What an Elevation Profile Is
The elevation profile graphically represents the variation in elevation along a GPS track.
The horizontal axis generally shows the traveled distance, while the vertical axis displays altitude.
Minimum Elevation, Maximum Elevation and Elevation Gain
The minimum elevation indicates the lowest point of the route, while the maximum elevation represents the highest point reached.
Total positive elevation gain corresponds to the sum of all climbs completed, while negative elevation gain represents the total sum of descents.
Why Real Elevation Gain May Differ
Elevations recorded by GPS may contain errors caused by altitude noise, poor vertical accuracy or random position oscillations.
These errors can artificially increase the calculated total elevation gain, generating unrealistic results.
Slope and Route Difficulty
Analyzing climbs and descents allows evaluation of the physical difficulty of a route.
Steep slopes and concentrated elevation gains over short distances generally require greater effort during outdoor activities.
Correcting Elevations with DEM
To improve the accuracy and stability of the elevation profile it is possible to replace GPS elevations with data from Digital Elevation Models (DEM).
This operation makes it possible to obtain more realistic elevation profiles, reducing GPS measurement noise.
Elevation Analysis with OkMap
OkMap allows you to display detailed elevation profiles, calculate elevation gains and analyze climbs and descents along GPX tracks.
The software also allows you to correct elevations using DEM, compare different routes and obtain complete elevation statistics.