🇳🇿 NEW ZEALAND  ·  LINZ 5 M DTM COVERAGE

New Zealand Elevation Contour Mapping

High-resolution elevation contours across New Zealand, built on Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) DTM — derived from LINZ's latest 1 m LiDAR-based DTM — covering over 95% of population areas nationwide, with a 30 m SRTM-derived baseline elsewhere. Delivered as contours, modelled surface water flow directions and shaded relief terrain maps — and accessible directly by AI agents through our AI-native MCP tools, or by any application through a straightforward REST API.

🗺️ Interactive NZ Contour Map - via API 🗺️ Interactive NZ Contour Map - 50 cm ⚡ API & MCP Access 📍 See City & Town Coverage

Contours, water flow & shaded relief

Three complementary terrain layers, all derived from the same underlying LINZ elevation data, available individually or combined via the API, the interactive map, or an AI agent connected over MCP.

1. Elevation Contours — DTM & DEM Mapping

LINZ · 5 M DTM (1 M LIDAR-DERIVED)

Contour lines generated directly from LINZ elevation data at a consistent 5 m DTM baseline — derived from LINZ's latest 1 m LiDAR-based DTM — across covered areas, the standard resolution across the platform. Finer 1 m LiDAR-derived contours are not broadly available by default, but can be provisioned on request for specific sites or portfolios.

  • Property and site-level assessment ahead of purchase or development
  • Land subdivision design, earthworks and cut-and-fill estimation
  • Resource consent and building consent supporting documentation
  • Identifying low-lying, flood-prone or waterlogged land
  • Insurance underwriting, exposure review and hazard risk scoring
  • Civil, road and drainage engineering design
  • Agricultural and horticultural land assessment, drainage and irrigation planning
  • Wildfire and slope-related emergency planning
  • Renewable energy siting (solar/wind) and grading feasibility studies

2. Modelled Surface Water Flow Directions

HYDROLOGY / DRAINAGE

Overland flow direction and relative magnitude modelled from the underlying LiDAR-derived DTM, showing how rainfall runoff moves across a site or catchment — independent of, and complementary to, mapped floodplains and river-based flood studies.

  • Pluvial (flash flood) and overland-flow risk assessment for a property or site
  • Stormwater network design, drainage capacity and catchment planning
  • Site feasibility studies and civil works planning
  • Flood and catastrophe risk underwriting for insurers and reinsurers
  • Complementing regional and territorial council flood mapping programs with address- and parcel-level detail
  • Council asset management and flood mitigation prioritisation
  • Emergency response and disaster management planning
  • Identifying flow paths across new subdivisions before contours are otherwise available

3. Shaded Relief & 3-D Terrain Maps

VISUAL TERRAIN CONTEXT

Composite shaded relief (hillshade) layers and interactive 3-D terrain surfaces rendered from high-resolution elevation data, visualising slope, ridgelines and landform shape — including volcanic cones, fault scarps and coastal cliffs — alongside contours, flow directions and satellite imagery.

  • Rapid visual terrain context for site inspection and due-diligence reports
  • Landslide, erosion and slope-stability risk screening
  • Wildfire behaviour and terrain-driven fire risk mapping
  • Enhancing satellite/aerial imagery and existing GIS basemaps
  • Land development and site-planning feasibility studies
  • Infrastructure, utility and transport corridor route planning
  • Geological, geomorphological and catchment analysis
  • Rural and agricultural land-use and terrain assessment

Elevation & terrain metrics — by API or by asking an AI agent

Every layer on this page — contours, slope, flow direction, shaded relief and 3-D terrain — is available two ways: a conventional REST API for applications, and AI-native MCP tools so an AI agent can pull the same data straight into a conversation or workflow.

⚙️ REST API

Direct, application-ready endpoints — no SDK required. Sub-30 ms responses regardless of underlying dataset size, via Cloud-Optimised GeoTIFF windowed reads.

GET https://api.geospatialsystem.com/elevation?lat=-36.8797&lon=174.7649
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

🤖 AI-native MCP Tools

Connect Claude or any MCP-compatible AI assistant directly to Geospatial System. Ask in plain English — the right tool is called automatically, no scripting required.

"What's the elevation and slope near Mt Eden, Auckland?"
→ Claude calls LP_Get_Elevation + LP_Get_Slope_Stats
Getting started. A free trial API key (no credit card) unlocks elevation queries and the dataset catalogue. Request a key, then explore the New Zealand layer set on the interactive New Zealand contour map or connect it as an MCP tool in Claude Desktop.

Over 95% of population areas — nationwide 5 m baseline

The LINZ 5 m DTM layer underlying the detailed contour, flow-direction and hillshade maps above — derived from LINZ's latest 1 m LiDAR-based DTM — covers over 95% of population areas across New Zealand, spanning the towns and cities below across the North and South Islands. A broader 30 m SRTM-derived baseline covers the remainder of the country.

Northland & Auckland
Whangārei
Kerikeri
Kaitaia
Dargaville
Paihia
Kaikohe
Kawakawa
Mangawhai
Auckland CBD
Mount Eden
North Shore
Waitākere
Manukau
Papakura
Pukekohe
Waiheke Island
Helensville
Warkworth
Devonport
Howick
Henderson
Albany
Papatoetoe
Waikato & Bay of Plenty
Hamilton
Cambridge
Te Awamutu
Tokoroa
Taupō
Huntly
Matamata
Morrinsville
Thames
Raglan
Ngāruawāhia
Te Kuiti
Waihi
Tauranga
Rotorua
Whakatāne
Te Puke
Kawerau
Ōpōtiki
Katikati
Mount Maunganui
Papamoa
Gisborne, Hawke's Bay & Taranaki
Gisborne
Ruatoria
Napier
Hastings
Havelock North
Waipukurau
Wairoa
New Plymouth
Hāwera
Stratford
Waitara
Inglewood
Manawatū-Whanganui & Wellington
Palmerston North
Whanganui
Levin
Feilding
Ohakune
Taihape
Marton
Dannevirke
Wellington CBD
Lower Hutt
Upper Hutt
Porirua
Paraparaumu
Masterton
Carterton
Featherston
Ōtaki
Nelson, Tasman & Marlborough
Nelson
Richmond
Motueka
Takaka
Blenheim
Picton
Renwick
West Coast & Canterbury
Greymouth
Westport
Hokitika
Reefton
Christchurch
Timaru
Ashburton
Rangiora
Kaiapoi
Rolleston
Waimate
Geraldine
Methven
Akaroa
Otago & Southland
Dunedin
Queenstown
Wanaka
Oamaru
Alexandra
Cromwell
Balclutha
Milton
Invercargill
Gore
Te Anau
Winton
Riverton
Bluff
Note on coverage. Elevation data is sourced from Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) — LiDAR-derived digital elevation models published via the LINZ Data Service / NZ Elevation open data programme — licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). LINZ does not hold copyright in all elevation data it distributes; copyright may rest with regional councils or other licensors identified in the survey metadata. Outside the towns and cities listed above, a smoothed 30 m SRTM-derived baseline provides nationwide fallback coverage. See our Data Licences & Attribution page for full citation details.