World Physiographic Map from
NOAA Satellite Data
For more information, click here.
These images were generated from the ETOPO2v2 (2006) database.
ETOPO2v2 was created at NGDC from digital databases of seafloor
and land elevations on a 2-minute latitude/longitude grid (1
minute of latitude = 1 nautical mile, or 1.852 km). Assumed
illumination is from the west; shading is computed as a function
of the east-west slope of the surface with a nonlinear
exaggeration favoring low-relief areas. A Cylindrical Equidistant
projection was used for the world image, which spans 360 degrees
of of longitude from 180 West eastward to 180 East; latitude
coverage is from 90 degrees North to 90 degrees South. The
resolution of the gridded data varies from true 2-minute for the
Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean floors and all land masses to
5 minutes for the Arctic Ocean floor. Clicking on a square above
brings up a 512 x 512 pixel color relief image of the 45 degree
area selected, clicking on the 512 x 512 image brings up the
full-resolution 1350 x 1350 pixel (roughly 3 mb) color image of
the area.