Google Maps Elevation

Google Maps Elevation API Documentation

This document describes how to use the Google Maps Elevation API to retrieve elevation data for specific geographic locations or paths on Earth’s surface.

---

Base Endpoint

To request elevation data, use the following endpoint:

https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/elevation/json?parameters

Replace parameters with query arguments such as locations, path, and your key.

---

1. Basic Elevation Request

Endpoint Example

https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/elevation/json?locations=39.7391536,-104.9847034&key=YOUR_API_KEY

This request returns the elevation for one or more geographic coordinates.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
locations	string	One or more latitude/longitude pairs separated by `
key	string	Your Google Cloud API key with the Elevation API enabled.

Response Fields

Field	Type	Description
results	array	Contains one or more elevation results.
elevation	float	Elevation of the location in meters above sea level.
location.lat	float	Latitude of the requested point.
location.lng	float	Longitude of the requested point.
resolution	float	Maximum distance between data points from which the elevation was interpolated, in meters.
status	string	Status of the request (e.g., OK, INVALID_REQUEST, OVER_QUERY_LIMIT, REQUEST_DENIED, UNKNOWN_ERROR).

---

2. Path Elevation Request

Endpoint Example

https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/elevation/json?path=36.578581,-118.291994|36.23998,-116.83171&samples=3&key=YOUR_API_KEY

This returns elevation values along a path between multiple coordinates.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
path	string	A set of two or more latitude/longitude pairs defining a path, separated by `
samples	integer	The number of equally spaced points along the path to sample for elevation.
key	string	Your API key.

Response Example

{
  "results": [
    {
      "elevation": 1608.637939453125,
      "location": {"lat": 36.578581, "lng": -118.291994},
      "resolution": 4.771975994110107
    },
    {
      "elevation": 1523.73828125,
      "location": {"lat": 36.400433, "lng": -117.561852},
      "resolution": 4.771975994110107
    },
    {
      "elevation": -64.37896728515625,
      "location": {"lat": 36.23998, "lng": -116.83171},
      "resolution": 19.08790397644043
    }
  ],
  "status": "OK"
}

---

3. Common Response Fields

Field	Type	Description
results	array	Contains one or more elevation data points.
results[].elevation	float	Elevation in meters above sea level.
results[].location.lat	float	Latitude of the elevation point.
results[].location.lng	float	Longitude of the elevation point.
results[].resolution	float	Maximum resolution (in meters) of the elevation data.
status	string	Status code indicating the success or failure of the request.

---

4. Error Status Codes

Status	Meaning
OK	Request succeeded.
INVALID_REQUEST	The request is missing a required parameter or has an invalid value.
OVER_QUERY_LIMIT	The request exceeded your usage quota.
REQUEST_DENIED	The request was denied, often due to an invalid or restricted API key.
UNKNOWN_ERROR	A server error occurred. Try again later.

---

Example Use Case

Retrieve the elevation profile along a hiking trail

curl "https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/elevation/json?path=34.11,-118.11|34.13,-118.15&samples=5&key=YOUR_API_KEY"

This returns five elevation points evenly spaced along the specified path, allowing you to plot an elevation profile.