Contours from DEM and Breaklines

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03-11-2014 11:15 AM
MaryM
by
Occasional Contributor
I have a 1m Countywide DEM and breaklines.  The DEM was generated from LiDAR.  I would like to make some contours.  What is the best way to make contours from a DEM and incorporate breaklines on a Countywide scale?
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BondHarper
Occasional Contributor II
Do you have access to the original Lidar? Your best bet would be to get the ground points from the Lidar and build either a TIN or Terrain using the Lidar ground points and the breaklines.

You can generate contours from your DEM using the Contour tool. If you want to incorporate breaklines, you will first have to convert to TIN. Then after adding breaklines, use Surface Contour. But you've lost a lot of accuracy from the original Lidar by starting from a 1m DEM, so unless the county won't share the Lidar I'd use that.
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MaryM
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Occasional Contributor
Thanks, I tried making a TIN for my entire county- my computer will not process it.  That seems like the way to go if I can figure out a way to get the TIN made.
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