Description
The Stellenbosch University Digital Elevation Model (SUDEM) is a 5 m resolution digital elevation model (DEM) – a database of height above mean sea level records – representing the topography of the earth’s surface. The 5 m SUDEM, branded as SUDEM5, is currently the second highest resolution DEM covering South Africa (the highest resolution DEM is the DEMSA2). It was interpolated from large scale (1:10 000 and 1:50 000) contours and spot height data, producing the so-called “Level 1 product”. The Level 1 product was used to fill the voids in the 30m Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) DEM, after which the two DEMs were fused using a patented weighting scheme that favours the SRTM DEM in areas of moderate terrain (i.e. where contour and spot heights densities are low). This resulted in a DEM that maximises accuracy.
Use-Cases
Examples of where SUDEM5 has been used include:
Terrain index extraction for soil modelling
Satellite image pre-processing
Land component mapping
GeoSmart has also used SUDEM5 in several products, including the Flood Hazard Index and the DEMSA2.
Product Specification
Resolution | 5m |
Vertical accuracy | 3m (90 percentile) and 2m mean absolute error |
Horizontal accuracy | 10-30m (depending on area) |
Format | TIF, IMG, or Geodatabase |
Current coverage | South Africa |
National Coverage

Pricing
Order size | Price/unit |
---|---|
Per square km (R1300 processing fee is added for orders less than 400 km2) | R25.00 |
Per 1:50 000 map sheet (e.g. 3318dd) | R7,500.00 |
Per quarter degree square (e.g. 3318d) | R18,750.00 |
National | R1,000,000.00 |
Province | Price |
---|---|
Eastern Cape | R210,000.00 |
Free State | R180,000.00 |
Gauteng | R35,000.00 |
KwaZulu-Natal | R140,000.00 |
Limpopo | R175,000.00 |
Mpumalanga | R115,000.00 |
North West | R155,000.00 |
Northern Cape | R410,000.00 |
Western Cape | R180,000.00 |
*Note that 15% VAT will be added to the cost for South Africa based clients.
*R500 processing fee will be added if contours are requested.
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Product Cart
AOI Name | Product | AOI Area | Price per km² | Processing Fee | Total Price (excl VAT) | Total Price (incl VAT) |
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For large orders (>5 000 km2), please contact us directly as such orders are often heavily discounted.