How to create a simple contour map of your land

Imagine having a perfectly planned homestead where everything is in the ideal spot.

Your garden is thriving in well-drained soil, your water systems capture every drop efficiently, and your structures are safely placed away from potential hazards.

This is the dream of every homesteader.

Having a productive, well-organized piece of land that meets all your needs.

But let's be honest, achieving this vision isn’t that simple.

In fact, it’s hard.

Especially considering that most people just jump right in without a clear design and end up placing key elements in less-than-ideal locations.

Before you know it, you're constantly playing catch-up.

Every season brings new issues that could have been avoided with better planning.

The good news?

You can avoid these headaches by creating a well-thought-out design for your land.

And one of the first steps in that process is creating a contour map.

This map helps you understand the natural lay of your land, showing you the high and low points

With this information, you can then figure out the best locations for different elements, so that you can create an efficient homestead that works with your landscape, not against it.

Gotta love permaculture!

The problem is, most people either don’t know how to create a contour map or don’t even realize it’s necessary.

Let’s change that.

I’ll first show you how to create a contour map, and then I’ll show you how you can import it into Google Earth Pro (so you can play around with your map in 3D).

Both pieces of software are free to use.

But first…

What is a contour map?

A contour map is a helpful tool in permaculture design that shows the shape and elevation of your land on a flat map.

Essentially, it’s a map marked with lines.

Each of these lines represents a contour that connects points of equal elevation.

When designing your homestead, understanding the contours of your land is a must.

Contour lines can show you how water moves across your property, which will help you design effective water management systems like swales, ponds, and terraces that capture and distribute water efficiently.

It will also help you identify flatter areas that are more suitable for gardens or building structures.

Slopes, on the other hand, can be used for different types of plantings or to place elements that benefit from gravity, like water storage tanks.

Although it might sound a bit too technical to create such a map, it’s actually quite straightforward.

Plus, it gives you a legitimate excuse to say “I’m mapping my land” at dinner parties.

It lays the foundation for your homestead design, which helps you place everything on your homestead where it works best.

This is something I cover in-depth in Abundance by Design.

This not only makes your land more productive but also helps you work with the natural shape of the land.

Instead of forcing our plans onto the land, we let the land show us the best way to lay out our homestead.

How to create a contour map?

Head over to this website: https://contourmapcreator.urgr8.ch and you’ll be presented with a world map.

Zoom in on your property, but don't zoom in too much.

Make sure to include the boundaries of your property and some of the neighboring land.

With your cursor, press on the top left and the bottom right of the map that covers parts of your neighboring lands including your property.

Now, you need to change the number of “levels.”

Under “Plot Options” you’ll find “Number of levels.”

These are the number of contour lines that will be included on the map.

Insert “50.”

Note: The more “levels” you use, the more contour lines your map will have. I've found that 50 levels work well. I've tried 25 and 100, but 50 is the sweet spot for me. You can play around with this until you're satisfied.

Change “Level Interval.”

Under “"Level Interval”, insert “1.”

Note: This shows the height difference between contours in meters. You can choose “feet” under “Units” if you prefer.

 Press on “get data” to create the contour lines on your map.

Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the “Download KML file” link.

Click on that link to download the file.

Congratulations! You’ve now created a contour map of your land.

Time for the next step.

How to import your contour map into Google Earth Pro?

First, you’ll need to download Google Earth Pro for desktop.

Click this link to start your download.

Once you've downloaded it, find the contour map KMZ file in your download folder and open it with Google Earth Pro.

This will open Google Earth Pro with the downloaded file.

To make sure your work is saved and you won't lose it if the application freezes or quits, drag the contour map file from “Temporary Places” to “My Places.”

For the sake of always having a backup of your work, after every task you'll do, make it a habit to save the file.

Congratulations, you’ve now successfully created, organized, and saved the contour map of your property.

Before you go out and use this as the skeleton of your design, I want to let you know that this map is not always 100% accurate.

This is not a dealbreaker, as it gives us enough information to continue with our design process.

Yet for the implementation of certain projects, including earthworks (like ponds, terraces, and swales), you’ll need to verify the elevations and contour of your land with accuracy directly on site.

This is something you can do yourself or hire a professional to do it for you.

Now that you have created a contour map of your land and imported it into Google Earth, you can identify and highlight key landscape features for the placement of all the elements you wish to include on your land.

This map will be highly useful for your design process, helping you determine the best locations for water management systems, access roads, structures, and more.

By understanding the natural flow of your land, you can design your homestead from large-scale patterns down to the minor details, so that each element works in harmony with your landscape.

This is just a small preview of what you can achieve with a well-thought-out design.

If you need guidance in planning and designing an abundant homestead from scratch, even if you're just starting out, I break it all down in Abundance by Design.

This is where I guide you through every step of the process, helping you create a Permaculture-inspired homestead from a blank page to a fully finished implementation plan.

Thank you for reading this article.

I hope it was helpful.

See you next time,

Moreno

Whenever you're ready, and if it's the right fit, here are 4 ways I can help you:

1. Join Abundance by Design: Abundance by Design teaches you exactly how to plan, design, and start your homestead in 2 weeks or less using Permaculture. Learn how to achieve a level of self-sufficiency that gives you peace of mind, along with a well-structured plan that lays out the 'do this, then that' to get your homestead up and running smoothly.

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