Use Case: Make Contour Lines for Google Earth with Spatial R

Here's comes a script I wrote for creating contour lines in KML-format to be used with Google Earth http://github.com/gimoya/theBioBucket-Archives/blob/master/R/contours_for_google_earth.R

If you want to check or just use the datasets I created for the Alps region, you can download it here: http://terrain-overlays.blogspot.co.at/index.html

Calculate Single Contour-Line from DEM with QGIS / GDAL

In QGIS:

- from menu: Raster / Extraction / Contour

- define output name path/to/output.shp

- alter GDAL call for single contour line at 900 m asl:

gdal_contour -fl 900 "path/to/dem_raster.asc" "path/to/output.shp"

- for removing small poplygons or lines add area or length field (attr table / field calc or vector / geometry / add geometry)

- query by length or area to deselect unwanted iso-lines


Finally, you can export the contours as KML and check it in Google Earth: