geoplot

Plot line in geographic coordinates

Syntax

geoplot(lat,lon)

geoplot(lat,lon,LineSpec)

geoplot(lat1,lon1,...,latN,lonN)

geoplot(lat1,lon1,LineSpec1,...,latN,lonN,LineSpecN)

geoplot(___,Name,Value)

geoplot(gx,___)

h = geoplot(___)

Description

geoplot(lat,lon) plots a line in a geographic axes with vertices at the latitude-longitude locations specified (in degrees) by the vectors lat and lon. The lat and lon inputs must be the same size. By default, geoplot draws a solid line, with no markers, using colors specified by the ColorOrder property of the Geographic axes object.

geoplot(lat,lon,LineSpec) sets the style, marker symbol, and color for the line.

geoplot(lat1,lon1,...,latN,lonN) combines the plots specified by several sets of latitude-longitude locations.

geoplot(lat1,lon1,LineSpec1,...,latN,lonN,LineSpecN) combines the plots specified by several sets of latitude-longitude locations, with a separate LineSpec for each line.

geoplot(___,Name,Value) specifies properties of the chart line using one or more Name,Value pair arguments.

geoplot(gx,___) plots in the geographic axes specified by gx instead of the current axes.

h = geoplot(___) returns a column vector of Chart Line objects. Each object corresponds to a plotted line. Use h to modify the properties of the Chart line objects.

Examples

Create Geographic Plot

Plot a straight line between two points on a map. Specify the latitude and longitude (in degrees) of two cities, Seattle and Anchorage, as the endpoints of the line.

latSeattle = 47.62;
lonSeattle = -122.33;
latAnchorage = 61.20;
lonAnchorage = -149.9;

Plot the data on a map. Use a LineSpec to specify the color and other qualities of the line.

geoplot([latSeattle latAnchorage],[lonSeattle lonAnchorage],'g-*')

Add Text to Geographic Plot

Plot a straight line between two points on a map. Specify the latitude and longitude (in degrees) of two cities, Seattle and Anchorage, as the endpoints of the line.

latSeattle = 47.62;
lonSeattle = -122.33;
latAnchorage = 61.20;
lonAnchorage = -149.9;

Plot the data on a map. Use a LineSpec to specify the color and other qualities of the line.

geoplot([latSeattle latAnchorage],[lonSeattle lonAnchorage],'g-*')

Add a text label to identify Anchorage in the plot.

text(latAnchorage,lonAnchorage,'Anchorage');

Add a text label to identify Seattle in the plot. Use properties of the Text object to specify the alignment of the text label.

text(latSeattle,lonSeattle,'Seattle',...
    'HorizontalAlignment','right',...
    'VerticalAlignment','bottom');

Plot Multiple Lines on Map with Individual LineSpecs

Set up the latitude and longitudes for three cities: Seattle, Anchorage, and Point Barrow.

latSeattle = 47.62;
lonSeattle = -122.33;
latAnchorage = 61.20;
lonAnchorage = -149.9;
latPtBarrow = 71.38;
lonPtBarrow = -156.47;

Plot straight lines from Seattle to each of the other two cities. Draw a solid yellow line from Seattle to Anchorage and a dotted blue line between Seattle and Point Barrow.

geoplot([latSeattle latAnchorage],[lonSeattle lonAnchorage],'y-',...
    [latSeattle latPtBarrow],[lonSeattle lonPtBarrow],'b:')

Use a Text object to add text labels identifying each city.

text(latAnchorage,lonAnchorage,'Anchorage');
text(latPtBarrow,lonPtBarrow,'Point Barrow');
text(latSeattle,lonSeattle,'Seattle',...
    'VerticalAlignment','bottom');

Use Chart Line Properties to Customize Appearance of the Line

Plot a straight line between two points on a map. Specify the latitude and longitude (in degrees) of two cities, Seattle and Anchorage, as the endpoints of the line.

latSeattle = 47.62;
lonSeattle = -122.33;
latAnchorage = 61.20;
lonAnchorage = -149.9;

Plot the line, using Chart Line properties to specify aspects of the appearance of the line.

geoplot([latSeattle latAnchorage],[lonSeattle lonAnchorage],...
    'LineWidth',2,'Color',[.6 0 0])

Change Basemap Used in Geographic Plot

Plot a straight line between two points on a map. Specify the latitude and longitude (in degrees) of two cities, Seattle and Anchorage, as the endpoints of the line.

latSeattle = 47.62;
lonSeattle = -122.33;
latAnchorage = 61.20;
lonAnchorage = -149.9;

Plot the line on the map.

geoplot([latSeattle latAnchorage],[lonSeattle lonAnchorage])

Change the basemap used in the plot using the geobasemap function.

geobasemap('colorterrain')

Input Arguments

lat — Latitude coordinates in degrees

real, numeric, finite vector

Latitude coordinates in degrees, specified as a real, numeric, finite vector. The vector can contain embedded NaNs. lat must be the same size as lon.

