Topographic maps
Click on a map to view its topography, its elevation and its terrain.
Sydney
Sydney's topography is characterized by a diverse landscape that seamlessly blends coastal features with inland plateaus. The city is divided into two primary regions: the relatively flat Cumberland Plain to the south and west of Sydney Harbour, and the elevated Hornsby Plateau to the north. The Cumberland…
Average elevation: 53 m
Victoria
Victoria, Australia, exhibits a remarkably varied topography shaped by the Great Dividing Range, which forms a west-to-east spine across the state. In the northeast, the Victorian Alps rise to the state’s highest point, Mount Bogong at 1,986 meters, amid deep valleys and snow-capped ridges, while westward,…
Average elevation: 179 m
City of Melbourne
Melbourne's topography is characterized by a diverse landscape that transitions from flat coastal plains to rolling hills and mountainous regions. The city is situated at the northern end of Port Phillip Bay, where the terrain is predominantly flat, facilitating urban development. As one moves eastward, the…
Average elevation: 18 m
Mexico City
Mexico City (Spanish: Ciudad de México, locally [sjuˈða(ð) ðe ˈmexiko] (listen); abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: Āltepētl Mēxihco) is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of Mexico within the high…
Average elevation: 2,619 m
Australia
Australia's topography is characterized by vast, low-lying plains interspersed with notable highland regions. The Western Plateau, encompassing much of the continent's interior, is a flat expanse punctuated by isolated ranges such as the MacDonnell and Musgrave Ranges, as well as iconic formations like Uluru.…
Average elevation: 35 m
Perth
Perth, the capital of Western Australia, is situated on the Swan Coastal Plain, a flat expanse of sandy soil nestled between the Indian Ocean to the west and the Darling Scarp to the east. The Darling Scarp, also known as the Darling Range, is a low escarpment that extends north–south, marking a distinct…
Average elevation: 26 m
Melbourne
Melbourne is also prone to isolated convective showers forming when a cold pool crosses the state, especially if there is considerable daytime heating. These showers are often heavy and can include hail, squalls, and significant drops in temperature, but they often pass through very quickly with a rapid…
Average elevation: 185 m
Queensland
Queensland's topography is characterized by a diverse landscape that includes coastal plains, mountain ranges, plateaus, and expansive inland areas. The Great Dividing Range runs parallel to the state's eastern coast, forming a series of mountain ranges, plateaus, and upland areas. This range influences the…
Average elevation: 122 m
Tasmania
The most mountainous region is the Central Highlands area, which covers most of the central western parts of the state. The Midlands located in the central east, is fairly flat, and is predominantly used for agriculture, although farming activity is scattered throughout the state. Tasmania's tallest mountain…
Average elevation: 220 m
Western Australia
Because the only mountain-building since then has been of the Stirling Range with the rifting from Antarctica, the land is extremely eroded and ancient, with no part of the state above 1,245 metres (4,085 ft) AHD (at Mount Meharry in the Hamersley Range of the Pilbara region). Most of the state is a low…
Average elevation: 194 m
New South Wales
New South Wales (NSW), located on Australia's eastern seaboard, boasts a diverse topography that significantly influences its landscapes and ecosystems. The state's eastern edge is dominated by a narrow coastal plain, featuring regions such as the Illawarra and Shoalhaven near Nowra, characterized by rolling…
Average elevation: 154 m
Mexico City
Mexico > Mexico City > Mexico City
Mexico City is located in the Valley of Mexico, sometimes called the Basin of Mexico. This valley is located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt in the high plateaus of south-central Mexico. It has a minimum altitude of 2,200 meters (7,200 feet) above sea level and is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes that…
Average elevation: 2,321 m
Adelaide
Australia > South Australia > Adelaide
Adelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges. The city stretches 20 km (12 mi) from the coast to the foothills, and 90 km (56 mi) from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south. According to the Regional…
Average elevation: 148 m
Canberra
The area chosen for the capital had been inhabited by Indigenous Australians for up to 21,000 years, with the principal group being the Ngunnawal people. European settlement commenced in the first half of the 19th century, as evidenced by surviving landmarks such as St John's Anglican Church and Blundells…
Average elevation: 638 m
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs roughly parallel to the east coast of Australia and forms the…
Average elevation: 117 m
Chicago
United States > Illinois > Cook County
When Chicago was founded in 1837, most of the early building was around the mouth of the Chicago River, as can be seen on a map of the city's original 58 blocks. The overall grade of the city's central, built-up areas is relatively consistent with the natural flatness of its overall natural geography,…
Average elevation: 182 m
Toowoomba
The city occupies the edge of the range and the low ridges behind it. Two valleys run north from the southern boundary, each arising from springs either side of Middle Ridge near Spring Street at an altitude of around 680 m. These waterways, East Creek and West Creek, flow together just north of the CBD to…
