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The gradient is a fancy word for derivative, or the rate of change of a function. Itâs a vector (a direction to move) that. 1  Points in the direction of greatest increase of a function (intuition on why)  Is zero at a local maximum or local minimum (because there is no single direction of increase)
Gradient tells you how steep your route is! Gradient can be expressed numerically in many ways. One common way to describe the average steepness or gradient between two points is to state the difference in elevation (ED) divided by the horizontal distance (HD): GRADIENT = ED/HD. Take a look at this example: