There is a tradeoff between raster grid size and the accuracy / reliability of the contours from a given range contour intervals especially when the contour interval is less than the raster grid spacing. The DEM raster I am using is already quite highly interpolated and I have concerns that some of the contours I am seeing are eroneous or even worse artifacts. Is there any information on the ESRI method of contour caculation or better still a sensitivity analysis/reliability review of the contours produced?
