Originally posted by Easyscor
DEM files continue to be at 30 seconds all the way to the pole, giving more data points per mile in the east west direction however DTED files have more reliable elevation data because they’ve been updated more recently. The best results depend on the area of the world.
This is more or less correct. Here is the chart for distances covered at different latitudes.
Latitude Ground distance (meters)
(degrees) E/W N/S
--------- ------------
Equator 928 921
10 914 922
20 872 923
30 804 924
40 712 925
50 598 927
60 465 929
70 318 930
73 272 930
78 193 930
82 130 931
Keep in mind that the GTOPO is not an actual satellite scan. It is a computer generated elevation model compiled from different data sources......
DTED 30 18 product specification
DCW 160 97 calculated vs. DTED
USGS DEM 30 18 product specification
AMS maps 250 152 estimated from 500-meter interval
IMW maps 50 30 estimated from 100-meter interval
Peru map 500 304 estimated from 1,000-meter interval
N.Z. DEM 15 9 estimated from 100-foot interval
ADD highly variable wide range of scales and intervals
Hence why better detail can be obtained depending on the area of the world you use.