After hearing the local weather reports threaten us with possible snow in Portland at elevations around 200 feet later today, I wanted to find out what the elevation of my address was, exactly. It takes a bit of effort to figure out topographical maps if you’ve never seen them, but I did manage to pin down the elevation at my address! Want to find out yours?

Go to TerraServer USA. Enter your address in the search function. If it comes up with a topographical map, click on that link. When you get to the map, zoom in to the second-to-nearest map available (the second bar above “in” at the side of the map). The wiggly brown lines on the map have numbers on some of them (usually at increments of 50 feet), with the rest of the lines unlabeled. Ignore the red numbers; you’re only looking for brown numbers! When you find the brown line closest to your physical location, it will either have a number somewhere along that line, or you will have to look for one of the next lines over that does have a number along it and count up or down (probably increments of 10 feet), to get your approximate elevation.

My house sits at approximately 190 feet above sea level. As far as the forecast for snow? The air outside doesn’t smell like it’s going to snow. (With all that technology available, I’d still rather rely on my senses for an accurate prediction!)