Example: [43.0327 38.8921 44.0435]

Data Types: single | double

lon — Longitude coordinates in degrees

real, numeric, finite vector

Longitude coordinates in degrees, specified as a real, numeric, finite vector. The vector can contain embedded NaNs. lon must be the same size as lat.

Example: [-107.5556 -77.0269 -72.5565]

Data Types: single | double

LineSpec — Line specification

character vector | string

Line specification, specified as a character vector or string containing a line style, marker, and color specifier. The elements can appear in any order, and you can omit one or more options. If you omit the line style and specify the marker, the plot shows only markers with no line connecting them. For more information, see LineSpec (Line Specification).

Example: '--or' is a red dashed line with circular markers

Data Types: char | string

gx — Target geographic axes

GeographicAxes object

Target geographic axes, specified as a GeographicAxes object. You can modify the appearance and behavior of a GeographicAxes object by setting its properties. For a list of properties, see GeographicAxes Properties.

Name-Value Pair Arguments

Specify optional comma-separated pairs of Name,Value arguments. Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name must appear inside quotes. You can specify several name and value pair arguments in any order as Name1,Value1,...,NameN,ValueN.

Example: h = geoplot(lat,lon,'Color','g')

Note

Property settings apply to all the lines in the plot. To set the properties of an individual line, retrieve the handle to the line in the geoplot return value h and use dot notation.

The name-value pairs listed here are only a subset. For a full list, see Line Properties.

'Color' — Line color

[0 1 0] (default) | MATLAB^® ColorSpec | ...

Line color, specified as a MATLAB ColorSpec (Color Specification). If specifying an RGB triplet, the intensities must be in the range [0,1].

Example: 'green'

Example: 'g'

Example: [0 1 0]

'LineStyle' — Line style

'-' (default) | MATLAB LineSpec | ...

Line style, specified as a MATLAB LineSpec (Line Specification).

Example: '--' (dashed line)

Example: ':' (dotted line)

'LineWidth' — Line width

0.5 (default) | positive value

Line width, specified as a positive value in points, where 1 point = 1/72 of an inch. If the line has markers, then the line width also affects the marker edges.

'Marker' — Marker symbol

'none' (default) | 'o' | '+' | '*' | '.' | 'x' | ...

Marker symbol, specified as one of the markers in this table. By default, a chart line does not have markers. Add markers at each data point along the line by specifying a marker symbol.

Value	Description
'o'	Circle
'+'	Plus sign
'*'	Asterisk
'.'	Point
'x'	Cross
'square' or 's'	Square
'diamond' or 'd'	Diamond
'^'	Upward-pointing triangle
'v'	Downward-pointing triangle
'>'	Right-pointing triangle
'<'	Left-pointing triangle
'pentagram' or 'p'	Five-pointed star (pentagram)
'hexagram' or 'h'	Six-pointed star (hexagram)
'none'	No markers

'MarkerFaceColor' — Marker face color

'none' (default) | 'auto' | MATLAB ColorSpec | ...

Marker face color, specified as 'none', 'auto' or a MATLAB ColorSpec (Color Specification). The 'auto' value uses the same color as the Color name-value pair for the axes. If you specify an RGB triplet, the intensities must be in the range [0,1].

Example: 'green'

Example: 'g'

Example: [0 1 0]

'MarkerSize' — Marker size

6 (default) | positive value

Marker size, specified as a positive value in points, where 1 point = 1/72 of an inch.

Output Arguments

h — Geographic plot

column vector of Line objects

Geographic plot, returned as a column vector of Line objects. Each object corresponds to a plotted line. Use h to modify the properties of the objects after they area created.

Tips

• To customize certain aspects of your plot, use properties of the geographic axes. For a list of properties, see GeographicAxes Properties.

• If you have Mapping Toolbox™, you can specify basemaps of your own choosing by using the addCustomBasemap function.

• To plot additional data in the geographic axes, use the hold on command.

• You cannot plot data that requires Cartesian axes in a geographic axes.