This is one of the other files we make for the project. It is a DSM or Digital Surface model. If you took a giant silicone rubber mold of the surface of every tree, house and road and just everything there and made a mold of it that is what this represents. The blue is the lowest areas. The area in yellow is the highest. We have this in a high resolution and it is made from a point cloud that has just 2 points per meter. If we needed to we can make a point cloud with 20 points per square foot. We don't need it at all for this job, except to make the DSM, that makes the ortho rectified image, that we then print. For this job we have a ton more data then we need. It makes it super easy to see the drainage areas. And where NOT to build a house. The wide strip that runs east west is a transmission line for the power company. The easement is easy to see.
We can make a DTM or digital terrain model. That is where we measure the bald earth and eliminate all the trees and structures. With a heavily wooded area like this that would be a challenge. It is easy on open areas. It is a lot of work.