The Process

I finally got the entire Tetons region loaded into one giant DEM file. Hooray. The process is so arduous, I feel compelled to write it down, for the cathartic value if nothing else.

SECTION A:
Open Firefox
Go to http://seamless.usgs.gov/
Click to view and download data
Zoom in on your region
Under Downloads, under Elevations, de-select 1” NED and select 1/3” NED.
Click the multiple template download button.
Set the template type to 7.5 Minute CONOS

SECTION B:
Click to select one small square on the map
Wait 3 seconds for the map to update.
Click submit

A new download window appears.
Click Modify Data Request.

Scroll to the bottom of a list of about 150 data types to locate yours.
Change the file type to GeoTIFF.
Click submit.

Click Download.
A new download window appears.
Wait 10-20 seconds.
Save ZIP archive.
Close second download window.
Close the first download window.

SECTION C:
Open the ZIP archive.
Locate and extract the TIFF file.
Delete the ZIP archive.

Open 3Dem.
Choose Open File
Select GeoTIFF
Locate and load the TIFF file
Choose Save As ASCII DEM
Save as a new file.

In 3Dem, choose Open File
Select ASCII DEM
Open all DEM files saved so far
Check landscape for remaining holes.

Back to Firefox
On the main USGS map, Click Clear Selections
Locate the grid cell corresponding to one of the missing sections of landscape.
Return to section B. Repeat. Many Times.

Finally done? Not quite.

SECTION D:
Now load the entire, giant landscape into 3Dem.
Change the landscape colors to run from black to white.
Resize the landscape to sufficient size for my displacement map.
Save the landscape as a BMP file, the only lossless format I can comfortably work with.

Now, fire up Photoshop.
Open the BMP file.
Save it as a compressed TIFF.

Finally, I'm ready to load it into Lightwave and actually do some work.