High-Resolution Digital Elevation Model (HRDEM) generated from LiDAR – New data available!

June 22, 2021

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is pleased to announce the release of over 100,000 km2 of new data in the High-Resolution Digital Elevation Model (HRDEM) and HRDEM Mosaic. The total area of high-resolution elevation data derived from LiDAR is now nearly 500,000 km². The data is distributed across eight provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador (see map below).

With the addition of this data, 61 of Canada's 100 largest cities are covered by the HRDEM product and the HRDEM Mosaic. This includes the entire area of both the National Capital Region and the Ottawa River, areas that are highly vulnerable to flooding. The 10,000 km2 project was carried out in collaboration with the City of Ottawa, the City of Gatineau, NRCan, the National Capital Commission (NCC) and the Province of Ontario and supported by the Emergency Management Strategy for Canada.

This highly detailed 3D information provides essential foundational geospatial data for many government projects and priorities, such as flood mapping, forest inventories, climate change monitoring and urban management.

Explore the data!

The HRDEM data can be downloaded from the Open Government Portal in KML, Shapefile or ESRI REST formats. Use one of the following options to view the current inventory: "View on Map", "Project Footprints" or "Dataset Footprints". For more information on the HRDEM product, consult the product specifications. A download procedure for the HRDEM product is also now available.

The HRDEM Mosaic is also available from WMS and WCS web mapping services – see the product specifications for more details. The WMS service facilitates the visualization of the mosaic and its derived products, while the WCS provides access to the source data.

About the National Elevation Data Strategy

The National Elevation Data Strategy aims to increase high-resolution elevation data coverage for Canada and improve accessibility to the products. Collaboration with various partners is a key factor in the success of the Strategy, both to release existing data and to acquire new LiDAR data across the country. The HRDEM and HRDEM Mosaic products are part of the CanElevation Series created in support of the National Elevation Data Strategy.

Legend: HRDEM coverage map as of June 2021

Legend: Shaded 3D reliefs of the Digital Surface Model (top image) and the Digital Terrain Model (bottom image) covering downtown Ottawa, ON.

Legend: Shaded 3D reliefs of the Digital Surface Model (top image) and the Digital Terrain Model (bottom image) covering the Gatineau River and the Gatineau Highway near Wakefield, Qc.

Legend: Shaded 3D reliefs of the Digital Surface Model (top image) and the Digital Terrain Model (bottom image) covering the St. John’s, NL.