What method is commonly used to visualize elevation data in GIS?

Hillshade is a commonly used method for visualizing elevation data in GIS because it creates a 3D effect by simulating shadows on the terrain based on the solar angle and the topography of the land. By calculating how light interacts with the surface, hillshade helps users perceive the shapes and contours of the terrain, making it easier to understand the landscape's features such as valleys, ridges, and slopes. This method enhances the visual interpretation of elevation data, which is vital for applications like land planning, environmental analysis, and outdoor navigation.

The other options, such as scatter plots, line graphs, and bar charts, are typically used for different types of data visualization. Scatter plots are effective for showing relationships between two variables, line graphs are great for tracking changes over time, and bar charts are used for comparative analysis of categorical data. While these methods can provide useful representations for certain datasets, they do not convey the spatial and topographical nuances inherent in elevation data like hillshade does.