GDAL-RASTER-HILLSHADE(1) GDAL GDAL-RASTER-HILLSHADE(1)
gdal-raster-hillshade - Generate a shaded relief map
Added in version 3.11.
Usage: gdal raster hillshade [OPTIONS] <INPUT> <OUTPUT>
Generate a shaded relief map
Positional arguments:
-i, --input <INPUT> Input raster datasets [required]
-o, --output <OUTPUT> Output raster dataset [required]
Common Options:
-h, --help Display help message and exit
--json-usage Display usage as JSON document and exit
--config <KEY>=<VALUE> Configuration option [may be repeated]
-q, --quiet Quiet mode (no progress bar)
Options:
-f, --of, --format, --output-format <OUTPUT-FORMAT> Output format ("GDALG" allowed)
--co, --creation-option <KEY>=<VALUE> Creation option [may be repeated]
--overwrite Whether overwriting existing output is allowed
Mutually exclusive with --append
--append Append as a subdataset to existing output
Mutually exclusive with --overwrite
-b, --band <BAND> Input band (1-based index) (default: 1)
-z, --zfactor <ZFACTOR> Vertical exaggeration used to pre-multiply the elevations
--xscale <XSCALE> Ratio of vertical units to horizontal X axis units
--yscale <YSCALE> Ratio of vertical units to horizontal Y axis units
--azimuth <AZIMUTH> Azimuth of the light, in degrees (default: 315)
--altitude <ALTITUDE> Altitude of the light, in degrees (default: 45)
--gradient-alg <GRADIENT-ALG> Algorithm used to compute terrain gradient. GRADIENT-ALG=Horn|ZevenbergenThorne (default: Horn)
--variant <VARIANT> Variant of the hillshading algorithm. VARIANT=regular|combined|multidirectional|Igor (default: regular)
--no-edges Do not try to interpolate values at dataset edges or close to nodata values
Advanced Options:
--if, --input-format <INPUT-FORMAT> Input formats [may be repeated]
--oo, --open-option <KEY>=<VALUE> Open options [may be repeated]
gdal raster hillshade generates a shaded relief map, from any
GDAL-supported elevation raster.
This subcommand is also available as a potential step of gdal raster
pipeline
It generates an 8-bit raster with a nice shaded relief effect. It is
very useful for visualizing the terrain. You can optionally specify
the azimuth and altitude of the light source, a vertical exaggeration
factor and scaling factors to account for differences between
vertical and horizontal units.
The value 0 is used as the output nodata value. A nodata value in the
target dataset will be emitted if at least one pixel set to the
nodata value is found in the 3x3 window centered around each source
pixel. By default, the algorithm will compute values at image edges
or if a nodata value is found in the 3x3 window, by interpolating
missing values, unless --no-edges is specified, in which case a
1-pixel border around the image will be set with the nodata value.
In general, it assumes that x, y and z units are identical. However,
if none of --xscale and --yscale are specified, and the CRS is a
geographic or projected CRS, it will automatically determine the
appropriate ratio from the units of the CRS, as well as the potential
value of the units of the raster band (as returned by
GDALRasterBand::GetUnitType(), if it is metre, foot international or
US survey foot). Note that for geographic CRS, the result for source
datasets at high latitudes may be incorrect, and prior reprojection
to a polar projection might be needed using gdal raster reproject.
If x (east-west) and y (north-south) units are identical, but z
(elevation) units are different, the --xscale and --yscale can be
used to set the ratio of vertical units to horizontal. For
geographic CRS near the equator, where units of latitude and units of
longitude are similar, elevation (z) units can be converted to be
compatible by using scale=370400 (if elevation is in feet) or
scale=111120 (if elevation is in meters). For locations not near the
equator, the --xscale value can be taken as the --yscale value
multiplied by the cosine of the mean latitude of the raster.
-f, --of, --format, --output-format <OUTPUT-FORMAT>
Which output raster format to use. Allowed values may be given
by gdal --formats | grep raster | grep rw | sort
--co, --creation-option <NAME>=<VALUE>
Many formats have one or more optional creation options that
can be used to control particulars about the file created. For
instance, the GeoTIFF driver supports creation options to
control compression, and whether the file should be tiled.
May be repeated.
The creation options available vary by format driver, and some
simple formats have no creation options at all. A list of
options supported for a format can be listed with the
--formats command line option but the documentation for the
format is the definitive source of information on driver
creation options. See Raster drivers format specific
documentation for legal creation options for each format.
--overwrite
Allow program to overwrite existing target file or dataset.
