Provided by: gdal-bin_3.7.1+dfsg-1build1_amd64 
NAME
gdaldem - Tools to analyze and visualize DEMs.
SYNOPSIS
gdaldem <mode> <input> <output> <options>
Generate a shaded relief map from any GDAL-supported elevation raster:
gdaldem hillshade input_dem output_hillshade
[-z ZFactor (default=1)] [-s scale* (default=1)]
[-az Azimuth (default=315)] [-alt Altitude (default=45)]
[-alg Horn|ZevenbergenThorne] [-combined | -multidirectional | -igor]
[-compute_edges] [-b Band (default=1)] [-of format] [-co "NAME=VALUE"]* [-q]
Generate a slope map from any GDAL-supported elevation raster:
gdaldem slope input_dem output_slope_map
[-p use percent slope (default=degrees)] [-s scale* (default=1)]
[-alg Horn|ZevenbergenThorne]
[-compute_edges] [-b Band (default=1)] [-of format] [-co "NAME=VALUE"]* [-q]
Generate an aspect map from any GDAL-supported elevation raster, outputs a 32-bit float
raster with pixel values from 0-360 indicating azimuth:
gdaldem aspect input_dem output_aspect_map
[-trigonometric] [-zero_for_flat]
[-alg Horn|ZevenbergenThorne]
[-compute_edges] [-b Band (default=1)] [-of format] [-co "NAME=VALUE"]* [-q]
Generate a color relief map from any GDAL-supported elevation raster:
gdaldem color-relief input_dem color_text_file output_color_relief_map
[-alpha] [-exact_color_entry | -nearest_color_entry]
[-b Band (default=1)] [-of format] [-co "NAME=VALUE"]* [-q]
where color_text_file contains lines of the format "elevation_value red green blue"
Generate a Terrain Ruggedness Index (TRI) map from any GDAL-supported elevation raster:
gdaldem TRI input_dem output_TRI_map
[-alg Wilson|Riley]
[-compute_edges] [-b Band (default=1)] [-of format] [-q]
Generate a Topographic Position Index (TPI) map from any GDAL-supported elevation raster:
gdaldem TPI input_dem output_TPI_map
[-compute_edges] [-b Band (default=1)] [-of format] [-q]
Generate a roughness map from any GDAL-supported elevation raster:
gdaldem roughness input_dem output_roughness_map
[-compute_edges] [-b Band (default=1)] [-of format] [-q]
DESCRIPTION
The gdaldem generally assumes that x, y and z units are identical. If x (east-west) and y
(north-south) units are identical, but z (elevation) units are different, the scale (-s)
option can be used to set the ratio of vertical units to horizontal. For LatLong
projections 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, it would be best to reproject your grid using gdalwarp before using gdaldem.
<mode> Where <mode> is one of the seven available modes:
• hillshade
Generate a shaded relief map from any GDAL-supported elevation raster.
• slope
Generate a slope map from any GDAL-supported elevation raster.
• aspect
Generate an aspect map from any GDAL-supported elevation raster.
• color-relief
Generate a color relief map from any GDAL-supported elevation raster.
• TRI
Generate a map of Terrain Ruggedness Index from any GDAL-supported elevation
raster.
• TPI
Generate a map of Topographic Position Index from any GDAL-supported elevation
raster.
• roughness
Generate a map of roughness from any GDAL-supported elevation raster.
The following general options are available:
input_dem
The input DEM raster to be processed
output_xxx_map
The output raster produced
-of <format>
Select the output format.
New in version 2.3.0: If not specified, the format is guessed from the extension
(previously was GTiff -- GeoTIFF File Format). Use the short format name.
-compute_edges
Do the computation at raster edges and near nodata values
-b <band>
Select an input band to be processed. Bands are numbered from 1.
-co <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.
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.
-q Suppress progress monitor and other non-error output.
For all algorithms, except color-relief, 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. The consequence is that there will be a 1-pixel border around
each image set with nodata value.
If -compute_edges is specified, gdaldem will compute values at image edges or if a
nodata value is found in the 3x3 window, by interpolating missing values.
