Help:Elevation
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 | This help page is a how-to guide. It details processes or procedures of some aspect(s) of Wikipedia's norms and practices. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, and may reflect varying levels of consensus and vetting. |
This is a guide for using wikitext to properly display elevation. Elevation should most commonly be displayed in both meters (metres) and international feet, with metric elevation displayed first for most areas, but elevation in feet displayed first for Liberia, the United States, or a U.S. territory.[a] The International System of Units symbol "m" is usually preferred to either "meters" or "metres" spelled out. Feet may either be spelled out or use the standard symbol "ft". All elevations are now calculated from a geoid, so the outdated phrase "above mean sea level" should not be used.
Metric elevation
Metric elevation should be displayed first for areas not exclusively within the United States or Liberia.
Inline elevation
- Precise inline elevations in meters can use wikitext like "
an elevation of {{convert|491|m|0|abbr=in}}" to display "an elevation of 491 m (1,611 feet)." - Less precise inline elevations in meters can use wikitext like "
an elevation of about {{convert|500|m|abbr=in}}" to display "an elevation of about 500 m (1,600 feet)." - To use an elevation in meters as an adverb, use wikitext like "
the {{convert|4805.59|m|0|abbr=in|adj=on}} summit" to display "the 4,805.59 m (15,766-foot) summit."
Elevation in tables
| Wikitext | Result |
|---|---|
|align=center|{{convert|3052|m|0|abbr=in}}
|
3,052 m (10,013 feet) |
|align=center|{{convert|3052|m|0|abbr=in|disp=br}}
|
3,052 m 10,013 feet |
{{epi/moft|3052}}
|
3052 m 10,013 ft |
Elevation in feet
Elevation in feet should be displayed first for areas solely within Liberia, the United States, or a U.S. territory.
Inline elevation
- Inline elevations in feet[b][c][d] can use wikitext like "
an elevation of {{convert|292|ft|0}}" to display "an elevation of 292 feet (89 m)." - Precise inline elevations in meters (such as those from a National Geodetic Survey data sheet) should use wikitext like "
an elevation of {{convert|4401.2|m|0|order=flip}}" to display "an elevation of 14,440 feet (4,401.2 m)." - To use an elevation in feet as an adverb, use wikitext like "
the {{convert|14271|ft|0|adj=on}} summit" to display "the 14,271-foot (4,350 m) summit."
Elevation in tables
| Wikitext | Result |
|---|---|
|align=center|{{convert|10013|ft|0}}
|
10,013 feet (3,052 m) |
|align=center|{{convert|10013|ft|0|abbr=out|disp=br}}
|
10,013 feet 3,052 m |
{{epi/ftam|10013}}
|
10,013 ft 3052 m |
{{epi/ftom|3052}}
|
10,013 ft 3052 m |
Notes
- ^ Although the international foot is the primary unit of length in the United States, the U.S. National Geodetic Survey, the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the United States Geological Survey use the International System of Units for all precision measurements.
- ^ The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) displays elevations in both meters and international feet. All GNIS elevations are rounded to the nearest whole meter. Elevations in international feet are created by dividing the elevation in meters by 0.3048 and rounding to the nearest whole international foot. This means that GNIS elevations in international feet will skip values which do not correspond to a whole meter, e.g., from 30 m (98 feet) to 31 m (102 feet).
- ^ The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) will have two separate feature listings for a populated place that is also a civil entity, e.g., a municipality or a census-designated place. The feature listing for a populated place will usually focus on the community center, while the feature listing for a civil entity will usually focus on the centroid of the entity. In some cases, these two locations may be a significant distance and elevation apart. For example, the GNIS gives the location of the populated place of Los Angeles, California as 34°03′08″N 118°14′37″W / 34.0522342°N 118.2436849°W at an elevation of 292 feet (89 m), while it gives the location of the City of Los Angeles, California as 18.58 miles (29.90 km) away at 34°09′41″N 118°32′24″W / 34.1613851°N 118.5399543°W at an elevation of 837 feet (255 m). In this particular case, the populated place listing is much more representative of the city.
- ^ The United States Census Bureau provides precise centroids for the census geometries calculated for each decennial census. The United States Geological Survey Elevation Point Query Service (EPQS) can be used to find the approximate elevation of a geographic coordinate location.
See also
Editing Wikitext at Wikibooks.
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