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Contour line elevations

I cannot see the elevation numbers for the contour lines in the topo maps in the earthmate iphone app. At some zoom levels a very small rectangle appears that might be the elevation of the contours but the font is too small to read. Is there any way to make the elevation numbers larger?

  • @1096906 Moved to a more appropriate forum

  • I don't know of any way to adjust this. AFAIK, elevations are only visible on "major" contours (the ones that display as a bit bolder at high zoom levels) and only at zoom levels which are high enough to show that distinction. Oddly, the elevation numbers move about as you zoom in and out. Also, they are sometimes hidden behind the rendering of streets. Sometimes it's necessary to pan quite a ways to even find an elevation number on a given contour line.

  • Given that the whole essence of a topo map is to provide elevation information this seems like a major issue to address. The current elevation marking of the contour lines is essentially unreadable in real life outdoor situations unless you take a picture of the screen image and then zoom in. Also when i view a point on the map no information is provided for the elevation at that position. I get a heading and distance. Given that each gps position on the map has an associated elevation it is not clear why that info is not provided. The elevation of your current position is provided in the information bar - why not other positions in the map

  • I think that the elevation for your current location is provided by the GPS, not the map. I don't know if the legacy DeLorme maps used by this application include machine-readable DEM data. They may only include the vector information used to render the contour lines. 

    This is not to say that it's unreasonable to ask for it. Just that this particular map may not have enough information to provide it - even if the app was capable of it.

    OTOH, the newer Explore app, which can use what appear to be the same legacy maps, does provide elevation data for a dropped pin. Explore is only compatible with inReach devices beginning with GPSMAP 66i, which is the first iR device which is fully compatible with the Garmin ecosystem. As a result of that kind of migration, I would not expect any significant enhancements to the Earthmate app going forward. But that's just a guess.

  • Given that each gps position on the map has an associated elevation it is not clear why that info is not provided. The elevation of your current position is provided in the information bar - why not other positions in the map

  • The elevation you are talking about is PROBABLY derived from the GPS fix, not the map. So it's only available for the current location.