NIMBO Terrain (Hillshade)

Pre-rendered greyscale relief images for topographic context over continental surfaces. The observed XYZ service delivers 512 × 512 WebP tiles. These rendered images do not contain encoded elevation values.

Terrain-RGB and its derived relief products concern continental surfaces. Exact footprint boundaries and NoData areas have not been confirmed; a continental extent is not proof of a populated tile at every location.

Use in QGIS · Catalogue and service settings

Nimbo Hillshade

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Technical Specifications

Feature	Details
Service URL	https://prod-data.nimbo.earth/tiles/hillshade/{z}/{x}/{y}?kermap_token=<YOUR_TOKEN>
Format	WebP (Grayscale)
Zoom Levels	0 to 10
Coordinate System	Web Mercator (EPSG:3857)
Coverage	Continental surfaces; exact footprint unconfirmed
Tile Size	512x512 px

Note: For zoom levels higher than 10, we recommend falling back to client-side hillshading using the Nimbo Terrain RGB tiles where the Terrain-RGB source has usable detail; this is a different rendering path.

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Integration Guide

The Hillshade layer is best utilized with a “Multiply” raster-opacity blending mode. This allows the shadows to darken the underlying map (satellite or vector) while keeping the highlights transparent, creating a natural 3D effect.

MapLibre GL JS / Mapbox GL JS

Here is how to add the source and layer to your map style:

map.on('load', () => {
  // 1. Add the Hillshade Source
  map.addSource('nimbo-hillshade-source', {
    'type': 'raster',
    'tiles': [
      'https://prod-data.nimbo.earth/tiles/hillshade/{z}/{x}/{y}?kermap_token=<YOUR_TOKEN>'
    ],
    'tileSize': 512,
    'maxzoom': 10
  });

  // 2. Add the Layer with "multiply" blending
  map.addLayer({
    'id': 'nimbo-hillshade-layer',
    'type': 'raster',
    'source': 'nimbo-hillshade-source',
    'paint': {
      'raster-opacity': 0.6,       // Adjust intensity (0.0 - 1.0)
      'raster-fade-duration': 0
    }
    // Note: MapLibre does not support 'raster-blend-mode': 'multiply' natively
    // in the style spec yet, but standard opacity often suffices.
    // For advanced blending, CSS composition filters on the canvas container
    // or specific map renderers may be required.
  }, 'your-label-layer-id'); // Insert below labels
});

Desktop GIS

Want to use Nimbo Hillshade for your cartographic projects in QGIS or ArcGIS?

• Tutorial: How to add Hillshade to QGIS Learn how to set up the XYZ layer and apply blending modes for professional rendering.

Nimbo Basemap without the Hillshade layer applied.

Nimbo Basemap with the Hillshade layer applied

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Methodology & Processing

Hillshade is a rendered relief image, not encoded elevation values. Its source DEM and calculation settings, including lighting, smoothing and contrast, have not been confirmed.

Access

Compare access by plan

Layer	Discovery	Pro	Pro HD	Enterprise
Pre-rendered hillshade	Evaluation	Included	Included	On agreement

• Pre-rendered hillshade: XYZ.

Modes listed apply only to the documented combinations. “To confirm” includes missing rules. Evaluation, on-request and agreement conditions, delivery methods and any differences by mode are listed below.

Pro and Pro HD allow internal professional use, including work in a GIS.

Do not share full-resolution imagery or HD/4K image exports with third parties, including inside PDFs, presentations or videos.

Degraded imagery may be usable with NIMBO informed and credited, plus the applicable source credits. This is not automatic permission or a requirement for prior approval.

Pro and Pro HD allow statistics and vector outputs in client deliverables, with NIMBO and source credits. Raw imagery streams, accounts, tokens and service access are not included.

No numerical export threshold or automatic definition of degraded imagery is set. Contact NIMBO about ambiguous cases.

Keep the NIMBO and applicable source credits. Attribution alone does not authorize redistribution.

Full usage, sharing and attribution rules

Next Steps

• Get an API Key: Start integrating the hillshade into your apps.
• View the Terrain RGB Docs: Read about encoded elevation and its accuracy limits.
• How to add Hillshade to QGIS: Apply blending modes for professional rendering

Service verification

Checked on 2026-09-30. Non-empty samples were 512 × 512 WebP tiles. Use the extensionless URL: the tested .webp variant returned HTTP 404. The Paris requests at zooms 11–12 returned HTTP 204 with no image, so keep the client source at maxzoom: 10.

TileJSON is available at:

https://prod-data.nimbo.earth/tiles/hillshade?kermap_token=<YOUR_TOKEN>

It supplies a tile URL but no zoom limits and echoes the supplied token in that URL. Redact credentials before sharing it. The service metadata does not identify the source DEM, source resolution or an update schedule. See the catalogue record for checked settings.