UK Terrain Height Grid Derived from Ordnance Survey Contours

Land-Form PANORAMA provides a digital terrain model (DTM) of the United Kingdom, derived from Ordnance Survey's 1:50,000 scale Landranger map contours. The dataset consists of a grid of height values at 50-meter intervals, interpolated from contour data with a vertical interval of 10 meters. It was created by EDINA and is based on source data from the Ordnance Survey.

Use Cases

• Perform line-of-sight analysis using the 50-meter grid of height values.
• Conduct drainage analysis and watershed modeling based on the terrain contours and spot heights.
• Assess visual impact for construction projects by analyzing the digital terrain model (DTM).
• Support site planning and land-use studies with the 10-meter vertical interval contour data.

Strengths

• Contour data has a high vertical accuracy, typically better than 3 meters root mean square error.
• Height values in the derived DTM are provided at a consistent 50-meter horizontal grid resolution.
• Dataset includes breaklines, lakes, coastline, and spot heights to the nearest meter for enhanced detail.

Limitations

• DTM accuracy varies with terrain complexity, from 2 meters in hilly rural areas to 3 meters in urban lowlands.
• Height values in the DTM are rounded to the nearest meter, potentially limiting precision for fine-scale analysis.

Provenance

Source

Ordnance Survey's 1:50,000 scale Landranger maps, processed by EDINA.

Collection Method

Mathematically derived digital terrain model (DTM) interpolated from digital contour data.

Geography

United Kingdom.