Marshall Islands Elevation Map — Topographic & 3D Terrain
Explore the terrain of the Marshall Islands in interactive 3D, built from Copernicus GLO-30 satellite elevation data — flat coral atolls barely above the sea, among the lowest-lying countries on Earth. Drag to rotate, scroll to zoom, and tap any point to read its elevation.
Marshall Islands’s highest point is Likiep high point (unnamed) at 33 ft (10 m); its lowest is Pacific Ocean at 0 ft (0 m); the mean elevation is 2 ft (0.7 m).
The Marshall Islands are built entirely of coral atop drowned volcanoes — 29 atolls and 5 coral islands, more than 1,150 narrow islets ringing lagoons, scattered in two chains across nearly 2 million sq km of the central Pacific. The land is low coral sand and limestone, almost all of it only one to three metres above the sea, with no hills, rivers or peaks; the entire national high point is an unnamed knoll of about 33 ft (10 m) on Likiep Atoll. So the country is among the lowest-lying on Earth — half of it below about 2 ft (0.5 m).
- Highest point📚
- 33 ft10 m
- The Marshall Islands' highest point is an unnamed knoll only about 33 ft (10 m) above sea level, on Likiep Atoll in the eastern Ratak chain — among the lowest national high points on Earth. The whole country is flat coral atolls, so there are no mountains and no land borders.
- Lowest point📚
- 0 ft0 m
- The Marshall Islands' lowest point is sea level — the Pacific surrounds every atoll and islet, and almost all the land lies only one to three metres above it.
- Mean elevation⚙
- 2 ft0.7 m
- Computed from the GLO-30 model, the Marshall Islands' mean elevation is 2 ft (0.7 m) — for the country is flat coral atolls, most land only one to three metres above the sea, making it among the lowest-lying nations on Earth. Half the land lies below about 2 ft (0.5 m).
- Median elevation⚙
- 2 ft0.5 m
- Half of the Marshall Islands lies below about 2 ft (0.5 m) — a figure that captures how flat the country is: coral atolls and islets barely above the tide, with no hills, rivers or peaks, only a ~10 m knoll on Likiep for a high point.
- Elevation range📚
- 33 ft10 m
- From sea level to the ~10 m knoll on Likiep, the Marshall Islands' terrain spans only about 33 ft — among the smallest elevation ranges of any country, the flat relief of low coral atolls.
- Official area📚
- 70 mi²181 km²
- The Marshall Islands covers just 70 sq mi (181 sq km) of land — 29 atolls and 5 coral islands, more than 1,150 narrow islets, scattered in two chains across nearly 2 million sq km of the central Pacific, one of the most dispersed countries on Earth.
- Forest cover📚
- 70.2%
- About 70% of the Marshall Islands is counted as vegetated — coconut palm, breadfruit and pandanus on the narrow atoll islets — though there are no forests in the upland sense; the land is coral sand barely above the sea.
Highest and lowest points
The Marshall Islands' highest point is not a mountain at all: an unnamed knoll only about 33 ft (10 m) above the sea, on Likiep Atoll in the eastern Ratak chain. The whole country is flat coral atolls — more than 1,150 islets of coral sand and limestone, almost all only one to three metres above the tide — so this low knoll is among the lowest national high points on Earth. (Because the ground is so low and flat, the satellite model reads a slightly higher figure over reef and vegetation than the surveyed 10 m; the headline here is the surveyed high point.) There are no hills, rivers or peaks anywhere in the country.
source ↗The Marshall Islands' lowest ground is sea level, and it is never far above it. The country is built entirely of coral atop ancient submerged volcanoes — 29 atolls and 5 coral islands, more than 1,150 narrow islets ringing lagoons, scattered in two chains (Ratak in the east, Ralik in the west) across nearly 2 million km² of the central Pacific. The land is low coral sand and limestone, almost all of it only one to three metres above the sea, with no hills, rivers or peaks — the entire national high point is an unnamed knoll of about 10 m on Likiep Atoll. Kwajalein encloses the world's largest atoll lagoon (about 2,170 km²), and Bikini and Enewetak were mid-20th-century nuclear test sites. Because almost all its land lies barely above the sea, the Marshall Islands are among the countries most exposed to rising seas.
source ↗Likiep high point (unnamed)'s surveyed summit sits just outside the generalized Marshall Islands boundary, so the highest fully in-territory land pixel in the model is 79 ft (24 m). The headline figure above is the surveyed elevation of the recognised national high point.
Marshall Islands at a glance
The highest natural point in the whole country is only about 10 m above the sea, on Likiep Atoll - among the lowest national high points on Earth.
source ↗Just 181 km2 of land is spread across nearly 2 million km2 of ocean - one of the most dispersed countries anywhere.
source ↗Kwajalein Atoll encloses the largest lagoon in the world, about 2,170 km2.
source ↗Bikini and Enewetak atolls were United States nuclear test sites in the mid-20th century.
source ↗Every atoll is a coral cap on a drowned volcano whose summit now lies up to a kilometre or more below the sea.
source ↗Because almost all land is barely above sea level, the Marshall Islands are among the countries most exposed to rising seas.
source ↗
Elevation profile of Marshall Islands
The largest share of land, 21%, falls in the 0–0 m band, and 100% of the territory lies below 500 m (1,640 ft).
