Topography of Iowa This image map was created using a regular grid of elevations spaced every one half mile (800 meters). Elevations are represented as colors ranging from the lowest in blue to the highest in red. The lowest elevation in Iowa is 480 feet above sea level in the southeast corner of the state in Lee County at the confluence of the Des Moines and Mississippi Rivers. The highest elevation is 1670 feet in Osceola County in northwest Iowa.