HELP! Looking for a heightmap of area in and around Area 51!

I'm trying to replicate Area 51 and the surrounding area (many square miles out) as closely as I possibly can in the video game 'Minecraft'. There're programs that allow heightmaps to be imported into the game which in return creates a map as accurately as can be done using the height levels from a heightmap. The result is a custom map with elevation accurate to the real life area. If you play the game then you can probably understand what I mean, but if not don't worry because what I'm looking for doesn't require Minecraft knowledge.

Back to my main point of this thread...

I've looked somewhat online for anything that could be of any help, but have found very little. If anyone knows of anything that could be helpful to my situation please let me know on this thread. When I say 'heightmap' I'm not talking about something like...



This is what I'm looking for...





So if anyone knows of any heightmaps like those last two of the area around Area 51, please share them.


Aside from that, I know what I'm looking for may not exist so if you know of anything else that could be of any help regarding elevation of that area pass that my way too. This means anything...not just heightmaps like those I linked to above.

Thanks in advance!

NOTE!
(I have to get back to studying for an exam tonight so I won't be able to reply until later tomorrow)

reply to post by SeriousIndividual


You gotta get yoself some pussy, mayyng!

What you are looking for is topography. Here is a link to google image search of topographic maps of area 51. I never looked at them so I am only assuming that that is what they are.

Two sources for this data. One is to learn how to use the USGS seamless data server. Check out
seamless.usgs.gov...
The other is to pull the data from SRTM:
dds.cr.usgs.gov...

I have never processed this data raw, so you are on your own to process the data into a form you can use. Both websites need a bit of hacking.

If all you need is a PNG or similar that goes from light to dark depending on elevation, you can run SPLAT!
www.qsl.net...
SPLAT! uses the SRTM data to do viewshed analysis, but you get an image of the height as I described.

Last of all, there is a yahoogroup that does modeling on Groom Lake for the 3D structures. I did a search and didn't find it, but it does exist.

reply to post by emberscott


Thanks, I'll probably end up mainly using maps like these and Google Earth. It looks like any other way is way too complicated to bother with.

reply to post by gariac


I looked at that first link and seemed to be on the right track. I even zoomed in to the area I need and saved a section which went to a rar file with some other files I have no clue what to do with. That Spalt! program looks way too complicated. Rather than just installing it like you would say Google Earth, it looks like I'll need many other things installed and working correctly just to get that to work. I'm really not interested in spending a bunch of time to get one thing to work which may or may not end up working at all in the end. Do you have any idea how I could use any of those things you linked to simply get a heightmap saved as a image file? I don't see why it has to be so difficult for something seemingly so simple. After trying for about an hour to figure out where to go with these zipped files, rar files, many odd file extensions, folders of this and that.....it just keeps leading me in a direction with no end. Where in the world is a program that allows someone to zoom into an area and download a black and white heightmap just like I've linked in my original post? It seems like it should be so simple!

Besides all that, thanks for pointing me in the direction of these sites because they may end up being of some use in the end. If you find out anything else let me know.

reply to post by fairguy


aliens > all else

reply to post by SeriousIndividual


I don't think you are living up to your handle (serious individual). Here is a not so good image map I ran from radiomobile. The results are much better with SPLAT. Regarding the RAR files you got from USGS seemless, you need to do some research to find the proper program to do the conversion. I don't have them handy on this computer, i.e. I'd end up doing your research.

www.lazygranch.com...

Do a save as on the file. Most browsers can't handle tif directly. This image is 50km by 50km, roughly centered on Groom Lake. You can install radiomobile yourself and crank these out all day long, that is if you are a serious individual.
www.cplus.org...

reply to post by gariac


My problem is I can't find anything that explains how to install SPLAT!. I'm going to do everything I can with that heightmap you linked me to and see how that turns out, but as for installing SPLAT! I have no idea right now.

Not sure on the maps, but that’s a cool idea. I am generally a high graphics gamer, but watching my son play minecraft piqued my interest. Now, its worse than crack. Soon as I quit, start thinking about how close I may be to those damn diamonds.... Hope the people who designed that game rot in hell (not really, just saying), my SWOR game hasn’t seen any action since.....