Create a Raster DEM from 3D Lines

Question

Hi, I have 3 layers in ArcGIS Pro:
- lines representing contours (height stored in a field)
- points representing elevation peaks (height stored in a field)
- lines representing a river (height stored as the Z-value of each vertex)

I would like to create a raster digital elevation model from this data. I've tried the "Topo to Raster" GP tool, but it doesn't seem to take into account the Z-values of the vertices of the line (stream) - it only observes the shape of the line and the slope (river flowing down). The Z-values of the river were precisely measured so I'd like to include this data in the DEM computation.

Please does anyone know how to create a raster elevation model from 3D lines as streams (with Z-values)?

DanaNolan · Answer

Have you looked into an intermediate product such as a terrain? In ArcMap, I created DEM rasters and contours from the terrain database from our Lidar provider. Starting from the same provider's TINs was also an option, but this always failed to produce results for me. It looks like you can use 3D lines to create terrains in Pro.

VojtechC · Answer

I'm not talking about a shaded relief, just a digital elevation model. I don't use Right Click --> Save As, I use the GP Tool Topo to Raster.

bravo6 · Answer

I tried it out (right-click on the layer > save as ) and it just produced another image of the Alti3d, with the same shading.

Are you doing it in a different way?

However, another use explained that in a shaded relief, the original elevation info (z coordinate) is replaced with the gray value for the shading, so it would be lost.