Oregon Elevation ToolsOpen Property on the map →

Property · Click a point

Select an Oregon property boundary for terrain analysis

This Oregon property boundary map loads the county assessor’s taxlot under your click and uses it as the analysis area for every other tool. Contours, slope, drainage, winter sun and the property report are then clipped to the parcel rather than a rectangle drawn by eye.

It is the starting point for most jobs on this site: find the place by address or name, select the taxlot, then pick the question you want answered. It works in the counties that publish an open taxlot service, including the three Portland-area counties through Metro RLIS and Lane County; elsewhere the panel says so.

Free to run · pay to download

Free to run, and free to save as a PNG image of the map. This tool has no file export of its own. For the terrain as a file, Download Data exports contours, a GeoTIFF or a 3D mesh with a pass: US$29 for 24 hours, US$99 for 30 days or US$399 for 12 months.

Open Property on the map →Pass prices and what’s included

Who uses this

  • Buyers. Measure the parcel they are actually buying, not the field next door.
  • Architects and designers. Start a site analysis from the assessor’s boundary and taxlot number.
  • Real estate agents. Pull terrain facts for a listing in a couple of clicks.

When to use it

  • You want contours, slope, sunlight or drainage clipped to a parcel rather than a rectangle drawn by eye.
  • You are comparing several properties and want each one measured on the same footing.
  • You need the taxlot number, county and acreage alongside the terrain.

Tools for your job

Property is one step in a bigger question. These are the jobs it helps with, and the tools that go with it.

For the job: Buying a lot or rural acreage

What is the ground like, and how does it compare with the others on my list?

  1. 1.Property (this tool) — Selects the county taxlot so every other tool is clipped to the boundary.
  2. 2.Property Report — A PDF with contours, slope, aspect, winter sun, drainage and elevation for that one parcel.
  3. 3.Saved Properties — Up to 5 places side by side: elevation, slope, winter sun and drainage.
  4. 4.Water & Drainage — Where water will run and pond across the property in heavy rain.

How to use it

  1. Open Property and zoom in until taxlot lines appear on the map.
  2. Click inside the parcel. The boundary is fetched and drawn as the analysis area.
  3. Search an address or place name in the top bar to jump to the area instead of panning.
  4. Switch to any area tool. Its results are clipped to the parcel until you clear or redraw the area.

Step by step: a Hillsboro taxlot

We select a residential taxlot in Hillsboro, in Washington County, so the other tools measure only inside it.

1.Open Property from the tool rail and zoom in until the taxlot lines show. The panel asks for a click.

2.One click inside the lot fetches its boundary from the county taxlot service (Metro RLIS here), with the taxlot number, county and acreage in the panel. The outline is now the analysis area for every other tool.

What it showed

  • The boundary follows the assessor’s taxlot, including corners you would never draw by eye. It is a tax map, not a survey.
  • Switch to Slope & Aspect, Sunlight or Water & Drainage. Each is clipped to this outline until you clear it.
Try it yourself on a Hillsboro taxlot →

How it works

The click is first matched to a county using Oregon GEO’s county boundaries. The site then asks that county’s taxlot service for the polygon under the point: Metro RLIS for Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties, the Lane Geographic Data Consortium service for Lane County, and the county’s own published service elsewhere.

The polygon becomes a cookie cutter: terrain is loaded for its bounding box, and every tool masks its result to the polygon so nothing outside the boundary is counted.

Reading the results

The panel shows the taxlot number, the county, and the site address and acreage where the county publishes them, with the county’s own disclaimer.

Downloads from the other tools carry the taxlot in their metadata.

Limits and caveats

  • Taxlot lines are the assessor’s maps, drawn for property tax, not surveys. They can differ from fences, corners and recorded surveys on the ground. For a boundary question or a setback, hire a licensed land surveyor.
  • Only counties with an open taxlot service are covered. Elsewhere the panel says the county is not available yet; draw or upload the boundary instead.
  • Very large rural parcels may exceed a tool’s area limit. The tool will say so; draw a smaller area inside the parcel instead.
  • The taxlot services are live county feeds. If one is down, no boundary is selected and a notice on the map asks you to try again.

Data and attribution

Results come from 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, with elevations above NAVD 88. The tools with a surface option (Sunlight, Viewshed, Sightline, Object Heights) read DOGAMI’s statewide digital surface model of trees and buildings.

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.

Questions

Are taxlot lines survey accurate?

No. Taxlot maps are drawn by the county assessor for property tax, and the lines can differ from fences, corners and recorded surveys on the ground. For a boundary question or a setback, hire a licensed land surveyor.

Can I search by address?

Yes. The search bar takes a street address or a place name anywhere in Oregon and jumps there; then click the parcel. Searching by taxlot number is not available yet.

Why does my county say it is not covered?

Each county publishes its own taxlot data, and only the counties with an open web service are wired in so far. You can still draw the area by hand or upload a boundary file and use every tool.

Ready to try it?

Open Property on the map →

Free to use, no account. The taxlot is looked up from the county’s service through this site’s server. Downloading the results needs a pass: see pricing.