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Yosemite Valley topographic map

Half Dome, El Capitan and the valley floor sit within a few kilometers of each other, so a small area holds a lot of recognizable relief.

Yosemite Valley as a 18-layer laser-cut relief, rendered in the TopoStack studio.
Yosemite Valley, California, USA, generated in the TopoStack studio. Terrain: Mapzen. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Open in studio Download the project file

The project

Cut size406.4 × 270.933 mm (16 × 10.7 in)
Material3.175 mm (1/8 in) sheets
Vertical exaggeration1.25×
Elevation range in the frame1,714 m
Layers18, 57.15 mm (2.25 in) tall

Why these settings

  • Granite walls rise steeply from a flat valley, so the relief needs little exaggeration.
  • The frame runs along the valley from El Capitan to Half Dome so both landmarks fit on one board.

Make it yourself

  1. Open this project in the studio. It opens with the map area and every setting above and generates the terrain. Fresh data can change the layer count slightly from the one listed here, and Undo returns to the project you had open before.
  2. Check the cut layers and 3D preview, then open Export for the SVG cut panels and assembly guide.

The downloadable project file holds the same settings. Keep it as a record, or open it later with Import project JSON next to the project name in the studio.

To change it, set your own sheet thickness in the Terrain panel or a new size in the Place panel; the studio recalculates the layers. The layered map guide covers kerf, nesting and assembly, and the engraving guide shows how to make the same place as a flat engraving.

More examples

Create a topographic map