Digital Terrain Model (DTM)

This article provides the definition of a Digital Terrain Model.

The specialist definition is too detailed, so we will use a simplified explanation. A Digital Terrain Model (DTM) is a file that contains data about the terrain’s elevation.

Most often, these are raster files (similar to regular camera images) in GeoTIFF format, where each pixel, instead of representing a color, contains information about elevation (e.g., 245 m above sea level).

What is the source of these files? They are most often created based on laser scanning conducted from airplanes or satellites. In Poland, DTM data is publicly available for free and can be downloaded via Geoportal.gov.pl.