DEM Masher

DEM Masher is a graphical user interface (GUI) for GDAL commands for manipulating digital elevation models (DEMs) in various formats. Except for texture shading, DEM Masher requires GDAL to be installed on your computer in order to operate. Click here to go to the download page for GDAL. Texture shading works fine without GDAL installed, assuming your starting DEM is in GridFloat format. With the app, you can:

  • Combine DEMs from different sources in different formats and resolutions into a single DEM

  • Change DEM resolution and crop DEMs to your desired size.

  • Set all elevations below a user specified values to the “No Data” value

  • Batch combine multiple DEMs into a single DEM

  • Handle DEMs with elevations in feet (state agencies, I’m looking at you) and convert them to elevations in meters (requires a Python installation)

  • Save your DEM in GridFloat, TIFF, or IMG formats in either Geographic or Spherical Mercator projections

  • Visualize your DEM as a hillshade, color relief, or texture shade image with or without contours and save it with georeferencing metadata, either embedded in the case of TIFF format or as a world file in the case of PNG or JPG formats

  • Translate vector GIS formats (Shape, SpatiaLite, or GeoDatabse) to or from GeoPackage format (.gpkg). Export cotours in the vector format of your choice

DEM Masher comes with a very nice and complete users manual. Just look under the Help Menu!

Version 1 History

v. 1.1.5 — 2025.05.31

  • NEW — You can now produce a slope map using either slope angle or percent grade.

  • IMPROVED — Menus have been rearranged, including adding a Map Menu, for greater clarity.

  • FIXED — The Windows version of the app now works (at least it does on my virtual Windows box). GDAL installations are quirky and it seems that every platform has different quirks. (Thanks, Mark!)

v. 1.1.0 — 2025.05.22

  • NEW — You can now texture shade the DEM image using Leland Brown’s texture shade algorithms. Texture shading is great for enhancing geology. In fact, you can use DEM Masher to carry out texture shading even if you do not have GDAL installed (assuming your starting DEM is in GridFloat format). Texture shad images can have contours superimposed on top of them, and they can be saved as geoTiffs for use in MBTileMakerViewer, or any GIS aware program.