Otherwise, by default, gdal errors out if the target file or
dataset already exists.
-b, --band <BAND>
Index (starting at 1) of the band to which the hillshade must
be computed.
-z, --zfactor <ZFACTOR>
Vertical exaggeration used to pre-multiply the elevations
--xscale <scale>
Added in version 3.11.
Ratio of vertical units to horizontal X axis units. If the
horizontal unit of the source DEM is degrees (e.g Lat/Long
WGS84 projection), you can use scale=111120 if the vertical
units are meters (or scale=370400 if they are in feet).
If none of --xscale and --yscale are specified, and the CRS is
a geographic or projected CRS, gdal raster hillshade will
automatically determine the appropriate ratio from the units
of the CRS, as well as the potential value of the units of the
raster band (as returned by GDALRasterBand::GetUnitType(), if
it is metre, foot international or US survey foot). Note that
for geographic CRS, the result for source datasets at high
latitudes may be incorrect, and prior reprojection to a polar
projection might be needed.
If --xscale is specified, --yscale must also be specified.
--yscale <scale>
Added in version 3.11.
Ratio of vertical units to horizontal Y axis units. If the
horizontal unit of the source DEM is degrees (e.g Lat/Long
WGS84 projection), you can use scale=111120 if the vertical
units are meters (or scale=370400 if they are in feet)
If none of --xscale and --yscale are specified, and the CRS is
a geographic or projected CRS, gdal raster hillshade will
automatically determine the appropriate ratio from the units
of the CRS, as well as the potential value of the units of the
raster band (as returned by GDALRasterBand::GetUnitType(), if
it is metre, foot international or US survey foot). Note that
for geographic CRS, the result for source datasets at high
latitudes may be incorrect, and prior reprojection to a polar
projection might be needed.
If --yscale is specified, --xscale must also be specified.
--azimuth <AZIMUTH>
Azimuth of the light, in degrees. 0 if it comes from the top
of the raster, 90 from the east, ... The default value, 315,
should rarely be changed as it is the value generally used to
generate shaded maps.
This option is mutually exclusive with
--variant=multidirectional.
--altitude <ALTITUDE>
Altitude of the light, in degrees. 90 if the light comes from
above the DEM, 0 if it is raking light. The default value is
45 degree.
This option is mutually exclusive with --variant=Igor.
--gradient-alg Horn|ZevenbergenThorne
Algorithm used to compute terrain gradient. The default is
Horn. The literature suggests Zevenbergen & Thorne to be more
suited to smooth landscapes, whereas Horn's formula to perform
better on rougher terrain.
--variant regular|combined|multidirectional|Igor
Variant of the hillshading algorithm:
+o regular: the hillshade values combines the computed slope
with the azimuth and altitude of the illumination according
to:
{Hillshade} = 1 + 254.0 * ((\sin(altitude) * cos(slope))
+ (cos(altitude) * sin(slope) * cos(azimuth -
\frac{\pi}{2} - aspect)))
+o combined: combined shading, a combination of slope and
oblique shading.
+o multidirectional: multidirectional shading, a combination of
hillshading illuminated from 225 deg, 270 deg, 315 deg, and
360 deg azimuth. Applies the formula of
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1992/of92-422/of92-422.pdf
+o Igor: shading which tries to minimize effects on other map
features beneath. Igor's hillshading uses formula from
Maperitive:
http://maperitive.net/docs/Commands/GenerateReliefImageIgor.html
--no-edges
Do not try to interpolate values at dataset edges or close to
nodata values
GDALG OUTPUT (ON-THE-FLY / STREAMED DATASET)
This program supports serializing the command line as a JSON file
using the GDALG output format. The resulting file can then be opened
as a raster dataset using the GDALG: GDAL Streamed Algorithm driver,
and apply the specified pipeline in a on-the-fly / streamed way.
Example 1: Generates a shaded relief map from a DTED0 file, using a
vertical exaggeration factor of 30.
$ gdal raster hillshade --zfactor=30 n43.dt0 out.tif --overwrite
Example 2: Combine the output of shaded relief map and hypsometric
rendering on a DEM to create a colorized shaded relief map.
$ gdal pipeline read n43.tif ! \
color-map --color-map color_file.txt ! \
blend --operator=hsv-value --overlay \
[ read n43.tif ! hillshade -z 30 ] ! \
write out.tif --overwrite
Even Rouault <even.rouault@spatialys.com>
1998-2026
March 20, 2026 GDAL-RASTER-HILLSHADE(1)
NAME
gdal-raster-hillshade - Generate a shaded relief map
Added in version 3.11.
