Brush Creek Corridor

A 2010 NAIP image of the Brush Creek corridor from the Plaza (west end) to its confluence with the Blue River (east end).

A ten-meter digital elevation model (DEM) covering the same area. The river corridors are the most prominent features. Dark areas are low elevations, light areas are higher in elevation.

The elevation data symbolized with traditional elevation colors. The colors are vivid and help distinguish the topography, but they exaggerate the overall relief.

The elevation data converted to a hillshade using an azimuth of 315 degrees and an altitude of 45 degrees; that is, the sunlight is depicted as coming in from the northwest at a 45 degrees angle.

The imagery made semi-transparent and overlaid on the hillshade. The subtleties of the terrain appear on the image but the color contrast within the image is degraded.

The imagery used in combination with the hillshade and the colored elevation. The image is less washed out, but the clarity of the topography is reduced.

The combinations are interesting to mess around with, and the experimentation could go on and on. An adept reviewer would notice that imagery and elevation are out of sync. This is likely because the elevation data shown here stems from surveys conducted in 1934 and the imagery was captured in 2010.

Snapshot from elevation metadata. Source: Center for Applied Research and Environmental Systems (CARES).

The background information provided with the elevation data also notes that the elevation data was enhanced using imagery from 1955 and 1975.  Knowing this, either the US 71 corridor had not been built to its current extent at those times, or the updates were designed to improve other aspects of the elevation data.