3D printed topographic maps
Turn any mountain, valley, coastline or island into a raised relief model from real elevation data, with optional contour lines standing proud of the surface. Free, in your browser, exported as STL or 3MF.
Free, no account, no watermark. The model is built in your browser and never uploaded.
What you can put on the terrain
- Contour lines raised at a fixed height interval, the way a paper topographic map draws them. Leave the interval on automatic, or set it in metres.
- Inlaid water, with rivers and lakes cut into the ground rather than sitting on top of it.
- Land cover as separate colour parts: woodland, grass, farmland, wetland, sand, rock, ice and built-up ground.
- A surface image for textured exports: satellite, topographic map, streets, shaded relief, contours or plain.
- A frame and raised lettering with the place name and coordinates along the front edge.
Where the heights come from
Elevation comes from AWS Terrain Tiles, with Mapterhorn as a backup source. In most of the world that is roughly 10 to 30 m between samples. Two things are worth knowing before you print:
- Summits read slightly low. The data is a grid and a summit is a point, so the highest sample usually sits a little down the slope. Everest comes out at about 8,730 m rather than 8,849 m.
- There is no sea floor or lake bed. Elevation stops at sea level, so oceans and lakes print as flat surfaces, which suits most relief maps.
How much detail you actually get
The Detail setting sets how many height samples run across the longer side of the whole map. Spread over a wider area, the same number of samples sits further apart on the ground:
| Area across | Low (128) | Medium (256) | High (384) | Max (512) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 km | 39 m | 20 m | 13 m | 10 m |
| 10 km | 79 m | 39 m | 26 m | 20 m |
| 20 km | 157 m | 78 m | 52 m | 39 m |
| 50 km | 394 m | 196 m | 131 m | 98 m |
Once the spacing drops below what the source data holds, about 10 to 30 m, a higher setting adds triangles but no real shape. Splitting a map into tiles does not add detail either, because every tile is cut from the same grid.
Getting the height right
How tall the print stands depends on the height range inside your frame, not on how high the place is above sea level:
Mountains with more than about 1,500 m of range look right at true height. Flat country needs exaggerating 5 to 20 times before it shows. "Choose a good height for me" works this out from your area and tells you what it picked. More on exaggeration.
Questions
What is the biggest area I can make?
Up to 2,500 km on a side for terrain. Map layers have their own limits: buildings, roads, railways and rivers up to 500 km², trees up to 300 km², lakes and sea up to 2,000 km².
Do I need supports to print it?
No. A relief map is a heightfield, so nothing overhangs, however steep the slopes look.
What layer height should I use?
0.16 to 0.2 mm suits most terrain. Slopes are where layer lines show, so finer layers help on gentle country.
Can I make it bigger than my print bed?
Yes. Choose your printer or a maximum tile size under Print, and the map is split into pieces that fit, up to 40 tiles per side and 20 m in total.