MATLAB: Using USGS DEMs in Mapping Toolbox

Question

I am new to Matlab, and I am trying to use USGS DEMs in Matlab using the Mapping Toolbox. So far, I can't convince Matlab to recognize the USGS DEM downloads.

The USGS National Map Seamless Server provides download formats in ArcGRID, GeoTIFF, GridFloat, and BIl_16INT.

For ArcGRID it appears that Matlab expects a .grd extension but the USGS data doesn't use this extension.

For GeoTIFF the USGS data uses an extension of .tif, but Matlab seems to use this only for images (not DEMs????).

The GridFolat and BIL_16INT don't seem to be recognized by Matlab.

How do I select a USGS download format that Matlab will use to form a DEM map?

Answer 1

Try downloading your data sets in GeoTIFF format, then use geotiffread. It's not limited to images; it can be used for DEMs as well.