Elevation Finder - Check Height Above Sea Level
Click on the map to check elevation at any point, or draw a route to see an elevation profile with gain, loss and gradient.
Find the elevation of any location by clicking on the map. The tool instantly shows the height above sea level in both metres and feet, along with the place name. Switch to Profile mode to plot a route and see a detailed elevation chart showing how the terrain rises and falls, with statistics for total ascent, descent, maximum and minimum elevation, and average gradient. Perfect for planning walks, hikes, cycle routes, or just exploring the landscape.
Free Elevation Finder Tool
MapTools Elevation Finder is a free, easy-to-use tool for checking height above sea level anywhere in the UK (and across Europe). Simply click on the map to instantly see the elevation in metres and feet, or switch to Profile mode to plot a route and visualise how the terrain rises and falls.
No sign-up is required. Elevation lookups within Great Britain are decoded in your browser from map tiles we host, so nothing about your click is sent anywhere for that step; searches aren't stored against you.
Who Is This For?
Check the elevation profile of your route before setting off. See total ascent and descent to gauge difficulty.
Plan cycle routes and see hill gradients. Know what climbs to expect on your ride.
Check how high a property sits above sea level, useful for flood risk assessment and views.
Understand the elevation change on your training routes. Compare flat vs hilly courses.
Quick elevation checks for site assessments, drainage planning, and terrain analysis.
Great for geography lessons, exploring topography, and understanding landscapes.
Features
- Point elevation - Click anywhere to get height above sea level in metres and feet
- Elevation profile - Plot a route and see a chart of how the terrain changes
- Route statistics - Total distance, elevation gain, loss, max, min, and average gradient
- Interactive chart - Hover over the chart to see elevation at each point, highlighted on the map
- Place name lookup - Automatically shows the location name for each point
- UK postcode search - Jump to any UK postcode or place name
- Share via link - Generate a URL that recreates your exact view
- Satellite view - Switch between street and satellite map styles
Data Sources
For locations in Great Britain, point elevations come from OS Terrain 50, Ordnance Survey's 50-metre national terrain model, resampled to roughly 55.7 metres for this tool. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.
For locations outside our Great Britain coverage - the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, and the rest of Europe - point elevations come from the Open-Meteo Elevation API (Copernicus DEM, roughly 90-metre resolution), under a CC BY 4.0 licence.
Elevation profiles (Profile mode) are unchanged by the above and still use EU-DEM via Open Topo Data, the European Digital Elevation Model at 25-metre resolution, with cubic interpolation for smooth results.
Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate is the elevation data?
For locations in Great Britain, point elevations come from OS Terrain 50, a 50-metre national terrain model resampled to about 55.7 metres for this tool - an upgrade on the roughly 90-metre resolution these point lookups previously used. Reprojecting the source grid can round sharp summits down a little (a few metres on most peaks, up to around 15m on the very sharpest); broad, flat ground reads exactly. Outside Great Britain, point elevations use the Copernicus DEM at roughly 90-metre resolution, and elevation profiles use the EU-DEM at 25-metre resolution, both unchanged. All are suitable for planning walks, runs and cycle routes, though they may differ slightly from GPS readings or Ordnance Survey data.
What does height above sea level mean?
Height above sea level (also called elevation or altitude) is the vertical distance of a point above the average level of the sea. In the UK, this is measured relative to Ordnance Datum Newlyn (ODN), which is the mean sea level at Newlyn in Cornwall.
What is an elevation profile?
An elevation profile is a chart showing how the ground height changes along a route. It helps you visualise hills, valleys and gradients before setting off on a walk, run or cycle ride. Our tool calculates total ascent (elevation gain), descent (elevation loss), and average gradient.
Is my data stored anywhere?
For locations in Great Britain, elevation tiles are decoded in your browser - nothing about your click is sent anywhere for that step. Place-name search and locations outside our GB coverage use external mapping and elevation services (see Data Sources above); we don't store your searches. When you share a link, the coordinates are encoded in the URL itself.
Does it work outside the UK?
Yes. While MapTools.uk is designed for the UK, the elevation data covers most of Europe and the tool will work for locations across the globe, though accuracy may vary outside Europe.
Related Guides
- UK Elevation Map: Heights, Hills and Terrain Explained - how elevation affects flood risk, walking, cycling, property and weather across the UK
- Stargazing Guide UK: Best Dark Sky Sites, Bortle Scale & What You Can See - find elevated viewpoints for stargazing
Related Tools
More tools for mapping and measuring:
- Light Pollution Map - Find dark sky sites and check stargazing conditions
- Measure Distance - Measure route distances on the map
- Area Calculator - Measure land area by drawing on the map
- Radius Map - Draw circles to visualise distances from any point
- Distance Between - Quick straight-line distance checks
- Data Sources - Where our data comes from and how it's updated