{"id":769777,"date":"2025-11-12T16:21:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T00:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcwatch&p=769777"},"modified":"2025-11-12T16:21:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T00:21:17","slug":"add-a-hillshade-to-a-basemap-in-arcgis-online","status":"publish","type":"arcwatch","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcwatch\/add-a-hillshade-to-a-basemap-in-arcgis-online","title":{"rendered":"Add a Hillshade to a Basemap in ArcGIS Online"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":5342,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10392],"tags":[163382,279542,177532,493271,177982],"arcwatch_issues":[493270],"class_list":["post-769777","arcwatch","type-arcwatch","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arcgis-online","tag-arcgis-online","tag-basemap","tag-hillshade","tag-lake-district-national-park","tag-tutorial","arcwatch_issues-november-2025","arcwatch_sections-the-tip"],"acf":{"short_description":"Show the mountains of England's Lake District National Park by modifying a basemap to reveal a shaded relief and display its topography. ","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Customizing basemaps is one of the most effective ways to enhance a map. A well-designed basemap provides contextual information for the map\u2019s theme without distracting from it.\r\n\r\nThe following Lake District National Park 2<\/a> web map uses the Light Gray Canvas basemap and depicts the mountains of the Lake District National Park in England. Its simple design and neutral colors allow it to support thematic data without distracting from it. However, while it provides information about towns and roads, it does not depict terrain\u2014the primary focus of this map.\r\n\r\nIn this tip, you\u2019ll learn how to add a hillshade layer to an existing basemap and modify its appearance using blend modes to help show the shape of the landscape.\r\n\r\nRequirements<\/em><\/strong>: To complete this tutorial, you must have a User, Publisher, or Administrator role in an ArcGIS Online organization (See options for software access.<\/a>).\r\n\r\n1. Open the Lake District National Park 2 <\/a>web map.\r\n\r\nPlease note: The point symbols on the parks layer are scale dependent, meaning they only appear on the map at certain scales. If trees don\u2019t appear, zoom in using the plus sign in the lower right corner."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":769782,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"2. If needed, click Sign In <\/strong>to log in with your ArcGIS account.\r\n\r\n3. On the Contents <\/strong>(dark) toolbar, select the\u00a0Save and open<\/strong>\u00a0button, then click\u00a0Save as<\/strong>. Optional: To change the title, type the new name in the Title <\/strong>field. Then click Save<\/strong>.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n "},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":769783,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"4. On the Contents <\/strong>(dark) toolbar, click the\u00a0Basemap<\/strong> button to open the\u00a0Basemap <\/strong>pane.\r\n\r\n5. At the top of the pane, choose Current basemap: Light Gray Canvas<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nMany basemaps are made of multiple layers. In this pane, you will see the layers that make up the basemap and remove, reorder, or modify them."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":769784,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"6. Move the mouse to Light Gray Reference<\/strong> and click the visibility button to turn this layer off. The labels will disappear from the map."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":769785,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"7. Turn the Light Gray Reference <\/strong>layer back on.\r\n\r\nThis layer is in the Reference<\/strong> category, which means it draws on top of all the other layers in the map. The Light Gray Base<\/strong> layer is in the Base<\/strong> category, which means it draws beneath the other layers.\r\n\r\n8. Click Add<\/strong>.\r\n\r\n9. Click My content <\/strong>and choose\u00a0Living Atlas<\/strong>. Type\u00a0\u201cworld hillshade\u201d in the search bar.\r\n\r\n10. In the search results, on the World Hillshade <\/strong>card, click\u00a0Add<\/strong>.\r\n\r\n "},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":769786,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"The hillshade appears on the map."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":769787,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"11. At the top of the Add layer<\/strong> pane, click the Back<\/strong> (arrow) button."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":769789,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"In the Basemap<\/strong> pane, the World Hillshade<\/strong> layer has been added to the Base<\/strong> category. It is placed above the Light Gray Base<\/strong> layer.\r\n\r\nOn the map, the hillshade layer hides the Light Gray Base <\/strong>layer, so you can no longer see roads or lakes. You\u2019ll change the blending property of the hillshade to allow the rest of the basemap to show through."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":769790,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"12. In the Basemap<\/strong> pane, ensure that World Hillshade<\/strong> is the selected layer. The selected layer will have a blue bar on the left side.\r\n\r\n13. The Properties<\/strong> pane should be open on the right. If it is not open, click the\u00a0Properties <\/strong>button on the\u00a0Settings<\/strong>\u00a0(light) toolbar.\r\n\r\n14. Under Appearance<\/strong>, change\u00a0Blending <\/strong>from Normal<\/strong> to Mulitply<\/strong>. You can type \u201cmultiply\u201d in the Filter results bar to find it. Close the Blending<\/strong>\u00a0menu by clicking the X in the upper right corner.\r\n\r\n "},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":769791,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Blend modes determine how a layer interacts visually with the layers underneath it. The Multiply<\/strong> blend mode acts similarly to layer transparency, but it allows both the affected layer and the layer underneath to remain equally visible.\r\n\r\nOn the map, the roads and lakes are now visible as well as the hillshade."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":769792,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"15. On the Contents <\/strong>(dark) toolbar, select the\u00a0Save and open<\/strong>\u00a0button and click\u00a0Save<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nIn this tip, you learned how to modify a basemap by adding a hillshade layer. You also learned how to change the blend mode of a basemap layer to allow the layers underneath it to remain visible.\r\n\r\nThis tip was adapted from the tutorial\u00a0\u201cCartographic creations with web maps\u2014Customize a basemap<\/a>,\u201d part of a five-part\u00a0tutorial series<\/a>. Try the full tutorial and the series to learn more techniques for adapting basemaps to your needs.\r\n\r\nAcknowledgments<\/strong>\r\n