Abstract: A leveling rod is provided for determining whether a point in question is higher or lower than a bench mark elevation and measuring how high or how low the point is relative to the benchmark elevation. The leveling rod includes a top unit and a bottom unit. Each unit contains a pair of elongated telescoping tubes and a clamp to secure the tubes at any degree of extension. The inside tubes of each unit are detachably coupled to form a rod such that when held upright the outside tube of the top unit extends up and the outside tube of the bottom unit extends down. The outside bottom tube has a base end for engaging the surface to be surveyed. The outside tube of the top unit has a window with a reference mark centered vertically thereon. This window allows the surveyor to view a scale which is carried by the inside tube of the top unit.