Download free ASTER GDEM 30m global elevation sample tiles (GeoTIFF format) - NASA/METI's high-res terrain data for GIS projects
The ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model ( Aster GDEM ) is a free, high-resolution digital elevation dataset developed jointly by NASA and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI). It provides global elevation coverage at a spatial resolution of 30 meters.
To make it easier for GIS users and students to get started, we’ve prepared a set of sample ASTER GDEM tiles in GeoTIFF format, ready for download and integration into your projects.
📂 Download Package Contents
The dataset is provided in GeoTIFF (.tif) format with 30-meter resolution in unprojected geographic coordinates (WGS84, EPSG:4326). These ready-to-use elevation files are ideal for various geospatial applications including hydrological modeling, terrain analysis, and deriving slope/aspect calculations. The standardized format ensures direct compatibility with most GIS software including QGIS, ArcGIS, and Python-based tools like GDAL and Rasterio..
- File Format: GeoTIFF (.tif)
- Resolution: 30 meters
- Projection: Geographic (EPSG:4326)
- Use Case: Hydrology, terrain modeling, slope and aspect analysis
🔗 Download Links
📌 Quick Usage Tips for Your Downloaded ASTER GDEM
Aster Global Digital Elevation Model GDEM have 30m resolution GeoTIFF tiles are ready for immediate use in QGIS, ArcGIS, or Python environments. For best results: (1) Combine multiple downloaded tiles for large-area analysis, (2) Reproject to a local CRS before running terrain tools, and (3) Validate against higher-resolution data where precision is critical. The complete global dataset (available in the full download) covers all the world.
- Use this tile for testing DEM processing in QGIS, ArcGIS, or Python.
- Combine multiple tiles for large-scale hydrological modeling.
- Reproject the DEM before using terrain tools that require projected CRS.
📽️ Related Tutorial
Want to learn how to download ASTER GDEM data directly from the official site? Watch our full video guide:
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