Some very interesting pictures can be created by rendering satellite images in 3D perspective. Most of the 3D satellite images shown on my web site were created with a shareware program called POV-RAY.

POV-RAY is available for FREE downloading via the Internet and there are versions for many computer operating systems. POV-RAY has a command line or script language interface. I have used POV-RAY to make rendered images at resolutions as high as 4096 by 6144 pixels. The resulting files are about 75 megabytes, which is a nice size for enlargements.

Windows PC users should also check out the freeware program Landscape Explorer 2000.

To create 3D satellite views, you will need two computer files to use as source material. The first file is an actual satellite image. The samples on this page use imagery from the Landsat satellite. The second file required is a height map. A height map is a gray scale raster file that represents the various topographic elevations found within the satellite image.

Height maps can be derived from a standard U.S.G.S. Digital Elevation Model (DEM). DEMs are basically topographic map data stored as data files. Software conversion programs can convert the DEMs into 16-bit or 8-bit gray scale raster image files. In converted DEM files dark tones represent low areas and light tones are areas of higher elevation. DEMs are available from a number of sources including the USGS. Many are available for free downloading via the Internet. The 16-bit pixel depth DEM file format is not supported by most low cost image processing software programs. A program called DEMview is available for Macintosh users to convert the 16-bit DEM files into standard 8-bit gray scale images.

File 1: An 8-bit gray scale image derived from a DEM

File 2: A Landsat image of the same area as the DEM

After you have your two files (the satellite image and the height map) they need to be imported into your 3D rendering software program. I do the cropping in Adobe Photoshop.

The 3D rendering software will extrude the height map and overlay the satellite image. The illustrations below show a rendering of an 8-bit DEM alone, and a rendering of a satellite image using the 8-bit DEM as a height map.

The 8-bit DEM rendered in 3D

The 8-bit DEM rendered in 3D with the Landsat image overlaid

If you would like to try rendering a 3D scene yourself, use your web browser to copy the Landsat image and 8-bit DEM of the Phoenix, Arizona area from this page.

Good luck and have fun!