What kind of information do I need to get started?

All geographic data has at least 2-Dimensions of information, X and Y location. But we know that in the real world, objects also have at least one more dimension of information the 3rd Dimension.

The most common and understandable 3rd Dimension is height, elevation or Z. This is only the beginning though; almost any numerical data can be used for 3 Dimensional display and analysis.