Make a path across a raster to populate a graph.

Question

I think this should be easy to do, but I have a raster data set and I want to observe how it changes with distance. If I draw a polyline can I make a plot where X is the distance along that line and the Y values are the values of the raster cells it crosses? Better yet can I make it populate the Y values at specific distances along the line?

DavidPike · Answer

Unsure if you can extract the plot to Excel, it's been a while since I've used it in ArcMap.  I'd just Table to Excel the result from the second method.  As to DEM, the computer doesn't know the difference, just keep it a secret.

Atlas_Beetle · Answer

I think the second makes the most sense for me, since I can control where the points would be that would let me clean up the presentation a little by having set intervals on the plot rather than just randomly selected arc points. I didn't see if the first option allowed for extracting the plot to Excel to make design changes, or if it works for any raster set or only DEMs.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll give them a try.

DavidPike · Answer

Do you have 3d analyst? Creating a profile graph from digitized features of a surface—ArcMap | Documentation (arcgis.com)

or perhaps Generate Points Along Lines (Data Management)—ArcMap | Documentation (arcgis.com) to create a sequential set of points by set distance, then Extract Values to Points (Spatial Analyst)—ArcMap | Documentation (arcgis.com)

I'd then do a simple excel graph from the output table.