What is considered the best raster format for elevation data in ArcGIS Pro?

The best raster format for elevation data in ArcGIS Pro is DEM, which stands for Digital Elevation Model. DEMs specifically represent terrain elevation, making them an ideal choice for storing and analyzing elevation data. They provide a grid of elevation values at regular intervals and are designed for modeling terrain, which is essential in various geographic analyses such as hydrology, visibility studies, and terrain visualization.

DEMs can also support various data types, including both bare-earth elevation and surface models, allowing analysts to choose the most appropriate type depending on their project needs. This format is compatible with multiple GIS applications and provides a versatile way to work with elevation data across different analysis contexts.

While other formats like GeoTIFF also support raster data and can store elevation information, DEMs are specifically tailored for elevation modeling. Formats such as shapefiles and JPEGs do not have the attributes necessary to handle elevation data efficiently, as shapefiles are primarily vector data formats and JPEG is a compressed image format that loses quality and doesn't retain elevation attribute integrity. Therefore, DEM stands out as the most suitable format for this purpose in ArcGIS Pro.