Free DEM Data Download & Elevation Models
AWS Elevation Tiles Download — Terrarium DEM for MapLibre
Quick answer: AWS Elevation Tiles are free Terrarium DEM tiles on S3. Use the z/x/y URL template in MapLibre for 3D terrain without an API key.
Choose between an elevation lookup and terrain tiles
- 1.For the estimated height of a point, use the elevation finder below. For a web map, use the Terrarium URL template in the download guide.
- 2.Replace z, x and y with tile coordinates when fetching an individual PNG. The template itself is not a downloadable regional DEM.
- 3.Use Terrarium decoding for these tiles. For an analysis-ready area rather than a web-map tile, choose a DEM dataset and check its resolution, vertical reference and source attribution.
Terrarium tile URL template
https://s3.amazonaws.com/elevation-tiles-prod/terrarium/{z}/{x}/{y}.pngConfigure the map source as raster-dem with encoding: terrarium. Read the source attribution linked in the download options.
Format
Raster-dem tiles (Terrarium)
Geometry
Raster DEM tiles
Coverage
Global
Resolution
Up to zoom 15 (~12m at equator in some regions)
About this dataset
Free Terrarium-encoded global terrain tiles served from AWS S3 Open Data, directly usable in MapLibre as a raster-dem source with no API key.
AWS hosts a freely accessible set of Terrarium-encoded terrain elevation tiles derived from Mapzen / AWS elevation data on their Open Data program. The tiles are available as a static S3 bucket with standard z/x/y URLs and no authentication required. This is a pure open-data endpoint ideal for MapLibre raster-dem sources.
How to download
- 1 Use the S3 tile URL template directly: https://s3.amazonaws.com/elevation-tiles-prod/terrarium/{z}/{x}/{y}.png
- 2 Add a raster-dem source in MapLibre with type 'raster-dem', the S3 URL, and encoding 'terrarium'.
- 3 Enable terrain: { source: 'your-dem-id' } in your map style.
- 4 No API key or account needed — this is open data served from AWS S3.
FAQ
Is the AWS elevation tile service reliable for production?
The S3 bucket is part of AWS Open Data and has no SLA or guaranteed uptime, but it has been stable for years. For mission-critical production, consider MapTiler or Stadia Maps for CDN-backed SLAs.
What is the origin of AWS elevation tile data?
The data was originally processed by Mapzen from multiple sources including SRTM, GMTED, and NED. AWS now hosts these tiles as part of their Open Data program.
What encoding do the AWS tiles use?
The standard Terrarium-encoded tiles are at the /terrarium/ path. Mapbox-encoded tiles may also be available at a different path. Use encoding: 'terrarium' for MapLibre.