Topographic mapping
LiDAR Topographic Survey & Terrain Mapping
Drone-based topographic survey data — bare-earth surfaces, contours, breaklines, and CAD-ready digital terrain models for design teams across the Intermountain West.
Topographic Mapping
A topographic survey is the starting point for almost every civil project — and it is usually the thing holding the schedule. Aerial LiDAR collects the same ground in a fraction of the time, over far more area, and in terrain a ground crew would take days to cover.
Utah LiDAR performs the field collection and data production. Your Professional Land Surveyor reviews the results and certifies them. That division keeps the workflow fast without changing who is responsible for the stamped product.
What's involved
Existing-ground surfaces
A clean, continuous surface of the site as it sits today — the baseline every grading, drainage, and earthwork decision is measured against.
Contours
Generated at the interval your project requires, smoothed and checked against the bare-earth model rather than draped over raw returns.
Digital terrain models
DTM / TIN surfaces built from classified ground points, ready to import as a Civil 3D surface without rebuilding from scratch.
Breaklines
Tops and toes of slope, ditch flowlines, road edges, pad edges, and grade breaks digitized so the surface behaves correctly in design.
Spot elevations
Checked elevations at the locations your team needs them — pads, inverts, control points, and critical grade references.
Bare-earth classification
Vegetation, structures, equipment, and noise separated from ground returns so the terrain model reflects actual dirt, not brush canopy.
Deliverables for design and grading
Existing conditions, without the bottleneck
- Bare-earth classified point cloud
- Existing-ground DTM / TIN surface
- Contours at specified interval
- Breaklines and grade breaks
- Spot elevations and control report
- CAD-ready surfaces for Civil 3D / AutoCAD
- Preliminary grading-design data
Whether it's a subdivision, a road corridor, a pad site, a reclamation area, or a mass grading project, we hand your design team a terrain model they can start working in the day it arrives.
Common questions
What is LiDAR topographic mapping?
LiDAR topographic mapping uses laser scanning to collect elevations and existing-ground features across a site for development, engineering, drainage, grading, and planning workflows. The result is a measured terrain surface with contours and features that design teams can work from directly. Where a deliverable constitutes professional land surveying, final products are reviewed or certified by the appropriate licensed professional.
What information is included in a LiDAR topographic map?
Depending on the scope: ground elevations, contours, slopes, drainage features, roads, buildings, walls, ditches, embankments, other major surface features, breaklines, and a digital terrain surface. The feature list is agreed before collection so the data matches what your design workflow needs.
Can LiDAR create bare-earth terrain models?
Yes. Returns are classified, and the ground-classified points are used to build a digital terrain model that removes the effect of vegetation and above-ground objects. Complete ground visibility is not guaranteed under extremely dense or continuous vegetation, so surfaces in those areas are interpolated and should be treated accordingly.
What contour interval can LiDAR mapping provide?
Contour interval should be selected from the terrain, required accuracy, point density, control, and the purpose of the map — not chosen first. A tighter contour interval does not by itself mean the underlying data meets a correspondingly tighter vertical accuracy, so we set interval and collection parameters together.
Is LiDAR topographic mapping suitable for grading design?
Yes, when collection, control, processing, and deliverables are built around the engineer's design requirements. That usually means an existing-ground surface, breaklines at grade changes, contours at the design interval, drainage features, and CAD-compatible file formats.
What is the difference between a digital terrain model and a digital surface model?
A digital terrain model (DTM) represents the bare-earth terrain with vegetation and structures removed. A digital surface model (DSM) represents the highest visible surfaces, including tree canopy, buildings, and other objects. Grading and earthwork work from the DTM; clearance, canopy, and volume-of-objects questions use the DSM.
What site information is needed before collecting topographic data?
Project boundary, required coordinate system, vertical datum, desired deliverables, accuracy requirements, existing control information and benchmarks, vegetation conditions, known site hazards, and the intended use of the data. The more of that we have up front, the fewer surprises at delivery.
Can LiDAR topographic data be delivered for Civil 3D or other CAD software?
Yes, depending on scope. Common formats include point clouds (LAS/LAZ), TIN surfaces, contours, breaklines, DWG or DXF, LandXML, CSV, and raster surfaces — whatever your team's workflow already uses.
Other services
Service areas
Where We Provide Topographic Mapping
Utah LiDAR mobilizes from the Uintah Basin for topographic mapping across the Intermountain West. Choose a state to see terrain notes, mobilization details, and local project considerations.
All service areas →All deliverables are provided as preliminary or supporting data. Stamped or permitted use requires review and certification by a licensed Professional Land Surveyor.
Who we work with