Hillshade

Hillshades are rarely used for analysis but are one of the most common backgrounds used with maps. You can make a simple hillshade very quickly with just a DEM.

Hillshades:

• Creates a raster that appears to be a photo from above the sea, shaded by the sun.
• Frequently used as a background, rarely used for analysis.
• Z-factor can be used to compensate for the units of elevation and/or to make the hillshade more dramatic.

Hillshade Examples

Below is an example of Mt. Hood in Oregon with a Z-Factor of 1.

Hillshade with a Z-Factor of 10

Hillshade: Rocky Mountain National Park

Notice the horizontal lines in the hillshade. These are "artifacts" from processing the DEM.

Resampling can remove artifacts

The image below was "resampled" with twice the resolution of the original image and a "bicubic" resampling tool.

Create your own backgrounds!

Now you can create your own backgrounds by simply:

• Load a DEM into ArcMap
• Stylize the DEM with an appropriate color ramp
• Make the DEM 50% transparent
• Create a "hillshade" of the DEM
• Move the DEM so it is "over" the hillshade

Test Your Knowledge