San Luis Obispo County, CA Elevation & Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of San Luis Obispo County, California, shaded from sea level on the Pacific Ocean to 5,100 ft on Caliente Mountain
Elevation
5,100 ft 1,555 m3,820 ft 1,165 m3,190 ft 970 m1,910 ft 585 m640 ft 195 m0 ft 0 m
Zoom in for contour lines
USGS 3DEP · U.S. Census Bureau
⤓ Download this map
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.
County area
Fades everything outside the official county boundary (US Census).

Elevation Data

San Luis Obispo County averages about 1,530 ft (470 m) above sea level across all its land. Its ground runs from sea level on the Pacific Ocean to 5,100 ft on Caliente Mountain.

Average elevation
1,530 ft 470 m
all land inside the county
Highest
5,100 ft 1,555 m
on Caliente Mountain
Lowest
0 ft 0 m
at sea level on the Pacific Ocean

San Luis Obispo County spans about 5,100 ft of height, so no single spot tells the whole story. The ruler shows where most of its land lies, and where the other numbers you'll see come from.

FigureElevation
Average of all land1,530 ft470 m
Highest point
Inside the county, on Caliente Mountain (3DEP terrain model; no NGS survey height)
5,100 ft1,555 m
Lowest point
Where the land meets the Pacific Ocean
0 ft0 m

Elevation profile, west to east

65 mi west to east through San Luis Obispo.

Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of San Luis Obispo County, California, shaded from sea level on the Pacific Ocean to 5,100 ft on Caliente Mountain
County boundary (dashed) over shaded terrain, with contours every 500 ft (152 m).
Location
County in California, United States
Population
281,843 2024 est.
Land area
3,300.8 sq mi + 314.9 sq mi water
Density
85 per sq mi
Time zone
Pacific UTC−8 / −7
Landform region
Pacific Border 99%
Drains to
Pacific Ocean 71%, Soda Lake basin (does not reach the sea) 25%
⤓ Download this map

WebP, 1200 × 900. Free to use: credit “ElevationOf.com” with a link to this page.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, USGS

Nearby Places

Neighboring counties sharing a border, by average

  1. Kern County2,390 ft
  2. Santa Barbara County1,800 ft
  3. San Luis Obispo County1,530 ft
  4. Monterey County1,440 ft
  5. Kings County380 ft

Rankings by average elevation

Peaks and hills highest inside

  • Caliente Mountain5,100 ft
  • Machesna Mountain4,060 ft
  • Pine Mountain3,580 ft
  • Hi Mountain3,190 ft
  • Pine Ridge3,190 ft
All 30 towns in San Luis Obispo County by typical elevation
  1. Creston1,120 ft
  2. Shandon1,040 ft
  3. Santa Margarita1,010 ft
  4. Oak Shores1,010 ft
  5. Lake Nacimiento990 ft
  6. Garden Farms960 ft
  7. Atascadero940 ft
  8. Whitley Gardens920 ft
  9. Templeton830 ft
  10. El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)800 ft
  11. San Miguel, San Luis Obispo County620 ft
  12. California Polytechnic State University390 ft
  13. Blacklake350 ft
  14. Nipomo340 ft
  15. Los Berros270 ft
  16. Edna270 ft
  17. Los Ranchos260 ft
  18. Cambria240 ft
  19. Woodlands240 ft
  20. San Luis Obispo240 ft
  21. Avila Beach160 ft
  22. Callender150 ft
  23. Arroyo Grande120 ft
  24. Los Osos96 ft
  25. Pismo Beach85 ft
  26. Morro Bay73 ft
  27. San Simeon69 ft
  28. Grover Beach65 ft
  29. Cayucos57 ft
  30. Oceano55 ft
How we measure
  • Average: every USGS 3DEP bare-earth cell of land inside the Census county boundary (TIGER/Line, Jan 1 2026), weighted equally, on a 2 arc-second (≈200 ft, 62 m) grid, coarsened from 1 arc-second so the whole area fits one run. Land means the boundary minus Census area water (on this grid, water areas of at least half a cell).
  • Highest and lowest: the highest land cell, re-read at 1 arc-second around the 25 highest grid cells; it is a named summit, so its height is the peak method: the 3DEP top on a ~7 ft (2 m) window, or the NGS published height when a survey mark sits within 160 ft (50 m) of it. Lowest: the lowest land cell, re-read at 1 arc-second around the 25 lowest grid cells; coastal ground within 3 ft (1 m) of named tidal water counts as sea level.
  • Nearby Places: neighboring counties and rankings use each one's average elevation, on its own grid, the same figure its page shows. Peaks and hills: the highest summits inside the county with at least 980 ft (300 m) of prominence, then the highest federal (GNIS) summits inside it 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).
  • Towns: each town's typical elevation (population-weighted median of its own 2020 blocks at 1 arc-second); a town is listed when any of its 2020 residents live in the county.
  • 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 (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.
  • Sources: USGS 3DEP, GNIS, Watershed Boundary Dataset and physiographic provinces; U.S. Census Bureau (TIGER boundaries and water, 2020 blocks, 2024 population estimates, county adjacency); NOAA NGS survey heights; BTS time zones. All public domain.