McKenzie County, ND Elevation & Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of McKenzie County, North Dakota, shaded from 1,830 ft on the northeast side to 2,810 ft on Saddle Butte
Elevation
2,810 ft 860 m2,570 ft 785 m2,440 ft 745 m2,200 ft 670 m1,950 ft 595 m1,830 ft 560 m
Zoom in for contour lines
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.
County area
Fades everything outside the official county boundary (US Census).

Elevation Data

McKenzie County averages about 2,250 ft (685 m) above sea level across all its land. Its ground runs from 1,830 ft on the northeast side to 2,810 ft on Saddle Butte.

Average elevation
2,250 ft 685 m
all land inside the county
Highest
2,810 ft 860 m
on Saddle Butte
Lowest
1,830 ft 560 m
on the northeast side

McKenzie County spans about 980 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 land2,250 ft685 m
Highest point
Inside the county, on Saddle Butte (3DEP terrain model; no NGS survey height)
2,810 ft860 m
Lowest point
Inside the county, on the northeast side
1,830 ft560 m

Elevation profile, south to north

49 mi south to north through Watford City.

Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of McKenzie County, North Dakota, shaded from 1,830 ft on the northeast side to 2,810 ft on Saddle Butte
County boundary (dashed) over shaded terrain, with contours every 100 ft (30 m).
Location
County in North Dakota, United States
Population
14,782 2024 est.
Land area
2,760.1 sq mi + 100.3 sq mi water
Density
5.4 per sq mi
Time zones
Central UTC−6 / −5, Mountain UTC−7 / −6
Landform region
Great Plains
Drains to
Gulf of America
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Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, USGS

Nearby Places

Neighboring counties sharing a border, by average

  1. Wibaux County, MT2,710 ft
  2. Golden Valley County2,680 ft
  3. Billings County2,570 ft
  4. Richland County, MT2,270 ft
  5. Dunn County2,260 ft
  6. McKenzie County2,250 ft
  7. Williams County2,210 ft
  8. Mountrail County2,190 ft

Rankings by average elevation

Peaks and hills highest inside

  • Saddle Butte, McKenzie County2,810 ft
  • Grassy Butte, McKenzie County2,760 ft
  • Aura Butte2,750 ft
  • Lone Butte, McKenzie County2,751 ft
  • Flat Rock Butte2,740 ft
All 21 towns in McKenzie County by typical elevation
  1. Keene Township2,380 ft
  2. Blue Butte Township2,350 ft
  3. Arnegard Township2,320 ft
  4. Hawkeye Township2,310 ft
  5. Antelope Creek Township2,310 ft
  6. Alex Township2,270 ft
  7. Grail Township2,260 ft
  8. Mandaree2,260 ft
  9. Arnegard2,250 ft
  10. Elm Tree Township2,240 ft
  11. Alexander2,200 ft
  12. Randolph Township2,190 ft
  13. Tri Township2,170 ft
  14. Charbon Township2,120 ft
  15. Twin Valley Township2,100 ft
  16. Watford City2,100 ft
  17. Riverview Township2,080 ft
  18. Sioux Township1,960 ft
  19. Four Bears Village1,940 ft
  20. East Fairview1,900 ft
  21. Yellowstone Township1,900 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.