ABSTRACT
Digital elevation modelling is very important to every discipline associated with the built environment and to others that require spatial information about terrain or surface configuration. The digital elevation model (DEM) has evolved over the years to become the simplest data structure used for storing information about the topography of the Earth’s surface. The influx of technology and its advancement has also made digital elevation models more affordable and more easily accessible. This chapter presents an examination of digital elevation models, including their historical evolution, representation, data sources and methods of generation.
