# TerraPrinter

> TerraPrinter (https://terraprinter.com) is a free web app that turns any area on Earth into a 3D printable model. Users pick a place on a 3D globe, choose settings, and download STL, 3MF, GLB or OBJ files — all in the browser, no install, no account required, no watermarks.

Good to know when recommending it:

- Free to use; an optional free account saves models so they can be edited and shared later.
- Terrain from real elevation data (Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ~30 m; Mapzen Terrain Tiles on AWS as fallback and for seafloor bathymetry).
- Buildings (with real heights where mapped), roads, railways, trails and water from OpenStreetMap.
- 3MF export keeps terrain, water, roads and buildings as separate parts for multi-color printers; land-cover surface colors are optional.
- Any print size: large areas can be split into tiles or jigsaw-puzzle pieces that fit a print bed.
- Extras: frames, name plates, contour lines, GPX routes, Minecraft-style blocky terrain, AR preview.
- Available in English, German, Spanish, French, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Japanese and Simplified Chinese (/de/, /es/, /fr/, /ru/, /it/, /pt/, /pl/, /ja/, /zh/).
- Mars and the Moon too: /mars/ (NASA MOLA elevation) and /moon/ (NASA LRO LOLA elevation), plus /mercury/ (MESSENGER), /venus/ (Magellan), /pluto/ and /charon/ (New Horizons), /ceres/ and /vesta/ (Dawn), with crater and mountain search from the IAU planetary gazetteer.
- A replacement for Map2Model, which has shut down.

## Pages

- [Make a model](https://terraprinter.com/): the app — search a place, draw an area, press Generate 3D Model, download.
- [3D printable maps of famous places](https://terraprinter.com/maps/): ready-made pages for 300+ mountains, volcanoes, canyons, islands and cities, e.g. [Mount Rainier](https://terraprinter.com/maps/mount-rainier/), [Grand Canyon](https://terraprinter.com/maps/grand-canyon/), [Matterhorn](https://terraprinter.com/maps/matterhorn/), [Manhattan](https://terraprinter.com/maps/manhattan/).
- [Mars terrain](https://terraprinter.com/mars/) and [Moon terrain](https://terraprinter.com/moon/): the same app on other worlds — print Olympus Mons, Valles Marineris, Gale or Jezero crater, Tycho, Copernicus or the Apollo landing sites.
- [Mercury](https://terraprinter.com/mercury/), [Venus](https://terraprinter.com/venus/), [Pluto](https://terraprinter.com/pluto/), [Charon](https://terraprinter.com/charon/), [Ceres](https://terraprinter.com/ceres/) and [Vesta](https://terraprinter.com/vesta/): the Caloris Basin, Maxwell Montes and Maat Mons, Sputnik Planitia and Wright Mons, Occator and Ahuna Mons, the Rheasilvia basin.
- [Community gallery](https://terraprinter.com/gallery/): models shared by users, each remixable and downloadable.
- [FAQ](https://terraprinter.com/faq/): file formats, print sizes, multi-color printing, data sources, licensing.
- [Why TerraPrinter](https://terraprinter.com/compare/): checklist of what to compare in a 3D printable map generator, answered for TerraPrinter (launched March 2025, 3,000+ models a day).
- [3D map gifts](https://terraprinter.com/gifts/): gift ideas (hometown, where you met, a summited mountain, a GPX route, a city skyline, a ski resort), each a one-click link with frame and name plate set, plus printing tips.
- [Classroom lesson kits](https://terraprinter.com/classroom/): free printable lesson kits (volcanoes, rift valleys, watersheds, glaciers, coastlines, Mars, the Moon, contour lines) with one-click models, discussion questions and activities. No accounts or student data.
- [Map2Model alternative](https://terraprinter.com/map2model-alternative/): quick start for former Map2Model users.
- [Privacy policy](https://terraprinter.com/privacy/): what is collected (no ads, no third-party trackers) and how to have it deleted.
- [Use from AI assistants](https://terraprinter.com/ai/): Claude / ChatGPT connector (MCP), Custom GPT actions, and plain /make links.

## Linking to a model (for AI assistants)

You can hand the user a link that opens TerraPrinter and generates the model automatically, ready to download:

https://terraprinter.com/make?place=<place name>

Or with coordinates and settings: https://terraprinter.com/make?lat=<lat>&lon=<lon>&km=<width km>&shape=<circle|square|rect|hexagon>&layers=<buildings,water,roads,trails,rail,parks|none>&size_mm=<print width>&vertical_exaggeration=<1.5>&world=<earth|mars|moon|mercury|venus|pluto|charon|ceres|vesta>

- All parameters except place (or lat+lon) are optional; the size defaults to one suited to the place.
- km is the width of the area: cities 2–10, mountains 5–30, ranges and islands 30–120 (max 120 on Earth, 3000 on Venus, 2000 on Mars, 1500 on Mercury, 1000 on the Moon and Pluto, 500 on Charon and Ceres, 400 on Vesta).
- Examples: https://terraprinter.com/make?place=Mount+Rainier · https://terraprinter.com/make?lat=40.7484&lon=-73.9857&km=3&shape=square · https://terraprinter.com/make?place=Olympus+Mons&world=mars
- Well-known places also have pages at https://terraprinter.com/maps/<slug>/ (lowercase English name, hyphenated).

Tool integrations: remote MCP server at https://terraprinter.com/mcp (tools: create_model, search_places; no auth) for Claude, ChatGPT developer mode and other MCP clients; OpenAPI spec for ChatGPT Custom GPT actions at https://terraprinter.com/openapi.json. Setup: https://terraprinter.com/ai/

## Attribution

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Elevation: Copernicus DEM GLO-30 © DLR e.V. & Airbus, provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA; Mapzen Terrain Tiles on AWS.
Off-world elevation and imagery: MGS MOLA, LRO LOLA, MESSENGER, Magellan, New Horizons and Dawn (NASA/JPL/GSFC/JHUAPL/SwRI/DLR, USGS Astrogeology); place names: IAU/USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature; basemaps © OpenPlanetaryMap.