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If you
live and hike in the USA you can purchase for about £40, software to
turn the USGS free mapping data into excellent 3D views of the entire country
Here in the UK it is not so easy. However, I have purchased licences and data
for the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park. Here you can see
the higher moors in 3D, click on areas to see the views, and even browse a
fully rotatable and moveable 3D map of the entire area.
Above is the Edale Horseshoe as seen from about 4000 feet above sea level, hovering to the right of Lose Hill. The Kinder Scout plateau is to the right. The black line is the railway. It is easy to see the watershed in this view - the various eroded runoffs over millenia leading water to the thin indentation of the river.
The Main Areas of interest in the UK are:
WALES: SH44, 64, 66
PEAK; SE00,SK08 & 06
GLENCOE: NN04, 06, 24,26
LAKES: (Lots!)

As a hiker, maps are an essential piece of kit. However, it is rare that one gets the opportunity of seeing the area in 3D. So I set out to do just that in my home area of the Peak District.
GIS software
systems for doing this are either cheap or very expensive.
However, I did manage to do all these maps for an outlay of around £120

Animated
Contour Extraction
Taking the 2D map into the third dimension provides a unique visualisation
of the Ben Nevis range.


Terrain Modification
Bryce Object Controls







Overlay Application and Rendering