Cheyenne Mountain Neighborhood

Cheyenne Mountain & Surrounding Area — 42-Tile 3D Terrain Map

Overview

A 42-tile topographical terrain model covering the Cheyenne Mountain neighborhood in Colorado Springs, CO. This area captures one of the most dramatic transitions along Colorado's Front Range — from the Great Plains grasslands at ~6,000 ft to the 9,565 ft summit of Cheyenne Mountain, with Ft. Carson to the south and the city of Colorado Springs stretching north and east.

Each tile is generated from high-resolution 1m LiDAR elevation data (El Paso County 2018 3DEP East CO dataset from the Colorado Hazard Mapping & Risk MAP Portal), producing highly detailed real-world terrain at a printable scale.

Tile Layout

Each tile represents a 3,000 ft × 3,000 ft area and prints at 200mm wide. Tiles are numbered and organized according to the included reference map — use it to identify which tiles you need or to plan your print order.

Assembly

Tiles can be joined together two ways:

• Bowtie connectors — alignment cutouts on tile edges accept printed bowtie clips to snap tiles together

• Screw mounting — each tile has 4 mounting holes on the back, inset 20mm from each edge (160mm × 160mm square pattern), for mounting to a backing board or wall display

Designed for Multicolor Printing

These files are intended to be printed in multicolor to highlight the elevation changes across the terrain. The contrast between the plains and mountain slopes really comes alive with color transitions representing altitude.

Print Settings (Snapmaker U1)

These are the settings I used to print all 42 tiles:

• Walls: 3

• Infill: 15% lightning

• Top layers: 5

• Tile size: 200mm × 200mm

• Filament per tile: 200–800g (varies with terrain relief)

• Total print time: ~460 hours across all 42 tiles

Tiles with significant elevation (the mountain itself, the canyons) use substantially more filament than the flatter plains tiles on the eastern side.

What's in the Area

The tiles collectively cover a landscape rich with landmarks:

• Cheyenne Mountain (9,565 ft) — the defining feature of the Colorado Springs skyline, home to the NORAD underground operations center built into solid granite during the Cold War

• Cheyenne Mountain State Park — 2,700 acres along the mountain's eastern flank

• North and South Cheyenne Cañons — dramatic canyon systems with waterfalls

• Fort Carson — U.S. Army installation along the southern edge

• The Broadmoor area and Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on the northern slopes

• The transition from plains to peaks — one of the most striking geological boundaries along the entire Front Range

Tips

• Print a few flat eastern tiles first to dial in your settings before tackling the high-relief mountain tiles

• Lightning infill works well here — the terrain surface is the star, and you don't need structural infill for display pieces

• If assembling the full mosaic, the bowtie connectors keep tiles aligned while screw mounting works best for permanent wall displays