Hillshade Map: Creating Stunning Terrain Visualizations

A hillshade map is a grayscale representation of terrain that simulates how sunlight and shadows would fall across a landscape, revealing three-dimensional character on a flat map.

Create Terrain Visualizations

How Hillshading Works

Unlike elevation maps showing height through color gradients, hillshade maps use light and shadow to create an intuitive sense of topography.

Ridges appear bright on the sun-facing side and dark in shadow. Valleys show the reverse pattern. The result is a realistic, easily understood terrain visualization.

Hillshade maps are created from Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), calculating how much light each cell would receive based on slope, aspect, and light source position.

The Illumination Model

1. Calculate Slope & Aspect

For each DEM cell, determine steepness (slope) and compass direction (aspect).

2. Compare to Light Source

How directly does light hit this surface? Facing toward or away from light?

3. Assign Brightness

Perpendicular to light = bright (255), parallel = medium (128), facing away = dark (0).

Key Parameters

Azimuth (Sun Direction)

Compass direction of light source in degrees clockwise from north:

0° — North, shadows fall south
90° — East, shadows fall west
180° — South, shadows fall north
315° — Northwest (standard convention)

Why 315°? Creates intuitive shading — terrain “pops” correctly.

Altitude (Sun Elevation)

Angle of light source above horizon in degrees:

0° — Sun at horizon, extreme shadows
30° — Low sun, dramatic relief
45° — Standard default setting
60° — High sun, subtle shadows
90° — Directly overhead, no shadows

Hillshade in Mountainous Terrain

Mountainous regions showcase hillshade visualization at its best. The dramatic elevation changes create strong contrasts between illuminated slopes and shadowed valleys.

This example demonstrates how steep terrain features are clearly visible, from ridge lines to valley bottoms, making topographic interpretation intuitive even for non-specialists.

Hillshade map visualization of mountainous terrain showing dramatic ridges and valleys with light and shadow effects from LiDAR-derived DTM data

Lidarvisor - DTM - Hillshade mountainous terrain

Applications

Cartography

Base layer for topographic maps showing terrain relief intuitively.

Archaeology

Revealing subtle features like ancient roads, walls, and structures.

Geomorphology

Analyzing landforms, fault lines, and erosion patterns.

Hydrology

Visualizing drainage patterns and watershed boundaries.

Hillshade map of valley terrain showing drainage patterns and subtle elevation changes derived from digital terrain model

Lidarvisor - DTM - Hillshade valley terrain

Valley Terrain Analysis

Hillshade visualization excels at revealing subtle terrain features in valley systems that might be missed in standard elevation maps.

Drainage patterns, terraces, and gentle slope changes become clearly visible, making hillshade invaluable for hydrological analysis, flood modeling, and land use planning.

Agricultural Land Mapping

Even in relatively flat agricultural areas, hillshade reveals important terrain details. Field boundaries, irrigation channels, and micro-topography become visible.

This helps with precision agriculture, drainage planning, and understanding how water flows across farmland.

Hillshade visualization of agricultural fields showing micro-topography and terrain features useful for precision farming and drainage planning

Lidarvisor - DTM - Hillshade agricultural fields

Generate Hillshade from Your LiDAR Data

LidarVisor generates DTM and DSM products from your point cloud data, which can be used to create hillshade visualizations. Upload your LAS/LAZ files and get terrain products ready for visualization.

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