Open Elevation API

GET

Elevation Profile

Resource URL

http://open.mapquestapi.com/elevation/v1/profile

Resource Information

Response Formats	JSON, XML
Authentication	Yes (Requires Key)
Rate Limited	Yes

Parameters

Request Parameter	Description	Required?
key	The API Key, which is needed to make requests to MapQuest services.	Yes
latLngCollection String/JsonArray	Collection of latitude/longitude pairs for a given route which may be in raw or compressed format. A route session Id may be used in place of this parameter.	Yes
sessionId	The Route Session Id can be used in place of a latLngCollection to get the lat/lng positions for an elevation profile request. The session will expire after 30 minutes. Please also see the Advanced Routing and Options Parameters	No - May be used in place of a latLngCollection
inFormat	Specifies the format of the request. The JSON-formatted input text must be supplied as either the "json" parameter of an HTTP GET, or as the BODY of an HTTP POST. If this parameter is "xml", the XML-formatted input text must be supplied as either the "xml" parameter of an HTTP GET, or as the BODY of an HTTP POST. Must be one of the following, if supplied: json xml Defaults to "json" if not supplied	No
shapeFormat String	Shape format options. This value represents the input and output format for the shape points. Default behaviour of the service is to return all the input shape points in the response. raw: shape is represented as float pairs. (default) cmp: shape is represented as a compressed path string with 5 digits of precision. cmp6: shape is represented as a compressed path string with 6 digits of precision. See the Compressed Lat/Lng description page for more detail, including sample source code and an interactive encoder/decoder.	No
inShapeFormat String	Input Shape format options. Overrides the given "shapeFormat" value for input shape points. raw: shape is represented as float pairs. cmp: shape is represented as a compressed path string with 5 digits of precision. cmp6: shape is represented as a compressed path string with 6 digits of precision. See the Compressed Lat/Lng description page for more detail, including sample source code and an interactive encoder/decoder.	No
outShapeFormat String	Output Shape format options. Overrides the given "shapeFormat" value for output shape points in the response. raw: shape is represented as float pairs. (default) cmp: shape is represented as a compressed path string with 5 digits of precision. cmp6: shape is represented as a compressed path string with 6 digits of precision. none: use this option if input shape points are not needed in the response. See the Compressed Lat/Lng description page for more detail, including sample source code and an interactive encoder/decoder.	No
unit String	Specifies the type of units to use when calculating elevation profile. Acceptable values are: m: Metric f: Imperial Default value is `m`.	No
useFilter Boolean	This is a bilinear filter (a smoothing function) that is used when sampling height data. This option will use the lat/lng and look at the four closest lat/lng pairs and weigh them inversely. false: No bilinear filter will be used. true: The bilinear filter will be used. Default = `false`	No
outFormat	Specifies the format of the response. Must be one of the following, if supplied: `json` `xml` Defaults to `json` if not supplied.	No
cyclingRoadFactor	See the Advanced Routing and Options Parameters	No
roadGradeStrategy	See the Advanced Routing and Options Parameters	No

Example Request

GET

http://open.mapquestapi.com/elevation/v1/profile?key=KEY&shapeFormat=raw&latLngCollection=39.74012,-104.9849,39.7995,-105.7237,39.6404,-106.3736

Example Response

If there are cases where no height data exists, the resulting height value is -32768. In the cases of no height data, a statuscode of 601 ("No Data Error: No Valid Height Data Exists.") or 602 ("Partial Success: Some elevations were found but others were not within the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) coverage.") will be returned.

JSON
XML

{
   "shapePoints":[
      39.74012,
      -104.9849,
      39.7995,
      -105.7237,
      39.6404,
      -106.3736
   ],
   "elevationProfile":[
      {
         "distance":0,
         "height":1616
      },
      {
         "distance":63.5583,
         "height":3910
      },
      {
         "distance":121.9561,
         "height":2501
      }
   ],
   "info":{
      "copyright":{
         "text":"© 2018 MapQuest, Inc.",
         "imageUrl":"http://api.mqcdn.com/res/mqlogo.gif",
         "imageAltText":"© 2018 MapQuest, Inc."
      },
      "statuscode":0,
      "messages":[

      ]
   }
}

<elevationResponse>
    <distanceHeightCollection>
        <distanceHeight>
            <distance>0.0</distance>
            <height>1616.0</height>
        </distanceHeight>
        <distanceHeight>
            <distance>63.5583</distance>
            <height>3910.0</height>
        </distanceHeight>
        <distanceHeight>
            <distance>121.9561</distance>
            <height>2501.0</height>
        </distanceHeight>
    </distanceHeightCollection>
    <shapePoints>
        <latLng>
            <lat>39.74012</lat>
            <lng>-104.9849</lng>
        </latLng>
        <latLng>
            <lat>39.7995</lat>
            <lng>-105.7237</lng>
        </latLng>
        <latLng>
            <lat>39.6404</lat>
            <lng>-106.3736</lng>
        </latLng>
    </shapePoints>
    <info>
        <info>
            <statusCode>0</statusCode>
            <messages/>
            <copyright>
                <imageUrl>http://api.mqcdn.com/res/mqlogo.gif</imageUrl>
                <imageAltText>© 2018 MapQuest, Inc.</imageAltText>
                <text>© 2018 MapQuest, Inc.</text>
            </copyright>
        </info>
    </info>
</elevationResponse>