High Resolution Digital Elevation Model (HRDEM) for Canada

Natural Resources Canada's HRDEM provides elevation data for the entire Canadian territory. It is derived from airborne LiDAR in the south and satellite imagery in the north, offering Digital Terrain and Surface Models at 1 m or 2 m resolution. The data is referenced to the Canadian Geodetic Vertical Datum of 2013 (CGVD2013).

Use Cases

• Generate slope and aspect maps based on the derived Digital Terrain Model data.
• Create shaded relief visualizations based on the available Digital Surface Model.
• Analyze terrain characteristics for infrastructure planning based on high-resolution LiDAR-derived elevation.
• Model hydrological processes based on detailed elevation data across southern Canada.

Strengths

• Offers both Digital Terrain Models (DTM) and Digital Surface Models (DSM) for comprehensive elevation analysis.
• Provides high-resolution data at 1 m and 2 m scales in southern regions.
• Covers the entire Canadian territory, with data acquisition projects ongoing.

Limitations

• No integration or edgematching between different acquisition projects, leading to potential tile misalignment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• In northern regions, only DSM datasets are generally available, limiting terrain-only analysis.

Provenance

Source

Natural Resources Canada

Collection Method

Derived from airborne LiDAR data and satellite imagery through multiple projects with partners.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-26 16:01:19.804396; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Canada