McLean County, ND Elevation & Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of McLean County, North Dakota, shaded from 1,610 ft on the northeast side to 2,299 ft on Dogden Butte
Elevation
2,300 ft 700 m2,130 ft 650 m2,040 ft 620 m1,870 ft 570 m1,700 ft 515 m1,610 ft 490 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

McLean County averages about 1,970 ft (600 m) above sea level across all its land. Its ground runs from 1,610 ft on the northeast side to 2,299 ft on Dogden Butte.

Average elevation
1,970 ft 600 m
all land inside the county
Highest
2,299 ft 701 m
on Dogden Butte
Lowest
1,610 ft 490 m
on the northeast side

McLean County spans about 690 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 land1,970 ft600 m
Highest point
Inside the county, on Dogden Butte (NGS survey height)
2,299 ft701 m
Lowest point
Inside the county, on the northeast side
1,610 ft490 m

Elevation profile, south to north

28 mi south to north through Garrison.

Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of McLean County, North Dakota, shaded from 1,610 ft on the northeast side to 2,299 ft on Dogden Butte
County boundary (dashed) over shaded terrain, with contours every 40 ft (12 m).
Location
County in North Dakota, United States
Population
9,845 2024 est.
Land area
2,110.3 sq mi + 217.7 sq mi water
Density
4.7 per sq mi
Time zone
Central UTC−6 / −5
Landform region
Great Plains
Drains to
Gulf of America 79%, Closed basin (does not reach the sea) 13%
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Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, USGS

Nearby Places

Neighboring counties sharing a border, by average

  1. Dunn County2,260 ft
  2. Mountrail County2,190 ft
  3. Oliver County2,050 ft
  4. Mercer County2,020 ft
  5. McLean County1,970 ft
  6. Ward County1,940 ft
  7. Burleigh County1,890 ft
  8. Sheridan County1,860 ft
  9. McHenry County1,540 ft

Rankings by average elevation

Peaks and hills highest inside

  • Dogden Butte2,299 ft
  • Blue Hill2,270 ft
  • Round Top Hill2,196 ft
  • Paint Hill2,086 ft
All 40 towns in McLean County by typical elevation
  1. Wilton2,180 ft
  2. Gate Township2,160 ft
  3. Max2,110 ft
  4. Douglas Township2,090 ft
  5. Roseglen Township2,090 ft
  6. Benedict2,090 ft
  7. Andrews Township2,070 ft
  8. Ruso2,070 ft
  9. Rosemont Township2,050 ft
  10. Otis Township2,050 ft
  11. Amundsville Township2,050 ft
  12. Underwood2,030 ft
  13. Cremerville Township2,020 ft
  14. White Shield2,010 ft
  15. Byersville Township2,010 ft
  16. Aurena Township2,000 ft
  17. Deepwater Township2,000 ft
  18. McGinnis Township1,990 ft
  19. Medicine Hill Township1,980 ft
  20. Horseshoe Valley Township1,980 ft
  21. Blackwater Township1,970 ft
  22. Riverdale1,970 ft
  23. Longfellow Township1,970 ft
  24. Greatstone Township1,950 ft
  25. Garrison1,930 ft
  26. Mercer1,930 ft
  27. Loquemont Township1,920 ft
  28. St. Mary Township1,910 ft
  29. Coleharbor1,900 ft
  30. Turtle Lake1,890 ft
  31. Mercer Township1,890 ft
  32. Snow Township1,890 ft
  33. Malcolm Township1,870 ft
  34. Lake Williams Township1,870 ft
  35. Victoria Township1,860 ft
  36. Wise Township1,850 ft
  37. Turtle Lake Township1,850 ft
  38. Dogden Township1,840 ft
  39. Washburn1,810 ft
  40. Butte1,740 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.