- 0–10 m (0–33 ft)100%
Highest peaks of Marshall Islands
| Peak | Elevation | Range | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Likiep high point (unnamed)↗ | 33 ft10 m | Likiep Atoll, Ratak chain (east) | An unnamed knoll about 10 m above sea level - the highest natural point in the country. |
| Kwajalein islets (representative)↗ | 10 ft3 m | Kwajalein Atoll, Ralik chain (west) | Typical of the country's land - narrow coral islets only a couple of metres above the sea, here around the world's largest lagoon. |
The Marshall Islands: the coral atolls, and two dispersed Pacific chains
The coral atolls
The Marshall Islands are built entirely of coral atop ancient submerged volcanoes — 29 atolls and 5 isolated coral islands, more than 1,150 narrow islets ringing lagoons. The land is low coral limestone and sand, almost all only one to three metres above sea level, with no hills, rivers or peaks; the highest point is a ~10 m knoll on Likiep. Kwajalein encloses the world's largest atoll lagoon, about 2,170 km².
Two dispersed Pacific chains
The atolls form two roughly parallel northwest–southeast chains about 200 km apart — the Ratak ('sunrise') chain in the east and the Ralik ('sunset') chain in the west — stretching some 1,300 km across the central Pacific. Only 181 km² of land is scattered across nearly 2 million km² of ocean, one of the most dispersed countries on Earth.
How to read this map
Color shows elevation; the raised relief shows real terrain. On this map the Marshall Islands read as thin rings of coral barely above the sea — the islets of the atolls, almost all only a metre or two high, with no relief to speak of; the highest ground in the whole country is a ~10 m knoll on Likiep.
Because the entire country is so low and flat, the 3D relief is the actual GLO-30 elevation data exaggerated strongly so the low atoll islets show at all above the sea; the ×N relief slider controls how much. Tap anywhere to read that point's exact elevation.
City elevations in Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands' people live on the low islets of the atolls — most on Majuro, the capital atoll in the southeast, and on crowded Ebeye in Kwajalein. The elevation table below samples the outer atoll of Mili, in the eastern Ratak chain — like everywhere in the country, only a metre or two above the sea.
| City | Population | Elevation |
|---|---|---|
| Milian outer atoll of the eastern Ratak chain, only a metre or two above the sea ↗ | 854 | 33 ft10 m |
Elevation sampled at each city centre from the Copernicus GLO-30 model. Cities and population from GeoNames (CC-BY 4.0).
Marshall Islands in comparison
Marshall Islands's terrain rises 33 ft (10 m) from sea level to Likiep high point (unnamed) — about 0% of the height of Mount Everest, the world's highest point at 29,032 ft (8,849 m).
- Micronesia's mean elevation is 499 ft — 496 ft higher; its high point, Mount Nanlaud, reaches 2,566 ft (782 m), 2,533 ft above. Micronesia elevation map →
- Tuvalu's mean elevation is 2 ft — 0 ft higher; its high point, Niulakita (unnamed high point), reaches 15 ft (4.6 m), 18 ft below. Tuvalu elevation map →
- Nauru's mean elevation is 79 ft — 76 ft higher; its high point, Command Ridge, reaches 213 ft (65 m), 180 ft above. Nauru elevation map →
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest point in the Marshall Islands?
- Only about 10 m - an unnamed knoll on Likiep Atoll in the eastern Ratak chain. The country is flat coral atolls with no mountains.
What is the average elevation of the Marshall Islands?
- Most land is only 1-3 m above the sea. The figure here is computed from the Copernicus GLO-30 model over the islands.
What is the lowest point in the Marshall Islands?
- Sea level - the Pacific Ocean surrounds every atoll and islet.
Why are the Marshall Islands so vulnerable to rising seas?
- Because almost all their land lies only 1-3 m above the sea, with a high point near 10 m - so even small sea-level rises threaten the atolls.
How are the Marshall Islands arranged?
- As two parallel chains of atolls about 200 km apart - the Ratak (sunrise) chain in the east and the Ralik (sunset) chain in the west - across the central Pacific.
Is this a topographic, relief, contour, or elevation map of the Marshall Islands?
- They describe the same thing - terrain height. This page renders the Marshall Islands' actual elevation surface in interactive 3D (a relief or topographic view) and reports the elevation statistics computed from it; a contour map shows the same data as lines of equal height.
About this map
The terrain is rendered from the Copernicus GLO-30 digital elevation model (ESA), masked to the MHL-ADM0 boundary from geoBoundaries (gbOpen). Elevation statistics are computed directly from the model; peak names and researched facts are sourced and cited. See the methodology for the full pipeline.
Our area-weighted mean, computed from the Copernicus GLO-30 model, is 2 ft (0.7 m); no authority publishes a mean elevation (no authoritative published mean). The Marshall Islands are built entirely of coral atop drowned volcanoes — 29 atolls and 5 isolated coral islands, more than 1,150 narrow islets ringing lagoons. The land is low coral limestone and sand, almost all of it only one to three metres above the sea, with no hills, rivers or peaks; the highest point is a knoll of about 10 m on Likiep. So the country is among the lowest-lying on Earth, half of it below about 2 ft (0.5 m). The atolls form two chains — Ratak in the east, Ralik in the west — spread across nearly 2 million km² of ocean, though the land totals just 181 km². The figure here is computed from the GLO-30 model.
Surveyed national figures: official area · forest cover · high point.
Rendered from Copernicus GLO-30 (ESA, 2021 release), boundaries from geoBoundaries. Generated 2026-07-20.