Which is the moat reliable form of data available for free in ArcGis?

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05-26-2017 06:44 AM
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RajendraKunwar
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i happen to know there are different Global DEM data available. And want to know which data type is most accurate to use.

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IanMurray
Frequent Contributor

The ESRI World Elevation Service is a good place to start.

https://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2014/07/11/introducing-esris-world-elevation-services/

http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/10.3/manage-data/raster-and-images/what-are-the-world-elevation-...

Determine resolution of the data in your AOI

http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=3af669838f594b378f90c10f98e46a7f

All data used here is "accurate" but obviously depending on your purpose and the size of your Area of Interest you may want a higher or lower resolution DEM to work with.  Obviously the higher the resolution the more detailed the terrain is and more descriptive of the actual surface, but with more data takes more processing time.

There are other sources of elevation data that is also free, if you would be willing to describe in more depth your area of interest and what sort of analysis you were wishing to do, it would help point you in the right direction.

Edit: Also you need an ArcGIS Online Subscription to use the World Elevation Service