How do I find the elevation of a spot on a map?
For a point in the United States, enter its coordinates or pick it on the map in the elevation tool here: it asks the USGS for the ground height there and shows it in feet and meters. On a map itself, height is drawn as contour lines, which Google Maps shows in its Terrain view and USGS topographic maps print in brown.
Ask the USGS for one point
The elevation tool sends the point you choose to the USGS Elevation Point Query Service and shows the ground height it returns, with the size of the terrain cell it came from. Use your device location, paste coordinates, or open the map and tap the spot. It works for US points only.
Turn on Terrain in Google Maps
On a computer, open Google Maps, point to Layers, click More and choose Terrain. In the Android app, tap Layers at the top right and tap the Terrain map type. Google’s help says contour lines then show elevation and gray numbers show altitude.
How to read contour lines
The USGS describes contours as imaginary lines joining points of the same height, usually measured above mean sea level. A spot between two lines lies between their two heights. Lines close together mean a steep slope; lines far apart mean flatter ground.
A map height is the ground, not you
Every one of these gives the height of the ground at the point. A phone’s altitude reading is a separate measurement and can disagree with it, more so on an upper floor. To see how the ground rises and falls between two points, draw an elevation profile.