Relief Map of Japan

This clay­ful to­po­gra­phic map of Japan, in eq­ui­rec­tan­gu­lar pro­jec­tion, was cre­ated from a set of ter­rain tiles most gra­cious­ly made a­vail­a­ble to the pub­lic by the op­er­a­tors of the Japanese ASTER sat­el­lite. It was ren­de­red with Blender and its Cycles renderer.

Zoom in! These sugar-cones are vul­ca­noes, the crum­bles are moun­tain ran­ges, and cities take most the sea-side planes. If you prefer something more psychidelic (as far as gray goes), you can view the normal map directly.