SYNOPSIS
Usage: gdal raster hillshade [OPTIONS] <INPUT> <OUTPUT>
Generate a shaded relief map
Positional arguments:
-i, --input <INPUT> Input raster datasets [required]
-o, --output <OUTPUT> Output raster dataset [required]
Common Options:
-h, --help Display help message and exit
--json-usage Display usage as JSON document and exit
--config <KEY>=<VALUE> Configuration option [may be repeated]
-q, --quiet Quiet mode (no progress bar)
Options:
-f, --of, --format, --output-format <OUTPUT-FORMAT> Output format ("GDALG" allowed)
--co, --creation-option <KEY>=<VALUE> Creation option [may be repeated]
--overwrite Whether overwriting existing output is allowed
Mutually exclusive with --append
--append Append as a subdataset to existing output
Mutually exclusive with --overwrite
-b, --band <BAND> Input band (1-based index) (default: 1)
-z, --zfactor <ZFACTOR> Vertical exaggeration used to pre-multiply the elevations
--xscale <XSCALE> Ratio of vertical units to horizontal X axis units
--yscale <YSCALE> Ratio of vertical units to horizontal Y axis units
--azimuth <AZIMUTH> Azimuth of the light, in degrees (default: 315)
--altitude <ALTITUDE> Altitude of the light, in degrees (default: 45)
--gradient-alg <GRADIENT-ALG> Algorithm used to compute terrain gradient. GRADIENT-ALG=Horn|ZevenbergenThorne (default: Horn)
--variant <VARIANT> Variant of the hillshading algorithm. VARIANT=regular|combined|multidirectional|Igor (default: regular)
--no-edges Do not try to interpolate values at dataset edges or close to nodata values
Advanced Options:
--if, --input-format <INPUT-FORMAT> Input formats [may be repeated]
--oo, --open-option <KEY>=<VALUE> Open options [may be repeated]
DESCRIPTION
gdal raster hillshade generates a shaded relief map, from any
GDAL-supported elevation raster.
This subcommand is also available as a potential step of gdal raster
pipeline
It generates an 8-bit raster with a nice shaded relief effect. It is
very useful for visualizing the terrain. You can optionally specify
the azimuth and altitude of the light source, a vertical exaggeration
factor and scaling factors to account for differences between
vertical and horizontal units.
The value 0 is used as the output nodata value. A nodata value in the
target dataset will be emitted if at least one pixel set to the
nodata value is found in the 3x3 window centered around each source
pixel. By default, the algorithm will compute values at image edges
or if a nodata value is found in the 3x3 window, by interpolating
missing values, unless --no-edges is specified, in which case a
1-pixel border around the image will be set with the nodata value.
In general, it assumes that x, y and z units are identical. However,
if none of --xscale and --yscale are specified, and the CRS is a
geographic or projected CRS, it will automatically determine the
appropriate ratio from the units of the CRS, as well as the potential
value of the units of the raster band (as returned by
GDALRasterBand::GetUnitType(), if it is metre, foot international or
US survey foot). Note that for geographic CRS, the result for source
datasets at high latitudes may be incorrect, and prior reprojection
to a polar projection might be needed using gdal raster reproject.
If x (east-west) and y (north-south) units are identical, but z
(elevation) units are different, the --xscale and --yscale can be
used to set the ratio of vertical units to horizontal. For
geographic CRS near the equator, where units of latitude and units of
longitude are similar, elevation (z) units can be converted to be
compatible by using scale=370400 (if elevation is in feet) or
scale=111120 (if elevation is in meters). For locations not near the
equator, the --xscale value can be taken as the --yscale value
multiplied by the cosine of the mean latitude of the raster.
Standard options
-f, --of, --format, --output-format <OUTPUT-FORMAT>
Which output raster format to use. Allowed values may be given
by gdal --formats | grep raster | grep rw | sort
--co, --creation-option <NAME>=<VALUE>
Many formats have one or more optional creation options that
can be used to control particulars about the file created. For
instance, the GeoTIFF driver supports creation options to
control compression, and whether the file should be tiled.
May be repeated.
The creation options available vary by format driver, and some
simple formats have no creation options at all. A list of
options supported for a format can be listed with the
--formats command line option but the documentation for the
format is the definitive source of information on driver
creation options. See Raster drivers format specific
documentation for legal creation options for each format.
--overwrite
Allow program to overwrite existing target file or dataset.
Otherwise, by default, gdal errors out if the target file or
dataset already exists.
