Descanso, CA Elevation & Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of Descanso, California, shaded from 2,600 ft on the northwest side to 4,310 ft on the north side
Elevation
4,310 ft 1,315 m3,880 ft 1,185 m3,670 ft 1,120 m3,240 ft 985 m2,810 ft 855 m2,600 ft 790 m
Contours every 100 ft, bold every 500 ft
USGS 3DEP · U.S. Census Bureau
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How to use this mapviews, tools and data
Elevation
Ground colored by height from green (lowest) to white (highest), with contour lines every 40–500 ft (USGS data).
Satellite
A 2016 satellite photo at 33 ft (10 m) detail; contours off.
3D
Tilt and turn the terrain; hills are raised 1.5×, or set ×1 for true height.
Click or tap anywhere
The exact elevation of that spot in ft and m.
Measure
Pick two points for the climb, descent and grade along a straight line.
Area
Fades everything outside the official CDP boundary (US Census).

Elevation Data

Descanso sits at about 3,770 ft (1,150 m) above sea level, worked out from 2020 Census block heights on USGS 3DEP, weighted by residents.

Typical elevation
3,770 ft 1,150 m
most residents: 3,420–4,090 ft
Lowest
2,600 ft 790 m
on the northwest side
Highest
4,310 ft 1,315 m
on the north side
Average
3,590 ft 1,095 m
all land inside the CDP boundary

Descanso spans about 1,710 ft of height, so no single spot tells the whole story. The ruler shows where its people live, and where the other numbers you'll see come from.

FigureElevation
Typical
Where people live: half of residents higher, half lower
3,770 ft1,150 m
Highest point
Inside the CDP boundary, on the north side
4,310 ft1,315 m
Lowest point
Inside the CDP boundary, on the northwest side
2,600 ft790 m
Town center
USGS map point for Descanso
3,400 ft1,035 m
Average of all land3,590 ft1,095 m
Nearest peak
Cuyamaca Peak, 3.1 mi north of the CDP boundary (NGS survey)
6,508 ft1,984 m

Elevation profile, west to east

4.2 mi west to east through the town center.

Altitude Effects

What 3,770 ft means day to day, worked out from the typical elevation.

Water boils at
205.0 °F96.1 °C

vs 212 °F at sea level; USDA: food takes longer to cook.

Air pressure
87% of sea level

26.1 inHg (88.3 kPa): each breath holds 13% less air.

Oxygen equivalent
18.3% at sea level

Air is still 21% oxygen, just thinner. Normal at the coast: 20.9%.

Sunburn
+8% more UV

EPA: UV rises about 2% for every 1,000 ft.

Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of Descanso, California, shaded from 2,600 ft on the northwest side to 4,310 ft on the north side
CDP boundary (dashed) over shaded terrain, with contours every 200 ft (61 m).
Location
Unincorporated community (census-designated place) in San Diego County, California, United States
Population
1,499 2020 Census
Land area
19.2 sq mi
Density
78 per sq mi
Coordinates
32.8528° N, 116.6159° W
Time zone
Pacific UTC−8 / −7
Landform region
Lower Californian
Drains to
Sweetwater River → Pacific Ocean
ZIP codes 2
91901 91916
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WebP, 1200 × 900. Free to use: credit “ElevationOf.com” with a link to this page.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, USGS

Nearby Places

Nearby towns by typical elevation

  1. Mount Laguna5,940 ft
  2. Julian4,230 ft
  3. Pine Valley3,770 ft
  4. Descanso3,770 ft
  5. Potrero2,350 ft
  6. Alpine1,910 ft
  7. San Diego Country Estates1,590 ft
  8. Crest1,540 ft
  9. Harbison Canyon1,210 ft
  10. Granite Hills650 ft
  11. Lakeside590 ft

Rankings by typical elevation

Peaks and hills nearest, by height

  • Cuyamaca Peak6,508 ft
  • North Peak5,980 ft
  • Viejas Mountain4,189 ft
  • Lyons Peak3,741 ft
  • El Cajon Mountain3,677 ft
How we measure
  • Typical elevation: the population-weighted median: every 2020 Census block inside the CDP boundary, at its USGS 3DEP height, weighted by the people who live there. Half of residents live higher, half lower.
  • Lowest, highest, average: USGS 3DEP bare-earth heights on a 1 arc-second (≈100 ft, 30 m) grid, land only, inside the Census CDP boundary (TIGER, Jan 1 2026).
  • Nearby Places: nearby towns and rankings use each town's typical elevation, so every town is compared like for like. Rankings count every city, town, township and census-designated place, including places inside a town. Peaks and hills: the nearest summits with at least 980 ft (300 m) of prominence within 62 mi (100 km), then federal (GNIS) summits within 16 mi (25 km) when there are fewer than 5; each is the 3DEP top on a ~7 ft (2 m) window, or the NGS published height when a usable survey mark sits within 160 ft (50 m) of it (shown as published).
  • Altitude effects: standard-atmosphere formulas applied to the typical elevation; UV from EPA's rule of thumb (about 2% per 1,000 ft).
  • Rounding: computed heights are rounded to 10 ft (5 m), or to 1 ft (1 m) under 100 ft; 3DEP is good to about a meter, not a foot. Published figures (FAA airport elevation, NGS survey heights) are shown as their publisher gives them.
  • Datum: North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). NGS plans to replace NAVD 88 with a new datum (NAPGD2022); heights will then shift slightly.
  • Descanso is an unincorporated community; figures cover the census-designated place, a statistical area.
  • Sources: USGS 3DEP, GNIS, Watershed Boundary Dataset and physiographic provinces; U.S. Census Bureau (boundaries, 2020 blocks, Gazetteer areas, ZIP code areas); BTS time zones; NOAA NGS survey heights. All public domain.