HILLSHADE
STREAM turns a plain DEM into readable terrain with hillshade — shaded relief that simulates sunlight to make the shape of the ground pop. Adjust the sun position to emphasize the features you care about.
Hillshade, or shaded relief, computes how brightly simulated sunlight would fall on each part of the terrain given its slope and aspect. Slopes facing the light are bright; those facing away are shaded, producing an image the eye instantly reads as 3D.
It is a display technique that makes a DEM readable — distinct from sun-and-shadow analysis, which measures real sunlight hours over time.
Generate a hillshade directly from the DEM to reveal ridges, valleys and subtle terrain features.
Set the sun's direction and height to control how strongly relief is emphasized.
Blend hillshade with elevation colour or an orthophoto for a clear, map-ready view.
Sits alongside slope, aspect, contours and full sun & shadow analysis on the same DEM.
STREAM computes shaded relief from the DEM by simulating sunlight based on each cell's slope and aspect, with an adjustable sun position.
No. Hillshade is a display technique that makes terrain readable; sun & shadow analysis measures actual sunlight hours over time including terrain shadow.
Yes. Blend hillshade with elevation colour or an orthophoto for a clear, map-ready terrain view.
Free beta for Windows x64. Works fully offline with GeoTIFF, LAS/LAZ and DXF.
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