MODES
hillshade
This command outputs an 8-bit raster with a nice shaded relief effect. It’s very useful
for visualizing the terrain. You can optionally specify the azimuth and altitude of the
light source, a vertical exaggeration factor and a scaling factor to account for
differences between vertical and horizontal units.
The value 0 is used as the output nodata value.
The following specific options are available :
-alg Horn|ZevenbergenThorne
The literature suggests Zevenbergen & Thorne to be more suited to smooth
landscapes, whereas Horn's formula to perform better on rougher terrain.
-z <factor>
Vertical exaggeration used to pre-multiply the elevations
-s <scale>
Ratio of vertical units to horizontal. 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)
-az <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.
-alt <altitude>
Altitude of the light, in degrees. 90 if the light comes from above the DEM, 0 if
it is raking light.
-combined
combined shading, a combination of slope and oblique shading.
-multidirectional
multidirectional shading, a combination of hillshading illuminated from 225 deg,
270 deg, 315 deg, and 360 deg azimuth.
New in version 2.2.
-igor shading which tries to minimize effects on other map features beneath. Can't be
used with -alt option.
New in version 3.0.
Multidirectional hillshading applies the formula of
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1992/of92-422/of92-422.pdf.
Igor's hillshading uses formula from Maperitive
http://maperitive.net/docs/Commands/GenerateReliefImageIgor.html.
slope
This command will take a DEM raster and output a 32-bit float raster with slope values.
You have the option of specifying the type of slope value you want: degrees or percent
slope. In cases where the horizontal units differ from the vertical units, you can also
supply a scaling factor.
The value -9999 is used as the output nodata value.
The following specific options are available :
-alg Horn|ZevenbergenThorne
The literature suggests Zevenbergen & Thorne to be more suited to smooth
landscapes, whereas Horn's formula to perform better on rougher terrain.
-p If specified, the slope will be expressed as percent slope. Otherwise, it is
expressed as degrees
-s
Ratio of vertical units to horizontal. 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).
aspect
This command outputs a 32-bit float raster with values between 0° and 360° representing
the azimuth that slopes are facing. The definition of the azimuth is such that : 0° means
that the slope is facing the North, 90° it's facing the East, 180° it's facing the South
and 270° it's facing the West (provided that the top of your input raster is north
oriented). The aspect value -9999 is used as the nodata value to indicate undefined aspect
in flat areas with slope=0.
The following specifics options are available :
-alg Horn|ZevenbergenThorne
The literature suggests Zevenbergen & Thorne to be more suited to smooth
landscapes, whereas Horn's formula to perform better on rougher terrain.
-trigonometric
Return trigonometric angle instead of azimuth. Thus 0° means East, 90° North, 180°
West, 270° South.
-zero_for_flat
Return 0 for flat areas with slope=0, instead of -9999.
By using those 2 options, the aspect returned by gdaldem aspect should be identical to the
one of GRASS r.slope.aspect. Otherwise, it's identical to the one of Matthew Perry's
aspect.cpp utility.
color-relief
This command outputs a 3-band (RGB) or 4-band (RGBA) raster with values are computed from
the elevation and a text-based color configuration file, containing the association
between various elevation values and the corresponding wished color. By default, the
colors between the given elevation values are blended smoothly and the result is a nice
colorized DEM. The -exact_color_entry or -nearest_color_entry options can be used to avoid
that linear interpolation for values that don't match an index of the color configuration
file.
The following specifics options are available :
color_text_file
Text-based color configuration file
-alpha Add an alpha channel to the output raster
-exact_color_entry
Use strict matching when searching in the color configuration file. If none
matching color entry is found, the "0,0,0,0" RGBA quadruplet will be used
-nearest_color_entry
Use the RGBA quadruplet corresponding to the closest entry in the color
configuration file.
The color-relief mode is the only mode that supports VRT as output format. In that case,
it will translate the color configuration file into appropriate LUT elements. Note that
elevations specified as percentage will be translated as absolute values, which must be
taken into account when the statistics of the source raster differ from the one that was
used when building the VRT.
