By 4 min read

What does a Hillshade map show?

Hillshading is a technique for creating relief maps, showing the topographical shape of hills and mountains using shading (levels of gray) on a map, just to indicate relative slopes, mountain ridges, not absolute height.

How does ArcGIS calculate Hillshade?

Hillshade calculation example

  1. Slope and Aspect. The calculation for the rate of change in the x direction for center cell e is: (7) [dz/dx] = ((c + 2f + i) – (a + 2d + g)) / (8 * cellsize) = ((2483 + 4966 + 2477) – (2450 + 4904 + 2447)) / (8 * 5) = (9926 – 9801) / 40 = 3.125.
  2. Hillshade.

How do I make a Hillshade map in ArcGIS?

Create Amazing Hillshade Effects Quickly and Easily in ArcGIS Pro

  1. Open the Raster Functions pane.
  2. Expand the Surface functions and select the Hillshade option (or search for Hillshade in the Raster Functions pane).
  3. Set Raster to your DEM dataset.
  4. Set Hillshade Type to Traditional or Multidirectional, as desired.

What Hillshade means?

Overview. The hillshade function produces a grayscale 3D representation of the terrain surface, with the sun’s relative position taken into account for shading the image. Hillshading is a technique for visualizing terrain determined by a light source and the slope and aspect of the elevation surface.

Why is Hillshade important?

Hillshades are often used to produce maps that are visually appealing. Used as a background, hillshades provide a relief over which you can draw raster data or vector data.

Is Hillshade a raster?

What is the purpose of Hillshade in GIS?

How do I create a shaded relief map in Arcgis?

Displaying a DEM as a shaded relief

  1. Click the Add Data button.
  2. To view the Image Analysis window, click Windows on the Main menu, then click Image Analysis.
  3. Click the layer of elevation data in the Image Analysis window.
  4. Click the Image Analysis Options button.
  5. Click the Shaded Relief button.

How do I create a Hillshade in Qgis?

2. Create Multidirectional hillshade

  1. In QGIS open add your DEM to the Layers Panel.
  2. Make a copy of the DEM. Right Click on your DEM >> Duplicate.
  3. Optional – In your Layers Panel, rename your second copy of the DEM to indicate that this layer will have the Hillshade effect applied to it – like the screenshot below:

How do you turn a DEM into a Hillshade?

Displaying a DEM with hillshading

  1. Click the Add Data button.
  2. To view the Image Analysis window, click Windows on the Main menu, then click Image Analysis.
  3. Click the raster layer representing the elevation data in the Image Analysis window.
  4. Click the Image Analysis Options button.