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Elevation

Elevation of Santander, Spain

5m

above sea level · 16 ft

Santander is the capital of Cantabria, a single-province region of Spain. Of Spain’s 52 provincial capitals and autonomous cities, it’s the 3rd lowest.

By the All Map Tools Team

Elevation profile

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Key facts

Coordinates
43.46° N · 3.81° W
Degrees, minutes and seconds: 43° 27′ 44″ N · 3° 48′ 36″ W
UTM coordinates
30T · 434,476 E · 4,812,478 N
Zone 30 · ETRS89, the official datum on the mainland, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla
Municipality
Santander
INE code 39075
Region
Cantabria
A single-province autonomous community
Time zone
Central European Time
UTC+1 · UTC+2 in summer
Population (2025)
175,425 people
36.1 km² municipality · 4,862 people/km²
Ground height (MDT05)
5.8 m (19 ft)
What the IGN’s terrain model measures at this exact point. The official elevation is 5 m.

Population

Santander had 175,425 residents on January 1, 2025, according to Spain’s municipal register (Padrón), 0.8% more than in 2015, when it had 173,957. The municipality covers 36.1 km², a density of 4,862 people/km², against a Spanish average of 97 people/km².

It’s the most populous of the 102 municipalities in Cantabria, home to 30% of its people.

About 566,000 people live within 50 km of Santander, with 82 municipalities that have their main town inside. See what’s within 5, 10, 25, and 50 km.

Compared with Spain’s other capitals

Santander sits 5 m (16 ft) above sea level. Of the 52 provincial capitals and autonomous cities, the highest is Ávila, at 1,125 m, and the lowest is Melilla, at 2 m. The average is 351 m, so Santander is 345 m below it.

The nearest capital is Bilbao, 75 km away in a straight line and 2 m higher than Santander.

According to the IGN’s summit table, the highest point in Cantabria is Torre Blanca, at 2,617 m (8,586 ft). It lies 90 km away in a straight line, 2,612 m above Santander.

  1. 48 Alicante 5 m
  2. 49 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 5 m
  3. 50 Santander 5 m
  4. 51 Cádiz 4 m
  5. 52 Melilla 2 m

Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list

Nearest capitals

Distances from Santander

The 4 cities with a distance page from Santander: by road, as the crow flies, driving (or flight) time and the midpoint.

All distances between cities

Tools for this place

Elevation profile Draw a route from Santander and see how much it climbs and drops. Elevation of a point Compare Santander’s elevation with any other point on the map. Map of Cantabria Every municipality on the map with its population, ready to print or download. What’s my elevation? Find out your elevation right now, from your location.

Step-by-step guide How to find the elevation of any place

Frequently asked questions

What people most often ask about the elevation of Santander.

What is the elevation of Santander, Spain?

Santander sits at 5 meters (16 feet) above sea level. That’s the official figure from Spain’s National Geographic Institute (IGN), measured at the reference point of the town center.

What are the coordinates of Santander?

Latitude 43.46234 and longitude -3.80999 in decimal degrees (43° 27′ 44″ N · 3° 48′ 36″ W). In UTM, zone 30: 434,476 E and 4,812,478 N, in the ETRS89 datum.

How does Santander rank among Spain’s highest capitals?

It’s the 3rd lowest of the 52 provincial capitals and autonomous cities. The highest is Ávila (1,125 m) and the lowest, Melilla (2 m).

Which is higher, Santander or Bilbao?

Bilbao. Santander sits at 5 m and Bilbao at 7 m: a difference of 2 m, 75 km apart in a straight line.

How is elevation measured?

Elevation is the height of a point above mean sea level. Mapping agencies such as Spain’s IGN measure it on the ground with leveling and survey-grade GPS. Maps read it from an elevation model, a grid with the ground height at every point, so the model can differ by a few meters from the official figure, especially on sharp summits.

Sources

  • IGN · IGR Poblaciones (population centers) Official elevation and coordinates of the town center. CC BY 4.0 license.
  • MDT05 Digital Terrain Model (IGN) Ground height at this exact point, to check the figure. 5 m grid, CC BY 4.0 license.
  • Municipal register (INE), January 1, 2025 Population: our own work with data from the INE website (www.ine.es). Area: IGN (CC BY 4.0).
  • Terrain Tiles (AWS Open Data) Hillshading on the map, from public data by USGS, NASA, Copernicus and others.
  • OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The base map, with OpenStreetMap data (ODbL).

Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know