Can Azure Maps shaded relief be used as a standalone overlay layer?

Question

Hi Azure Maps team,

We're trying to build a custom basemap that keeps Azure Maps data, but with our own styling. We like the terrain look of the built-in road_shaded_relief style and want to understand what’s possible with it.

Questions:

1. Can the vector layers inside road_shaded_relief be fully restyled (colors, visibility, label styling) via Azure Maps style customization, so we can keep using road_shaded_relief while matching our branding?
2. Is the shaded relief component in road_shaded_relief available as a separate overlay/tileset (or otherwise adjustable, e.g., opacity/intensity) so it could be reused with other Azure Maps styles? If not, is it “baked” into the style?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Hello Florent Lavergne (iMetaverse LLC),

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A and Thank you for your detailed questions regarding Azure Maps and the road_shaded_relief style.

1.Can the vector layers inside road_shaded_relief be fully restyled?

Azure Maps basemap styles (including road_shaded_relief) are Microsoft-managed styles. While you can apply some level of style customization (such as changing certain colors, visibility of layers, and label styling) using Azure Maps style customization features, the vector layers inside the built-in styles are not fully exposed for complete restyling.

In other words:

• You cannot fully override every internal vector layer definition.

The base style structure remains controlled by Azure Maps.

Deep structural modifications are not supported.

If you require full control over styling (colors, labels, visibility rules, etc.), the recommended approach is to use a custom style built from Azure Maps vector tiles via the Web SDK, rather than relying directly on the built-in road_shaded_relief style.

2.Is the shaded relief component available as a standalone overlay?

Currently, the shaded relief effect in road_shaded_relief is not available as a separate overlay or independent tileset.

It is effectively baked into the style.

There is no separate shaded relief layer that can be independently added to other styles.

Opacity, intensity, or terrain shading parameters are not separately configurable.

If you need shaded relief combined with a fully custom basemap:

• You would need to recreate a similar terrain effect using external raster elevation/shaded relief tiles.
• Then overlay Azure Maps vector data on top.

Recommended Architecture for Full Branding Control

If your goal is Keep Azure Maps data, Apply fully custom branding, Maintain terrain-style visualization

The recommended approach would be:

Use Azure Maps vector tile source.

Build a fully custom Mapbox-style JSON.

Optionally integrate your own shaded relief raster layer.

Apply custom layer ordering and styling rules.

This provides maximum control but requires managing your own style configuration rather than relying on built-in styles.

Please refer this

• Azure Maps supported built-in map styles and formats
• Custom Overlays

I Hope this helps. Do let me know if you have any further queries.

Thank you!