The text-based color configuration file generally contains 4 columns per line: the
elevation value and the corresponding Red, Green, Blue component (between 0 and 255). The
elevation value can be any floating point value, or the nv keyword for the nodata value.
The elevation can also be expressed as a percentage: 0% being the minimum value found in
the raster, 100% the maximum value.
An extra column can be optionally added for the alpha component. If it is not specified,
full opacity (255) is assumed.
Various field separators are accepted: comma, tabulation, spaces, ':'.
Common colors used by GRASS can also be specified by using their name, instead of the RGB
triplet. The supported list is: white, black, red, green, blue, yellow, magenta, cyan,
aqua, grey/gray, orange, brown, purple/violet and indigo.
GMT .cpt palette files are also supported (COLOR_MODEL = RGB only).
Note: the syntax of the color configuration file is derived from the one supported by
GRASS r.colors utility. ESRI HDR color table files (.clr) also match that syntax. The
alpha component and the support of tab and comma as separators are GDAL specific
extensions.
For example:
3500 white
2500 235:220:175
50% 190 185 135
700 240 250 150
0 50 180 50
nv 0 0 0 0
To implement a "round to the floor value" mode, the elevation value can be duplicate with
a new value being slightly above the threshold. For example to have red in [0,10], green
in ]10,20] and blue in ]20,30]:
0 red
10 red
10.001 green
20 green
20.001 blue
30 blue
TRI
This command outputs a single-band raster with values computed from the elevation. TRI
stands for Terrain Ruggedness Index, which measures the difference between a central pixel
and its surrounding cells.
The value -9999 is used as the output nodata value.
The following option is available:
-alg Wilson|Riley
Starting with GDAL 3.3, the Riley algorithm (see Riley, S.J., De Gloria, S.D.,
Elliot, R. (1999): A Terrain Ruggedness that Quantifies Topographic Heterogeneity.
Intermountain Journal of Science, Vol.5, No.1-4, pp.23-27) is available and the new
default value. This algorithm uses the square root of the sum of the square of the
difference between a central pixel and its surrounding cells. This is recommended
for terrestrial use cases.
The Wilson (see Wilson et al 2007, Marine Geodesy 30:3-35) algorithm uses the mean
difference between a central pixel and its surrounding cells. This is recommended
for bathymetric use cases.
TPI
This command outputs a single-band raster with values computed from the elevation. TPI
stands for Topographic Position Index, which is defined as the difference between a
central pixel and the mean of its surrounding cells (see Wilson et al 2007, Marine Geodesy
30:3-35).
The value -9999 is used as the output nodata value.
There are no specific options.
roughness
This command outputs a single-band raster with values computed from the elevation.
Roughness is the largest inter-cell difference of a central pixel and its surrounding
cell, as defined in Wilson et al (2007, Marine Geodesy 30:3-35).
The value -9999 is used as the output nodata value.
There are no specific options.
C API
This utility is also callable from C with GDALDEMProcessing().
New in version 2.1.
AUTHORS
Matthew Perry perrygeo@gmail.com, Even Rouault even.rouault@spatialys.com, Howard Butler
hobu.inc@gmail.com, Chris Yesson chris.yesson@ioz.ac.uk
Derived from code by Michael Shapiro, Olga Waupotitsch, Marjorie Larson, Jim Westervelt:
U.S. Army CERL, 1993. GRASS 4.1 Reference Manual. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Construction Engineering Research Laboratories, Champaign, Illinois, 1-425.
SEE ALSO
Documentation of related GRASS utilities:
https://grass.osgeo.org/grass79/manuals/r.slope.aspect.html
https://grass.osgeo.org/grass79/manuals/r.relief.html
https://grass.osgeo.org/grass79/manuals/r.colors.html
AUTHOR
Matthew Perry <perrygeo@gmail.com>, Even Rouault <even.rouault@spatialys.com>, Howard
Butler <hobu.inc@gmail.com>, Chris Yesson <chris.yesson@ioz.ac.uk>
COPYRIGHT
1998-2023
Jul 06, 2023 GDALDEM(1)