How do I find the average elevation of a county?
Average (or mean) county elevations are not currently available from the USGS.
You can, however, find the elevation at the center of a county using the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS):
- Go to the GNIS Domestic Names website.
- Select "Search Domestic Names" to open a query form.
- Type the county name in the Feature Name window.
- Select the appropriate state and county options.
- Select "Civil" in the Feature Class window. Leave all other windows blank.
- Click on the "Send Query" button. Information about that county—including the elevation in feet—is returned.
Find elevations for populated places (cities/towns) by doing a similar search on the name of the populated place.
Download a zipped file of all Populated Places or all Government Units (including counties) in the United States and its territories on the GNIS Download page under the Topical Gazetteers section. Elevations are included.
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