Oregon Elevation ToolsOpen the map →

Terrain maps for Oregon farms, ranches, woodlots and pasture

These terrain maps for farms and ranches show fields, pasture and timber ground as the land really lies: where it is too steep for equipment, which parts stay wet, where frost settles and where a farm road can go without getting too steep, from the USGS 3DEP lidar elevation model.

Use them to plan drainage, planting, grazing, fence lines and roads before you walk the ground.

The workflow

  1. Step 1 · Property

    Load the property

    The county taxlot as the working area.

    Open Property →How it works

  2. Step 2 · Slope & Aspect

    How steep is it?

    Slopes too steep for equipment or prone to erosion, and which way each face points.

    Open Slope & Aspect →How it works

  3. Step 3 · Wetness Map

    Where is it wet?

    The ground the shape of the land keeps wet, for drainage tile and the choice of crops.

    Open Wetness Map →How it works

  4. Step 4 · Landforms

    Read the lay of the land

    Exposed ridges, sheltered hollows and well-drained spurs.

    Open Landforms →How it works

  5. Step 5 · Route Explorer

    Plan a farm road

    A route between two points that stays under the grade you set, with its elevation profile.

    Open Route Explorer →How it works

  6. Step 6 · Measure

    Measure a fence line

    The length of a fence, a hedge or a pipe run, before you price it.

    Open Measure →How it works

Free to run · pay to download

See the full result on the map free, with no account. Download slope, wetness and landform maps as GeoTIFF, and the route as GeoJSON with its profile as CSV 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 wetness map comes from the shape of the land only. Soil type, water table, ditches and existing drainage tile are not in it, and it is not a wetland determination.
  • Route Explorer is not road design. Check with the county, and with the Oregon Department of Forestry for forest roads, before you build.
  • The terrain is as the lidar recorded it; recent ditching, leveling and harvest do not show.

Questions

Can I use this to plan drainage tile?

As a starting point, yes. The wetness map and Water & Drainage show where the terrain gathers water, but not soil type, water table or old tile lines. Compare the map with what you see in the field.

Can it find a route for a farm road?

Route Explorer finds a route between two points that stays under a maximum grade and shows its profile. It is an aid for sketching a line, not a road plan.

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 data and USGS maps are U.S. Government works in the public domain: you may use the results, including commercially. A credit to the USGS 3D Elevation Program is appreciated, and every file you download carries it. DOGAMI lidar products are published by the State of Oregon; credit "DOGAMI / Oregon Lidar Consortium". County taxlot boundaries are the assessor's GIS data, not surveys, and each county publishes its own disclaimer, shown with the parcel. The aerial basemap is from Esri and follows Esri's terms; it is not included in downloads.