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Google "elevation view"

A view that lets you see the elevation change of a trip
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It would be cool if Google Maps could show you a cross section of the earth showing the change in elevation of your route.

I rented a U-haul truck when I moved from Boise Idaho to Chicago. It was in the middle of winter. We were pulling one of our cars behind us. I wanted to know the places that had very steep roads going up or down. I wanted to know the places that had the highest elevation.

They have 3D mountains which are sort of pretty to look at, but if they just did a cross sectional view, it would be easier (just 2D), and more useful.

This would be especially useful for bikers.

myclob, Mar 27 2011

Exaggerated vertical scale http://cache3.asset...5CDB01E70F2B3269972
(Or understated horizontal scale.) [mouseposture, Mar 27 2011]

http://www.openstreetmap.org/ [pocmloc, Mar 28 2011]

Google Elevation API http://code.google....levation/index.html
Looks like google do provide some hooks for just this functionality - all you need to do is build (or get someone to build) a suitable user interface. [zen_tom, Mar 28 2011]

[link]






       // They have 3D mountains //   

       May we point out that there seems to be a dearth of 2-dimensional mountains. Indeed, the very concept of a "mountain" does embody some element of three dimensionality. A two dimensional mountain is typically known as a "plain".   

       // useful for bikers //   

       Real bikers, the sort that leave a blue haze of imperfectly combusted lubricants behind their 100 BHP iron horses as they roar past at far above the speed limit, or the bulging-calved silly-trouser-clad pedal-pushers who deserve nothing more than a sharp blow to the base of the skull immediately followed by a swift and unceremonious interment in a shallow unmarked grave, along with the crushed remains of their velocipede, if any ?
8th of 7, Mar 27 2011
  

       The technology exists, mapmyfitness.com does both the elevation view and overlays (USGS) topographical maps.   

       And you're right, it's extremely useful for real bikers, less so the ones who use the name without even having anything resembling "bike" in the name of their vehicle.
MechE, Mar 27 2011
  

       There are numerous cyclists’ mapping websites which do exactly this. Not every online mapping utility uses google, you know!
pocmloc, Mar 27 2011
  

       How about a cross section in which the horizontal scale is different from the vertical, like <link>. Not sure, otherwise, if even fairly steep grades wouldn't be visually distinguishable from flat terrain.
mouseposture, Mar 27 2011
  

       As long as there are deep holes for the push-bikers to plummet into to their doom, no=-one will mind.
8th of 7, Mar 27 2011
  

       Seems perfectly reasonable to me - a simple contour map could be overlaid onto the map - there used to be all sorts of optional map overlays people 'mashed up' - I'd hope that this existed in some form out there somewhere.
zen_tom, Mar 28 2011
  

       //A two dimensional mountain is typically known as a "plain".// - or a "graph"
hippo, Mar 28 2011
  
      
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