How to see an elevation profile
- Click a starting point on the map.
- Click one or more additional points to trace a path.
- The graph below fills in automatically, along with total elevation gain, loss, and net change.
- Use Undo to remove the last point, or Clear to start over.
Common uses
- Hiking and cycling route preview — see the climbs and descents on a route before you commit to it.
- Race course planning — check the total elevation gain of a running or cycling course.
- Difficulty estimation — compare how steep two different routes are before choosing between them.
- Flight and drone planning — get a sense of terrain elevation change along a flight path.
- Rough grading checks — spot-check elevation change across a site before a formal survey.
FAQ
What does the elevation profile graph show?
It plots elevation above sea level (y-axis) against distance along your path (x-axis), so you can see every climb and descent between the points you clicked.
How is elevation gain and loss calculated?
The path is sampled at 41 evenly spaced points. Elevation gain is the sum of every uphill step between samples; elevation loss is the sum of every downhill step.
Is this a straight-line path?
Between each pair of points you click, yes — the profile follows the straight-line (great-circle) path and samples the real terrain elevation along it, not a hiking or driving route.
Elevation data: Open-Meteo.