Re-assessing the Role Played by Shaded Relief in Topographic Scale Maps

Hill shading and contouring were examined in relation to how they affected the performance of several tasks of map reading and map interpretation. Evaluation of the experimental results revealed that elements which could be related to the terrain, or were aspects of it, could be located more rapidly when shading was present. Only when the target could not be perceived easily with peripheral vision, did the visual noise in the relief depiction appear to adversely affect performance scores. Thus, while the value of contours is recognised, the graphic continuity and imageability of shading may provide perceptual advantages to the map user in performing a wide variety of map reading tasks.