# PublicGIS Topo > Free terrain API and MCP server from PublicGIS: elevation, slope, aspect, elevation profiles, terrain statistics, place names, watersheds, USGS quads, outdoor conditions and grid references. - Map: https://map.publicgis.com/?topo=1 - API page: https://www.publicgis.com/topo/docs/api - MCP page: https://www.publicgis.com/topo/docs/mcp - REST base: https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1 (JSON, no key needed, free key for higher limits) - MCP server (Streamable HTTP): https://www.publicgis.com/topo/mcp ## Endpoints - GET POST https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/elevation: Ground elevation in meters for up to 500 points, from the same lidar and 3DEP terrain models the map uses (1 m lidar where it exists in the US, 10 m elsewhere in the US, about 30 m worldwide). MCP tool get_elevation. - GET https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/terrain: Elevation, slope (degrees and percent grade), aspect (the compass direction the slope faces) and local relief within 1 km with the highest and lowest points, computed from lidar and 3DEP terrain models. open_water is true, with a note, where the point is sea-level water with no ground height. MCP tool get_terrain. - GET POST https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/profile: Distance, total climb and descent (rises under 2 m ignored), low and high points, average grade, steepest 50 m stretch, an estimated hiking time (Tobler's hiking function) and evenly spaced elevation samples along a path of up to 5,000 points and 500 km. MCP tool get_elevation_profile. - GET POST https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/area: Elevation range and mean, slope statistics with the share of ground in each steepness class, and the share facing each compass direction, for a bounding box or polygon of up to 100 square km. MCP tool get_area_terrain. - GET https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/place: What is at a point: the nearest town and its direction, county and state, the 12 digit USGS watershed (HUC12), the USGS 7.5 minute quad, and named features nearby (summits, lakes, streams, springs, gaps and more) with distance and bearing. Names and quads cover the United States; town, county and state work worldwide. MCP tool describe_place. - GET https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/search: Find towns, summits, lakes, streams, trails, parks and addresses by name. Pass lat and lng to prefer results near a point. Returns up to 8 results with coordinates. MCP tool search_places. - GET https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/features: USGS named features (GNIS) within a radius, nearest first: summits, lakes, streams, springs, falls, gaps, ridges, valleys, glaciers, mines, trails and more. Filter by class, for example Spring or Summit. United States only. MCP tool find_named_features. - GET https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/weather: National Weather Service forecast for the next 7 days at a US point (2.5 km grid), active watches and warnings, and how much colder or warmer the exact spot should be than the forecast because of its height (standard lapse rate of 6.5 °C per km). MCP tool get_weather. - GET https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/snow: The nearest NRCS SNOTEL mountain weather stations within 60 km with their latest hourly snow depth, snow water equivalent and air temperature, elevation, distance and direction. Western US and Alaska. MCP tool get_snow. - GET https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/water: Up to five of the nearest active USGS stream gauges within 30 km with the latest flow (cubic feet per second), gage height and water temperature, plus the next high and low tides at the nearest NOAA tide station within 25 km. United States. MCP tool get_water. - GET https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/fires: Active wildfires within 50 miles, about 80 km (name, acres, percent contained, discovery date, distance and direction), whether the point is inside a current fire perimeter, satellite smoke overhead, and the current EPA AirNow air quality category. United States. MCP tool get_fires_and_smoke. - GET https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/land: Who manages the land and whether the public can enter (PAD-US), which directions a different landowner or designation starts within 61 m (200 ft), the township, range and section (PLSS), drone airspace (FAA LAANC ceiling, security restrictions, national parks, the nearest public-use airport within 5 miles), Forest Service roads and trails open to motor vehicles within 400 m, and Forest Service trailheads and campgrounds nearby. United States. MCP tool get_land. - GET https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/geology: The mapped rock or sediment unit at a point: name, rock type, geologic age in words and millions of years, a description, and the source geologic map. Worldwide, best in the United States. MCP tool get_geology. - GET https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/maps: Every USGS historical topographic map covering a point (1880s to 2000s, with year, scale and GeoPDF and GeoTIFF download links) and the current US Topo map. United States. MCP tool find_topo_maps. - GET https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/sky: Sunrise, sunset, solar noon, civil, nautical and astronomical twilight, golden hours, day length, moonrise, moonset and moon phase with the next full and new moon, for a date at a point, in the point's local time zone. Worldwide. MCP tool get_sun_and_moon. - GET https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/grid: The point in decimal degrees, degrees minutes seconds, UTM, MGRS and US National Grid, plus magnetic declination and inclination from the World Magnetic Model 2025, for map and compass work. Worldwide. MCP tool get_grid_reference. - GET https://www.publicgis.com/api/topo/v1/report: One call for the full terrain and outdoors picture at a point: terrain, place names, land and access, geology, weather, snow, water, wildfires and air, sun and moon, and grid references. Sections that a source could not answer in time are listed in unavailable. MCP tool get_location_report. ## Notes - Coordinates are WGS84 decimal degrees; elevations and distances are meters. - Every response has data, sources and request_id. Credit the listed sources. - Values are estimates, not a survey or a safety determination.