Contents of this page may be automatically translated, we take no responsibility for the accuracy of the translation. Feel free to contact our customer support centre if you have any questions.
Here we answer questions that Lantmäteriet receives in the area of altitude data.
New questions that are common or otherwise of general interest are gradually added to the questionnaire.
If you do not find what you are looking for, you are welcome to contact geodatasupport@lm.se
Questions and answers about elevation data
Laser data is provided in the products:
Laser data NH is a nationwide snapshot and there is no plan for updating.
Laser data Download, forest is continuously updated through regular scanning. Production plans and production status can be found on the Plans and Outcomes page.
Some materials do not reflect a sufficiently strong return signal to the laser scanner, which may mean that registration of dots on black roofs is missing.
The angle of the roof in relation to the laser scanner can also affect whether there is any registration of data or not.
Water surfaces or wet objects as well as dark surfaces (eg newly laid asphalt) are other examples of surfaces where registered points in laser data may be missing.
More information on completeness (point density/coverage) can be found in Quality description laser data.
The national height model is not covered by appropriations and therefore a fee is charged for use. According to §30 of the Ordinance with instructions for Lantmäteriet (SFS 2009: 946), Lantmäteriet shall charge fees to cover costs for extraction, processing and management of information and IT systems (construction, updating, development and operation of systems, databases and information).
The national elevation model is a nationwide ground elevation model provided in the products
- Elevation model Display
- Elevation model Download
- Height Direct
- Ground elevation model Download, grid 1+
- Ground elevation model Download, grid 50+
The altitude model is continuously updated with point clouds from airborne laser scanning and with aerial image matching. More information about the products and production status can be found on each product page.
The planning for laser scanning forest is reviewed and updated before each year. The latest plan and production status (outcome) can be found on Plans and outcomes on the National Land Survey's website.
Laserdata NHThe point cloud is a snapshot and there is no plan for updating.
Laser data Download, forestThe scan will take place regularly and the plan is to scan the same area again after about seven years. Production plans and production status can be found on the Plans and Outcomes page.
National height modelNational altitude model provided in the products Ground height model Download, grid 1+, Ground height model Download, grid 50+, Elevation model Display, Elevation model Download, Elevation Directly updated continuously with point clouds from airborne laser scanning and with aerial image matching. A description of these two methods can be found in the document Quality description national height model. Production plans and production status can be found under Plans and outcomes on each product page.
Surface model from aerial photosThe production follows Lantmäteriet's image supply program. New data is added annually as new aerial photos become available. Production status can be found on Plans and outcomes - Surface model from aerial photos.
In Lantmäteriet's e-service My map, you can see elevation values for individual points across the country by left-clicking on the map. You can also turn to one of Lantmäteriet's resellers of Elevation and laser data for help.
The National Land Survey does not provide elevation curves from the national elevation model. Elevation curves can, however, be generated from ground-class laser data or grids using appropriate software. If you do not have the knowledge or access to such, you can turn to one of Lantmäteriet's resellers of geodata for help.
Convert LAZ file to LAS file with LAStools
Download LAStools from https://rapidlasso.com/lastools/ (opens in a new window).
NOTE! las2las is open to use but some of the tools in lastools are not.
Select "DOWNLOAD"LAStools.zip is displayed at the bottom of the browserSelect "Show in folder"Right-click on the file in Explorer and select "Extract All"Go to directory .. \ LAStools \ LAStools \ bin
There is the program las2las.exe that can be used for the conversion.
Start the command prompt to convert and enter the following on the same line
Path to the program-inPath to and name of the file (LAZ file)-OPath to and name of the output file (LAS file)
.. \ LAStools \ LAStools \ bin \ las2las.exe -i ‘filename’.laz -o‘ filename’.las
If there are many files to convert:
.. \ LAStools \ LAStools \ bin \ las2las -i * .laz -o * .las
There are also other programs that can be used e.g. libLAS or LASzip.