Digital Elevation Terrain Model (DEM) | NASA Earthdata Digital Elevation Models, or DEMs, are three-dimensional models of the “bare earth” surface, showing elevation and topography without trees, buildings, or other objects
What is a digital elevation model (DEM)? - USGS. gov A Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is a representation of the bare ground (bare earth) topographic surface of the Earth excluding trees, buildings, and any other surface objects DEMs are created from a variety of sources USGS DEMs used to be derived primarily from topographic maps