Esri expands high-resolution terrain coverage in World Elevation services

Esri expanded and refreshed the elevation datasets behind its Terrain and TopoBathy services, including new nationwide lidar-derived coverage and substantial additions to US one-meter terrain coverage. Selected elevation analysis tools have also been updated; tiled, 3D and hillshade services are scheduled to follow in the first quarter of 2027.

Public-sector GIS teams gain more detailed terrain inputs for mapping, drainage interpretation and visibility analysis within existing ArcGIS workflows. Differences in resolution, geographic coverage and rollout timing make source checks important when combining services or comparing results across jurisdictions.

Esri has updated the Terrain and TopoBathy layers in ArcGIS Living Atlas with higher-resolution and replacement elevation datasets across several countries. Luxembourg gains nationwide 50-centimeter lidar-derived terrain data, while Sweden gains nationwide one-meter coverage. The Netherlands receives newer AHN5 and AHN6 datasets, Japan gains expanded five-meter coverage and refreshed ten-meter data, and Canada receives nationwide 30-meter elevation coverage. US updates include approximately 441,000 square kilometers of additional one-meter USGS 3DEP coverage. For government GIS programs, the practical change is access to more detailed terrain through existing ArcGIS services, supporting mapping, terrain analysis and visualization. Selected datasets also feed updated Profile, Viewshed and Summarize Elevation tools. However, the rollout is not simultaneous across all products: tiled elevation, 3D and hillshade services are expected to incorporate the updates in the first quarter of 2027. Teams comparing analytical outputs with visual layers should therefore check source coverage and service versions rather than assume they use identical terrain data.

Evidence supplied by Esri.