-b, --band <BAND>
Index (starting at 1) of the band to which the hillshade must
be computed.
-z, --zfactor <ZFACTOR>
Vertical exaggeration used to pre-multiply the elevations
--xscale <scale>
Added in version 3.11.
Ratio of vertical units to horizontal X axis units. If the
horizontal unit of the source DEM is degrees (e.g Lat/Long
WGS84 projection), you can use scale=111120 if the vertical
units are meters (or scale=370400 if they are in feet).
If none of --xscale and --yscale are specified, and the CRS is
a geographic or projected CRS, gdal raster hillshade will
automatically determine the appropriate ratio from the units
of the CRS, as well as the potential value of the units of the
raster band (as returned by GDALRasterBand::GetUnitType(), if
it is metre, foot international or US survey foot). Note that
for geographic CRS, the result for source datasets at high
latitudes may be incorrect, and prior reprojection to a polar
projection might be needed.
If --xscale is specified, --yscale must also be specified.
--yscale <scale>
Added in version 3.11.
Ratio of vertical units to horizontal Y axis units. If the
horizontal unit of the source DEM is degrees (e.g Lat/Long
WGS84 projection), you can use scale=111120 if the vertical
units are meters (or scale=370400 if they are in feet)
If none of --xscale and --yscale are specified, and the CRS is
a geographic or projected CRS, gdal raster hillshade will
automatically determine the appropriate ratio from the units
of the CRS, as well as the potential value of the units of the
raster band (as returned by GDALRasterBand::GetUnitType(), if
it is metre, foot international or US survey foot). Note that
for geographic CRS, the result for source datasets at high
latitudes may be incorrect, and prior reprojection to a polar
projection might be needed.
If --yscale is specified, --xscale must also be specified.
--azimuth <AZIMUTH>
Azimuth of the light, in degrees. 0 if it comes from the top
of the raster, 90 from the east, ... The default value, 315,
should rarely be changed as it is the value generally used to
generate shaded maps.
This option is mutually exclusive with
--variant=multidirectional.
--altitude <ALTITUDE>
Altitude of the light, in degrees. 90 if the light comes from
above the DEM, 0 if it is raking light. The default value is
45 degree.
This option is mutually exclusive with --variant=Igor.
--gradient-alg Horn|ZevenbergenThorne
Algorithm used to compute terrain gradient. The default is
Horn. The literature suggests Zevenbergen & Thorne to be more
suited to smooth landscapes, whereas Horn's formula to perform
better on rougher terrain.
--variant regular|combined|multidirectional|Igor
Variant of the hillshading algorithm:
+o regular: the hillshade values combines the computed slope
with the azimuth and altitude of the illumination according
to:
{Hillshade} = 1 + 254.0 * ((\sin(altitude) * cos(slope))
+ (cos(altitude) * sin(slope) * cos(azimuth -
\frac{\pi}{2} - aspect)))
+o combined: combined shading, a combination of slope and
oblique shading.
+o multidirectional: multidirectional shading, a combination of
hillshading illuminated from 225 deg, 270 deg, 315 deg, and
360 deg azimuth. Applies the formula of
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1992/of92-422/of92-422.pdf
+o Igor: shading which tries to minimize effects on other map
features beneath. Igor's hillshading uses formula from
Maperitive:
http://maperitive.net/docs/Commands/GenerateReliefImageIgor.html
--no-edges
Do not try to interpolate values at dataset edges or close to
nodata values
GDALG OUTPUT (ON-THE-FLY / STREAMED DATASET)
This program supports serializing the command line as a JSON file
using the GDALG output format. The resulting file can then be opened
as a raster dataset using the GDALG: GDAL Streamed Algorithm driver,
and apply the specified pipeline in a on-the-fly / streamed way.
EXAMPLES
Example 1: Generates a shaded relief map from a DTED0 file, using a
vertical exaggeration factor of 30.
$ gdal raster hillshade --zfactor=30 n43.dt0 out.tif --overwrite
Example 2: Combine the output of shaded relief map and hypsometric
rendering on a DEM to create a colorized shaded relief map.
$ gdal pipeline read n43.tif ! \
color-map --color-map color_file.txt ! \
blend --operator=hsv-value --overlay \
[ read n43.tif ! hillshade -z 30 ] ! \
write out.tif --overwrite
AUTHOR
Even Rouault <even.rouault@spatialys.com>
COPYRIGHT
1998-2026
March 20, 2026 GDAL-RASTER-HILLSHADE(1)