Michigan Elevation & Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of Michigan, shaded from 560 ft on the southeast side to 1,980 ft on Mount Curwood
Elevation
1,980 ft 605 m1,620 ft 495 m1,450 ft 440 m1,090 ft 335 m740 ft 225 m560 ft 170 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.
State area
Fades everything outside the official state boundary (US Census).

Elevation Data

Michigan averages about 900 ft (275 m) above sea level across all its land. Its ground runs from 560 ft on the southeast side to 1,980 ft on Mount Curwood.

Average elevation
900 ft 275 m
all land in Michigan
Highest
1,980 ft 605 m
on Mount Curwood
Lowest
560 ft 170 m
on the southeast side

Michigan spans about 1,420 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 land900 ft275 m
Highest point
In Michigan, on Mount Curwood (3DEP terrain model; no NGS survey height)
1,980 ft605 m
Lowest point
In Michigan, on the southeast side
560 ft170 m

Elevation profile, west to east

207 mi west to east through Detroit.

Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of Michigan, shaded from 560 ft on the southeast side to 1,980 ft on Mount Curwood
State boundary (dashed) over shaded terrain, with contours every 100 ft (30 m).
Location
State in the East North Central division of the Midwest region, United States
Population
10,140,459 2024 est.
Land area
56,612.6 sq mi + 40,100.7 sq mi water
Density
179 per sq mi
Counties
83
Time zones
Eastern UTC−5 / −4, Central UTC−6 / −5
Landform regions
Central Lowland 85%, Superior Upland 15%
Drains to
Great Lakes
⤓ 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 states sharing a border, by average

  1. Minnesota1,220 ft
  2. Wisconsin1,080 ft
  3. Ohio930 ft
  4. Michigan900 ft
  5. Indiana740 ft
  6. Illinois630 ft

Rankings by average elevation

  • States in the United States31st highest of 52

Peaks and hills highest inside

  • Mount Curwood1,980 ft
  • Mount Arvon1,980 ft
  • Summit Peak1,950 ft
  • Underwood Hill1,870 ft
  • Government Peak1,850 ft
All 83 counties by average elevation
  1. Iron County1,540 ft
  2. Gogebic County1,470 ft
  3. Baraga County1,340 ft
  4. Marquette County1,240 ft
  5. Otsego County1,220 ft
  6. Crawford County1,210 ft
  7. Missaukee County1,210 ft
  8. Dickinson County1,180 ft
  9. Wexford County1,170 ft
  10. Roscommon County1,170 ft
  11. Osceola County1,170 ft
  12. Oscoda County1,130 ft
  13. Ontonagon County1,120 ft
  14. Kalkaska County1,110 ft
  15. Hillsdale County1,060 ft
  16. Clare County1,050 ft
  17. Houghton County1,030 ft
  18. Ogemaw County1,020 ft
  19. Mecosta County1,010 ft
  20. Jackson County980 ft
  21. Lake County960 ft
  22. Branch County960 ft
  23. Montmorency County960 ft
  24. Calhoun County940 ft
  25. Oakland County930 ft
  26. Livingston County930 ft
  27. Antrim County930 ft
  28. Ingham County910 ft
  29. Grand Traverse County900 ft
  30. Eaton County890 ft
  31. Montcalm County880 ft
  32. Barry County880 ft
  33. Kalamazoo County880 ft
  34. Washtenaw County880 ft
  35. Newaygo County880 ft
  36. Lapeer County870 ft
  37. Alger County860 ft
  38. Isabella County860 ft
  39. St. Joseph County850 ft
  40. Keweenaw County850 ft
  41. Cass County840 ft
  42. Alcona County830 ft
  43. Lenawee County820 ft
  44. Emmet County800 ft
  45. Ionia County800 ft
  46. Kent County790 ft
  47. Benzie County790 ft
  48. Shiawassee County790 ft
  49. Genesee County790 ft
  50. Manistee County790 ft
  51. Charlevoix County790 ft
  52. Menominee County790 ft
  53. Gladwin County780 ft
  54. Luce County770 ft
  55. Clinton County770 ft
  56. Sanilac County770 ft
  57. Cheboygan County760 ft
  58. Oceana County760 ft
  59. Leelanau County760 ft
  60. Presque Isle County750 ft
  61. Van Buren County740 ft
  62. Schoolcraft County730 ft
  63. Iosco County730 ft
  64. Delta County730 ft
  65. Alpena County730 ft
  66. Gratiot County730 ft
  67. Chippewa County720 ft
  68. Mackinac County720 ft
  69. Tuscola County710 ft
  70. Allegan County710 ft
  71. St. Clair County700 ft
  72. Berrien County690 ft
  73. Mason County690 ft
  74. Huron County690 ft
  75. Macomb County680 ft
  76. Arenac County670 ft
  77. Muskegon County670 ft
  78. Midland County670 ft
  79. Ottawa County660 ft
  80. Wayne County640 ft
  81. Monroe County640 ft
  82. Saginaw County630 ft
  83. Bay County620 ft
All 13 tribal lands by average elevation
  1. Lac Vieux Desert Reservation1,630 ft
  2. L'Anse Reservation980 ft
  3. Huron Potawatomi Reservation890 ft
  4. Hannahville Indian Community800 ft
  5. Isabella Reservation790 ft
  6. Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Reservation760 ft
  7. Little Traverse Bay Reservation750 ft
  8. Sault Ste. Marie Reservation740 ft
  9. Grand Traverse Reservation730 ft
  10. Pokagon Reservation710 ft
  11. Little River Reservation690 ft
  12. Bay Mills Reservation650 ft
  13. Ontonagon Reservation640 ft
How we measure
  • Average: every USGS 3DEP bare-earth cell of land inside the Census state boundary (TIGER/Line, Jan 1 2026), weighted equally, on a 10 arc-second (≈1,010 ft, 309 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.
  • Pits: the lowest point is the lowest ground outside closed hollows (quarry floors, mine pits, terrain-model artifacts): any hollow under 0.4 sq mi (1 km²), and any hollow under 2 sq mi (5 km²) whose floor is more than 100 ft (30 m) below its rim; and outside patches below sea level of under 0.4 sq mi (1 km²). The single lowest 3DEP cell, 370 ft at 42.0554° N, 83.2740° W, is in such a hollow or patch and is not counted.
  • Nearby Places: neighboring states 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 state 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).
  • Counties: each one's average on its own grid (1 arc-second, coarser for the largest), the same figure its own page shows.
  • 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.