hillshading
- [map design] Shadows drawn on a map to simulate the effect of the sun's rays over varied terrain.
-
[map design]
A technique used to enhance the three-dimensional appearance of terrain features that create patterns of light and shadow on the landscape. Illumination is from an imaginary light source at a specified azimuth and altitude (typically the upper-left corner of the map). Hillshading provides a sense of visual relief for cartography, and a relative measure of incident light for analysis.
