Check it now
Open the elevation tool and allow location access. Your height above sea level appears in metres. It works in any browser on any device, and nothing is installed.
What "sea level" actually means
The ocean is not flat. Tides move it, weather pushes it around, and gravity itself varies from place to place because Earth's mass is unevenly distributed. So "sea level" cannot simply mean "where the water is today".
Instead, geographers use a geoid: a modelled surface that represents where the ocean would settle worldwide if only gravity and Earth's rotation acted on it. Extended underneath the continents, this surface becomes the zero line for elevation everywhere on the planet.
This is why a mountain in Nepal and a hill in Norway can be compared directly. Both are measured from the same modelled surface, not from whatever ocean happens to be nearby.
Elevations worth knowing
| Place | Elevation |
|---|---|
| Dead Sea shore, lowest exposed land on Earth | −430 m |
| Amsterdam, Netherlands | −2 m |
| London, United Kingdom | 11 m |
| Baku, Azerbaijan | −28 m |
| Point where altitude sickness typically begins | 2,500 m |
| Şahdağ, Azerbaijan | 4,243 m |
| Mont Blanc, Alps | 4,808 m |
| Kilimanjaro, Tanzania | 5,895 m |
| Everest Base Camp, Nepal | 5,364 m |
| Mount Everest summit | 8,849 m |
| Typical airliner cruising altitude | 11,000 m |
Why elevation changes how things behave
Air gets thinner
At 3,000 m each breath delivers roughly a third less oxygen than at sea level. Your body compensates by breathing faster and producing more red blood cells over the following days — which is exactly why climbers spend time acclimatising instead of racing to the top.
Water boils cooler
At sea level water boils at 100 °C. It drops by roughly 1 °C every 300 m of ascent. At 2,000 m it boils near 93 °C, so pasta, rice and eggs all need noticeably longer — the water is boiling, it is simply not as hot.
Weather turns colder
Air temperature falls about 6.5 °C for every 1,000 m gained. A pleasant 20 °C morning in the valley can be 7 °C on a summit 2,000 m higher, before wind chill is taken into account.
Altitude sickness
Above roughly 2,500 m, headache, nausea, poor sleep and breathlessness become common. The reliable defence is a slow ascent — and knowing your actual elevation rather than guessing it.
Elevation, altitude and height — are they different?
In everyday use they overlap, but the distinction is real:
- Elevation — how high a point on the ground sits above sea level. A mountain has an elevation.
- Altitude — how high an object is above sea level. An aircraft has an altitude.
- Height — the distance from a base to a top. A building has a height, measured from its own foundation.
Standing on a summit, your elevation and your altitude are effectively the same number.
Keep the moment, not just the number
Zirvə turns your reading into a summit card carrying your elevation, coordinates, location and date — seven designs, generated on the spot, ready to save or share.
Common questions
Can my elevation be negative?
Yes. Land below sea level exists on every continent — the shore of the Dead Sea sits about 430 m below it, and much of the Netherlands is below zero as well. A negative reading is not an error.
Why does my reading differ from the map?
GPS vertical accuracy is typically 10–20 m in open terrain, and map values come from surveys that may use a slightly different reference surface. A modest difference is expected and normal.
Does elevation affect running or cycling performance?
Noticeably. Above roughly 1,500 m endurance performance begins to drop because less oxygen reaches your muscles. This is precisely why altitude training camps exist.
Is it free?
Yes — free, with no account and no app installation.
See where you stand
Your elevation above sea level, in metres, in about five seconds.