Aspect
Aspect identifies slope direction, in compass degrees, where 0 = north and 180 = south. Aspect determines how much sunlight will strike the earth’s surface, which has impacts on ecology, vegetative habitats, soil moisture and many other landscape characteristics.
Shaded Relief
Shaded relief visualizations offers a more dynamic and traditional view of the digital elevation models (DEMs). There are many ways to produce a shaded relief. A more recent application, used for these products, applies a color ramp to the elevation values.
Digital Elevation Model (DEM) Feet
Digital Elevation Model (DEM) Meters
A DEM is a raster representation of the earth’s surface created from LiDAR elevation data. DEMs are utilized for a variety of purposes including hydrology modeling and viewshed analysis.
Hillshade
Hillshade is used to determine the illumination of the earth’s surface. It can be used in analysis to understand the time and intensity of the sun at a given location or for graphical display purposes to enhance the relief of a surface, such as for a shaded relief.
Slope
Slope identifies the inclination of the earth’s surface. The degree or percent of a slope is an important factor when analyzing slope stability, transportation, agriculture, recreation, etc. Slope can be used alone or in conjunction with other layers for various site suitability analysis.
Please contact the GIO Office at service.desk@maryland.gov or the Eastern Shore Regional GIS Cooperative (ESRGC) at esrgc@salisbury.edu for more information.