what does surface elevation mean
For other uses, see Elevation (disambiguation) . Elevation histogram of the surface of the Earth â approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered with water. A sign at 8000 feet (2438 meters) in the San Bernardino Mountains.The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic system, vertical datum). topographical map is the main type of map used to depict elevation, often through use of contour lines. In a Geographic Information System (GIS), digital elevation models (DEM) are commonly used to represent the surface (topography) of a place, through a raster (grid) dataset of elevations.