Wall posters
A home mountain, lake or city in one or two colors, printed large without pixelation.
Contour map SVG examples
These previews come from the same contours the SVG exports write, rendered by the tool's own code at the settings shown. Open one to load the area, then download it as SVG.
How to get a contour map SVG
- Choose the area. Search a mountain, lake or city, or draw a rectangle or polygon. Square areas suit posters; for laser cutting, an area where the main contours close into rings gives cleaner boards.
- Pick the interval. For a poster, 30 to 60 levels give a dense, even texture. For laser cutting, the number of levels is the number of boards, so 10 to 30 is practical.
- Set color and width. Basemap is off on this page so you see only the lines. Pick a line color and width, or switch Coloring to Elevation tints for lines colored by height.
- Download. SVG (basic) is free. For groups by elevation, labels and millimeter sizing, set the sheet width under Layered SVG and download the Pro file. The group list under Layered SVG shows exactly which groups the file will have.
- Open it in your editor. Drag the file into Figma, open it in Illustrator or Inkscape, or import it into LightBurn or your laser software.
Basic SVG and layered SVG
Both files are true vectors with one <path> per contour line, drawn in the same Web Mercator frame as the map so they line up with the PNG. The difference is structure. The basic SVG is a flat list of lines, which is all a poster or a quick Figma mockup needs. The layered SVG is organized for production work, where you want to select one elevation, hide labels or send a layer to a cutter.
| SVG (basic), free | Layered SVG, Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Lines | One <path> per contour | One <path> per contour |
| Grouping | None | One <g id="elev-1600m"> per elevation, shown as layers in Inkscape |
| Index lines | Twice as thick | Twice as thick, labeled with the elevation |
| Labels | None | Separate labels group to engrave or hide |
| Size | Pixels, same frame as the 4096 px PNG | Millimeters at a stated scale; you set the sheet width |
| Line width | The width you set, in px | 0.25 mm × your width setting, index lines double |
| Credit | Comment in the file | Comment, description and a credits group |
Laser cutting a stacked relief
Each elevation group in the layered SVG is one board. Cut the outline of that level and score the line of the next level on top of it, so you know where the next board sits when you glue the stack. With the Crater Lake example on a 420 mm sheet, the horizontal scale is about 1:21,429. At 20 m per 3 mm board, the vertical scale is 1:6,667, so the model is exaggerated 3.2 times vertically, which keeps a 600 m caldera wall readable on a desk. Thinner boards or a larger interval flatten it; a smaller area makes it steeper.
Two practical points. Lines that leave the area stay open at the frame, so close each board along the edge: draw the missing stretch of frame with the pen tool and join the end nodes. And small rings, such as a knoll a few boards high, produce tiny pieces; delete them or raise the interval.
Posters and design files
For a poster, the free SVG at 40 to 60 levels gives the even line texture people expect. In Figma or Illustrator, set the stroke of everything at once, then pick out the index lines (class i in the file) and make them heavier. Put the title and coordinates in your own type. Keep the credit line somewhere on the print; the elevation data asks for it.
What people make with a contour map SVG
Laser-cut and CNC reliefs
Stacked plywood, acrylic or cardboard models with one board per elevation, from the layered SVG.
Brand and UI backgrounds
Subtle topographic textures for websites, apps and packaging, built from a real place rather than noise.
Engraving and embroidery
Single-line paths for pen plotters, engravers and embroidery software that need open strokes rather than fills.
How to choose a contour interval
An SVG for a poster wants 30 to 60 levels; a laser-cut model wants as many as you are willing to cut, usually 10 to 30. Find your area and relief below, then adjust toward the look you want.
| Area you select | Terrain | Relief | Interval, m | Interval, ft | Data that supports it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House lot or building site, under 0.1 km² (25 acres) | Gentle to hillside | 5–25 m | 0.5 | 1–2 | 3DEP 1 m lidar (Pro, US) for survey-grade lines; free data shows the shape |
| Small farm or acreage, 0.1–2 km² | Rolling | 20–100 m | 0.5–2 | 2–10 | 3DEP 1 m lidar (Pro, US) for survey-grade lines; free data shows the shape |
| Farm, ranch or park, 2–10 km² | Hilly | 100–300 m | 2–10 | 10–20 | 3DEP 1 m lidar (Pro, US) for survey-grade lines; free data shows the shape |
| Town or valley, 10–50 km² | Hills to foothills | 300–800 m | 10–20 | 20–80 | Free data in the US; elsewhere use 20 m or more |
| Mountain area, 50–100 km² (free limit) | Mountains | 800–2,000 m | 20–50 | 80–200 | Free data, worldwide |
| Range or region, 100–2,000 km² (Pro) | High mountains | 1,500–4,000 m | 50–100 | 100–500 | Free data, worldwide |
Relief is the highest minus the lowest elevation in your selection (the tool shows both under Map data). Interval = relief ÷ 50, rounded up to 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100 or 200 m (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 50, 80, 100, 200, 250 or 500 ft). The last column applies the 1947 National Map Accuracy Standard, interval ≥ 3.29 × the data's vertical RMSE: about 0.3 m for lidar, 5.1 m for the US 10 m data and 18 m for SRTM.
Frequently asked questions
Is the contour map SVG a real vector file?
Yes. Every contour line is its own <path> element with real coordinates, not an embedded picture, so it scales to any size and opens as editable lines in Figma, Illustrator, Inkscape, Affinity Designer and laser software. The Boulder sample at 10 m holds about 140 paths.
What is the difference between the free SVG and the layered SVG?
The free SVG has one path per line with no groups or labels, sized in pixels like the PNG. The Pro layered SVG puts every elevation in its own group (for example elev-1600m), which Inkscape shows as a layer, draws index lines twice as thick, keeps the elevation labels in a separate labels group, and is sized in millimeters at a stated scale.
How do I use the SVG for laser cutting?
Use the layered SVG. Each elevation group becomes one board: cut that level's line and score the next level up as a guide for gluing. Hide the labels group or set it to engrave. Lines that run off the edge of your area stay open, so close each layer along the frame in your editor, or choose an area where the lines close on themselves.
How do I import the SVG into Figma?
Drag the .svg file onto the Figma canvas, or open it in a text editor, copy everything and paste it into Figma. Figma keeps each path editable and turns the elevation groups of the layered SVG into groups in the layers panel, so you can recolor or hide whole elevations at once.
What scale is the layered SVG?
You choose the sheet width in millimeters, 420 mm by default, and the height follows the shape of your area. The scale is written in the file: a 9 km wide area on a 420 mm sheet is about 1:21,429. Line widths are 0.25 mm for intermediate contours and 0.5 mm for index contours at the default width of 1.
Can I change colors and line widths after downloading?
Yes. Both files style lines with a short CSS block at the top: change stroke-width there, or select a group in your editor and change its stroke. Index lines carry the class i, so you can restyle them separately.
More contour tools and guides
Contour map generatorAny area and interval, with free PNG, GeoJSON, SVG and KML downloads.Topographic map generatorElevation tints, labeled index lines and print sheets with a scale bar.Google Earth contour linesKML and KMZ contour overlays that sit on Google Earth terrain.Contour map DXFLayered DXF with Z values for AutoCAD, Civil 3D, SketchUp and QGIS.Elevation contour map guideWhere the elevation data comes from, its accuracy and how to pick an interval.Land contour map guideRead slope, ridges, valleys and drainage on a property or farm.