Where is the best place to download accurate lat/long/alt data?

Question

I'm sure this is publicly available somewhere but my google-fu has failed me. What I'd like to do is download the most accurate lat/long/alt data available for the world. This can exclude oceanic regions. Also, I do not need addresses. Mostly, what I need is: given a lat/long what is the alt? Google Maps does not currently have altitude data available and I'd prefer not to use public web services as there is no SLA.

The best I've been able to find has been: http://www.geonames.org/export/ ... In fact, they are also a great example of why I can't use public web services for these lookups: http://geonames.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/what-to-do-against-ddos-effects/

Thanks in advance!!!!

Answer 1

I don't know where to find it currently, but the term you should be googling for is "Digital Elevation Model".

Answer 2

you can get the geolocalized articles of wikipedia :

• using the wikipedia API : http://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php
• via DBpedia http://wiki.dbpedia.org/Downloads32#geographiccoordinates
• via freebase http://www.freebase.com/view/location/location + freebase API

Answer 3

Google "free geospatial data"

Answer 4

You can download the Digital Elevation Model for the US at http://seamless.usgs.gov/

I believe it also has international data, but that is less accurate.