Average elevation: 458 m
Ballarat
Ballarat has a moderate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) with four distinct seasons. Its elevation, ranging between 400 and 630 metres (1,310 and 2,070 feet) above sea level, causes its mean monthly temperatures to tend to be on average 3 to 5 °C (5 to 9 °F) below those of Melbourne,…
Average elevation: 470 m
Tasmania
The most mountainous region is the Central Highlands area, which covers most of the central western parts of the state. The Midlands located in the central east, is fairly flat, and is predominantly used for agriculture, although farming activity is scattered throughout the state. Tasmania's tallest mountain…
Average elevation: 6 m
Mount Banks
Mount Banks, otherwise known as Mount King George, is a mountain within the Explorers Range of the Blue Mountains Range that is a spur off the Great Dividing Range, is located within the Blue Mountains National Park, approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Mount Banks…
Average elevation: 745 m
City of Brisbane
Brisbane's topography is characterized by a series of hills and ranges that define its landscape. The city is situated on a low-lying floodplain, with the Brisbane River meandering through its heart, creating a winding course with many steep curves from the southwest to its mouth at Moreton Bay in the east.…
Average elevation: 71 m
Grampians National Park
Mount William is known within the gliding community for the "Grampians Wave", a weather phenomenon that sometimes enables glider pilots to reach extreme altitudes of the order of 28,000 ft (8,500 m). This predominantly occurs during the months of May, June, September and October when strong westerly winds flow…
Average elevation: 262 m
Cape Cod
United States > Massachusetts > Barnstable County
Cape Cod extends 65 miles (105 km) into the Atlantic Ocean, with a breadth of between 1–20 miles (1.6–32.2 km), and covers more than 400 miles (640 km) of shoreline. Its elevation ranges from 306 feet (93 m) at its highest point, at the top of Pine Hill, in the Bourne portion of Joint Base Cape Cod, down…
Average elevation: 2 m
Blue Mountains
A sandstone plateau dominated by a landscape of endless eucalyptus forests, the Blue Mountains are located at the top of a 470-million-year-old quartzite. In the Permian period, a shallow sea covered the region, when rivers brought shales, siltstones and mudstones. Then during the Mesozoic period, rivers…
Average elevation: 566 m
Orange
Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is 254 km (158 mi) west of the state capital, Sydney [206 km (128 mi) on a great circle], at an altitude of 862 metres (2,828 ft). Orange had an estimated urban population of 40,493 as of June 2018 making the city a significant…
Average elevation: 852 m
Mount Bogong
The Big River separates the massif of the mountain from the Bogong High Plains to the south. From the nearby town of Mount Beauty to its summit, Mount Bogong rises more than 1,600 metres (5,200 ft), thus making it one of the highest peaks in Australia not only in terms of its elevation above sea level, but…
Average elevation: 1,719 m
Goulburn
Owing to its elevation, Goulburn has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with warm summers and cool winters; with a high diurnal range. Its climate is variable much of the year, though generally dry with maximum temperatures ranging from 11.8 °C (53.2 °F) in July to 28.3 °C (82.9 °F) in January. Rainfall is…
Average elevation: 666 m
Melbourne
Melbourne is also prone to isolated convective showers forming when a cold pool crosses the state, especially if there is considerable daytime heating. These showers are often heavy and can include hail, squalls, and significant drops in temperature, but they often pass through very quickly with a rapid…
Average elevation: 49 m
Stanthorpe
Australia > Queensland > Stanthorpe
Owing to its elevation, Stanthorpe features a subtropical highland climate. At an altitude of 811 metres (2,661 ft), Stanthorpe holds the record for the lowest temperature recorded in Queensland at −10.6 °C (12.9 °F) on 23 June 1961. Sleet and light snowfalls are occasionally recorded, with the most…
Average elevation: 840 m
England
England's topography is characterized by a diverse landscape that transitions from low-lying plains to rugged uplands. In the north and west, the terrain is dominated by mountain ranges such as the Pennines, often referred to as the "backbone of England," and the Lake District, which includes Scafell Pike, the…
Average elevation: 55 m
kunanyi / Mount Wellington
"... In many parts the Eucalypti grew to a great size, and composed a noble forest. In some of the dampest ravines, tree-ferns flourished in an extraordinary manner; I saw one which must have been at least twenty feet high to the base of the fronds, and was in girth exactly six feet. The fronds forming the…
Average elevation: 941 m
Northern Territory
The fatigue resulting from long-distance driving and the hazards inherent in dirt roads, wildlife, water crossings and wild weather have led the Northern Territory Government to pursue road safety campaigns in English and several Aboriginal languages. Persuading people to drive at the right speed for the road…
Average elevation: 230 m
Cairns
South of Smithfield and inland from the Northern Beaches along the edge of the Barron River flood plain are the suburbs of Caravonica, Kamerunga, Freshwater, and Stratford. This area is sometimes referred to as Freshwater Valley, though it is actually the lower part of Redlynch Valley; further up the valley…
Average elevation: 176 m
