Hillshade

The most intuitive representation of terrain is hillshade. A hillshade layer is created by imagining the sun in a certain fixed position on the horizon and calculating the shading on the ground caused by hills and mountains.

The hillshade brings a map to life and gives the viewer a sense for how hilly or mountainous an area is. The example is a simple map of the region around Denver, Colorado. The stark line between mountains and plain that runs North-South just to the West of Denver is beautifully displayed.