Terrain Tiles

Terrain tiles provide elevation data and hillshading overlays for 3D map rendering. Add them on top of a vector tile map in MapLibre GL or Mapbox GL.

Authentication

Add your API key as ?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY to every request. See Authentication for details.

Hillshading

A raster hillshading overlay you can add on top of any vector map. Maximum zoom level: 14.

https://vtc-cdn.maptoolkit.net/hillshading/{z}/{x}/{y}.png?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY

Add hillshading as a layer in MapLibre GL:

map.on('load', () => {
  map.addSource('shading', {
    type: 'raster',
    tiles: ['https://vtc-cdn.maptoolkit.net/hillshading/{z}/{x}/{y}.png?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY'],
    tileSize: 256,
    maxzoom: 14
  });

  map.addLayer({
    id: 'hillshading-layer',
    type: 'raster',
    source: 'shading',
    paint: { 'raster-opacity': 0.5 }
  });
});

3D Terrain

Elevation data encoded as a raster image (Terrarium encoding). Used for 3D terrain rendering in MapLibre GL and Mapbox GL. Maximum zoom level: 14.

https://tiles.maptoolkit.net/terrain/{z}/{x}/{y}.webp?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY

Add 3D terrain in MapLibre GL:

map.on('load', () => {
  map.addSource('terrain-rgb', {
    type: 'raster-dem',
    tiles: ['https://tiles.maptoolkit.net/terrain/{z}/{x}/{y}.webp?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY'],
    encoding: "terrarium",
    tileSize: 256,
    maxzoom: 14
  });

  map.setTerrain({ source: 'terrain-rgb', exaggeration: 1.5 });
});

Examples

Working examples for this API, each with copyable source:

MapLibre GL JS

3D Terrain

Display a Maptoolkit terrain tile map with 3D terrain using MapLibre GL JS.

3D Models on Terrain

Place three.js GLTF models on a Maptoolkit map that has 3D terrain enabled, keeping models anchored to the elevated surface.

Contour Lines

Labeled contour lines from the Maptoolkit contours vector tiles.

Hillshade Layer

A relief map from the Maptoolkit terrain tiles, with adjustable shading.

Multidirectional Hillshade

Terrain lit from four directions, compared with standard hillshade.

Mapbox GL JS

3D Terrain

Display a Maptoolkit terrain tile map with 3D terrain using Mapbox GL JS.

Errors

Errors return the HTTP status code with a plain-text message in the body.

Rate limits

Limits are monthly request quotas tied to your plan rather than a per-second rate: the service returns no RateLimit-* or Retry-After headers. Current allowances are on the pricing page.

The free Basic plan has a hard limit, so requests are refused once it is reached. On Pro and Ultra, requests past the allowance are billed rather than refused. Enterprise plans have no request limit.

Tile requests are metered separately from API requests and at a lower rate, so a map-heavy application is budgeted differently from one making API calls.

Pricing

Self-service plans (Basic, Pro, and Ultra) are billed through RapidAPI; see RapidAPI for how to subscribe and authenticate. Plan limits and prices are listed on the Maptoolkit pricing page. Enterprise customers call the native hosts directly with a Maptoolkit API key.