I need to find the maximum elevation along a given path (defined by start and end latitude/longitude), but in searching the internet the only option I seem to find is the Google elevation api. Unfortunately, that's not an option because the google terms of service explicitly state that:
The Google Maps Elevation API may only be used in conjunction with displaying results on a Google map. It is prohibited to use Google Maps Elevation API data without displaying a Google map.
Since my usage does not involve a google map (I'm using Open streetmap data combined with FAA sectional charts), using the Google Maps Elevation API would directly violate this. Additionally, I want to say that Google prohibits commercial usage, which this is (although we may be able to pay an exorbitant fee to get around that restriction).
In any case, given that the Google Maps Elevation API isn't an option, what other options do I have, either in a web-based API similar to Google, or in some sort of a local database download that I can query?
The USGS offers downloads of elevation data in various formats at https://nationalmap.gov/small_scale/atlasftp.html I was able to download a GeoTIFF of the area of interest, load it into a PostgreSQL database, and use the PostGIS extension to perform queries against the data to retrieve the desired information. No licensing issues or number of data point restrictions, plus it's all local.