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"Physical" maps produced around the mid-20th century generally portrayed the land by using flat elevation (hypsometric) tints delineated by selected elevation curves. Primarily the Swiss - the leaders in the cartographic world community - carried this technique one step further by superimposing their subtle hypsometric tints on top of the shaded relief, thereby creating artistic representations of the Earth's surface.
Utilizing today's digital technology, we are now able to produce a wide range of gradient hypsometric tints, and - draping them over the relief - recreate the impact of those beautiful old maps.
The above image - from left to right - illustrates the "higher the lighter" and the "higher the darker" tint techniques. Softly blending them together symbolizes the endless variety available between the two extremes.
