Three datasets of digital elevation models with high spatial resolutions are used in our evaluation. These models are representative types of landscape of Central Europe with highly diverse geomorphic characteristics: a high mountains area, a low mountain range, and a floodplain area in the lowlands. Both parallelization strategies are evaluated with regard to their usability on these diversely structured areas. Besides the correctness analysis of calculated relief parameters (i.e. catchment areas), priority is given to the analysis of speed-ups achieved through the deployed strategies. As presumed, local surface parameters allow an almost ideal speed-up. The situation is different for the calculation of non-local parameters which requires specific strategies depending on the type of landscape. Nevertheless, still a significant decrease of computation time has been achieved. While the speed-ups of the computation of the high mountain dataset are higher by running the 鈥渟patial decomposition approach鈥?(3.2 by using four processors and 4.2 by using eight processors), the speed-ups of the 鈥渢wo phase approach鈥?have proved to be more efficient for the calculation of the low mountain and the floodplain dataset (2.6 by using four processors and 2.9 by using eight processors).