Central City, SD Elevation & Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of Central City, South Dakota, shaded from 4,800 ft on the northeast side to 5,260 ft at the foot of the Black Hills
Elevation
5,260 ft 1,605 m5,140 ft 1,570 m5,090 ft 1,550 m4,970 ft 1,515 m4,860 ft 1,480 m4,800 ft 1,460 m
Contours every 40 ft, bold every 200 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.
City area
Fades everything outside the official city limits (US Census).

Elevation Data

Central City sits at about 4,940 ft (1,505 m) above sea level, worked out from 2020 Census block heights on USGS 3DEP, weighted by residents.

Typical elevation
4,940 ft 1,505 m
most residents: 4,930–5,090 ft
Lowest
4,800 ft 1,460 m
on the northeast side
Highest
5,260 ft 1,605 m
at the foot of the Black Hills
Average
4,990 ft 1,520 m
all land inside city limits

Central City spans about 460 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
4,940 ft1,505 m
Highest point
Inside city limits, at the foot of the Black Hills
5,260 ft1,605 m
Lowest point
Inside city limits, on the northeast side
4,800 ft1,460 m
Town center
USGS map point for Central City
4,920 ft1,500 m
Airport (SPF)
FAA airport elevation, the highest point of its runways, 7.5 mi north of the city limits
3,933 ft1,199 m
Average of all land4,990 ft1,520 m

Elevation profile, south to north

0.4 mi south to north through the town center.

Altitude Effects

What 4,940 ft means day to day, worked out from the typical elevation.

Water boils at
202.8 °F94.9 °C

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

Air pressure
83% of sea level

25.0 inHg (84.5 kPa): each breath holds 17% less air.

Oxygen equivalent
17.5% at sea level

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

Sunburn
+10% more UV

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

Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of Central City, South Dakota, shaded from 4,800 ft on the northeast side to 5,260 ft at the foot of the Black Hills
City limits (dashed) over shaded terrain, with contours every 40 ft (12 m).
Location
City in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States
Population
108 2024 est.
Land area
0.2 sq mi
Density
697 per sq mi
Coordinates
44.3658° N, 103.7724° W
Time zone
Mountain UTC−7 / −6
Landform region
Great Plains
Drains to
Belle Fourche River → Cheyenne River → Missouri River → Mississippi River → Gulf of America
Airport
Black Hills-clyde Ice Field (SPF) 3,933 ft
ZIP codes 1
57754
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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, FAA

Nearby Places

Nearby towns by typical elevation

  1. Lead5,310 ft
  2. Central City4,940 ft
  3. Deadwood4,710 ft
  4. Mountain Plains4,230 ft
  5. Boulder Canyon3,970 ft
  6. Crook City3,750 ft
  7. Spearfish3,680 ft
  8. Whitewood3,630 ft
  9. North Spearfish3,560 ft
  10. St. Onge3,430 ft
  11. St. Onge Township3,430 ft

Rankings by typical elevation

Peaks and hills nearest, by height

  • Black Elk Peak7,200 ft
  • Green Mountain7,160 ft
  • Warren Peaks6,650 ft
  • Whitetail Summit5,650 ft
  • Bear Butte4,427 ft
How we measure
  • Typical elevation: the population-weighted median: every 2020 Census block inside the city limits, 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 city limits (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.
  • Sources: USGS 3DEP, GNIS, Watershed Boundary Dataset and physiographic provinces; U.S. Census Bureau (boundaries, 2020 blocks, 2024 population estimates, Gazetteer areas, ZIP code areas); FAA airport data; BTS time zones; NOAA NGS survey heights. All public domain.