Terrain in a Box
Geological Survey's measured heights for Mount St.
The facts
- Shelf
- Science
- Kind
- Built from a recipe
- Your own
- About this land
- Sound
- Yes
- Licenses
- Public domain
How to play, in the Playground
Tap to fill the land with water; tap again to drain it. Pick a place in the Splash tab.
Its controls
| Control | Kind | Range | Start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fill it with water | Tap | ||
| Fill with water | Switch | Off | |
| Place | List | 3 choices | Mount St. Helens |
| Height | List | 3 choices | Stretched 2× |
| Contour lines | Setting |
About it
This is real land in a box: the U.S. Geological Survey's measured heights for Mount St. Helens, the Grand Canyon or Yosemite Valley, a square about 10 km across with a sample every 35 m. Each sample is a small splat, tinted by height and shaded by the sun, and the box's walls show the land cut through.
Tap to fill the land with water to a level and watch which valleys flood first, then tap to drain it. It is a level rising, not a model of how real floods flow. Choose the place, stretch the heights to see gentle slopes, and turn on contour lines. The Contour lab next to it shows how those lines are made.
Details
- Splats
- Opens at 200,000 at Mid Detail, 60,000 at Low, and up to 200,000 at Max
Sources and credits
| Work | By | License |
|---|---|---|
| Mount St. Helens: USGS 3DEP 1/3 arc-second elevation, a square averaged to 256 × 256 samples | U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program (The National Map) | Public domain (USGS 3D Elevation Program) |
| The Grand Canyon: USGS 3DEP 1/3 arc-second elevation, a square averaged to 256 × 256 samples | U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program (The National Map) | Public domain (USGS 3D Elevation Program) |
| Yosemite Valley and Half Dome: USGS 3DEP 1/3 arc-second elevation, a square averaged to 256 × 256 samples | U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program (The National Map) | Public domain (USGS 3D Elevation Program) |
