There are plenty of tools to calculate slope, aspect, and hillshading from elevation data, but if you’ve ever been curious about how they’re calculated, this post goes through the process of implementing those algorithms from scratch in Python using just Numpy. A DEM height map of Mount St. Helens that we’ll use for calculating topography. Slope The concept of slope is simple: How much does elevation change within an area? Steep areas have lots of elevation change over a short distance ...
