How will you know the elevation of a certain area without using any GPS?

Question

For example, u are taking a topographic survey on a forest and you don't know the elevation....

For example, if you are aking a topographic survery on a forest which has not been surveyed yet... And yet altimeter is not applicable to the area due to dense vegetation...

Answer 1

Another kind of odd method that's not often used but is very accurate is to measure the acceleration of gravity at a certain point. Because that acceleration is related to the distance between you and the center of mass of the earth, it actually changes with elevation in a predictable manner. The only challenge would be to measure it with enough precision to be useful to you.

A second method if there are visible peaks with known elevations would be to measure their angle and elevation with respect to your point and then do some trig to determine your exact position.

Answer 2

A topographical map of the area will show contour lines of equal elevation, and benchmarks left by surveyors who have gone through the area before. You can get a fair approximation using an altimeter, but you will be unaware of errors caused by barometric changes.

Answer 3

You could probably use some sort of a pressure change, depending on the elevation.

You can buy watches with altimeters on them. Solely based upon pressure, don't require any signal or anything like GPS

Answer 4

You can use a hand level, sometimes called a p-gun, and a tape if you know how to use one.