

SVG or PNG and JPG

PNG and JPG are pixels and blur when enlarged. SVG stays sharp at any size and can be edited line by line; export a PNG from it whenever you need one.

About the data

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. See lidar coverage in New York for the project behind your area. More from the USGS 3D Elevation Program.

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.

Frequently asked questions

Other formats

• Contours as PDF – for printing
• Contours as DXF – for AutoCAD and Civil 3D
• Contours as GeoJSON – for QGIS and web maps
• Terrain as STL – for 3D printing
• Contour lines for New York – overview of every format