worldmap

Construct map axes for given region of world

Syntax

worldmap region

worldmap(region)

worldmap

worldmap(latlim,lonlim)

worldmap(Z,R)

h = worldmap(___)

Description

worldmap region or worldmap(region) sets up an empty map axes with projection and limits suitable to the part of the world specified in region.

worldmap with no arguments presents a menu from which you can select the name of a single continent, country, island, or region.

worldmap(latlim,lonlim) allows you to define a custom geographic region in terms of its latitude and longitude limits in degrees.

worldmap(Z,R) derives the map limits from the extent of a regular data grid, Z, georeferenced by R.

h = worldmap(___) returns the handle of the map axes.

Examples

Set up World Map and Draw Coastlines

Set up a world map and draw coarse coastlines.

worldmap('World')
load coastlines
plotm(coastlat,coastlon)

Set up World Map with Land Areas, Lakes, and Other Landmarks

Set up a world map with land areas, major lakes and rivers, and cities and populated places.

ax = worldmap('World');
setm(ax, 'Origin', [0 180 0])
land = shaperead('landareas', 'UseGeoCoords', true);
geoshow(ax, land, 'FaceColor', [0.5 0.7 0.5])
lakes = shaperead('worldlakes', 'UseGeoCoords', true);
geoshow(lakes, 'FaceColor', 'blue')
rivers = shaperead('worldrivers', 'UseGeoCoords', true);
geoshow(rivers, 'Color', 'blue')
cities = shaperead('worldcities', 'UseGeoCoords', true);
geoshow(cities, 'Marker', '.', 'Color', 'red')

Draw Map of Antarctica

Draw a map of Antarctica, using the worldmap function.

worldmap('antarctica')
antarctica = shaperead('landareas', 'UseGeoCoords', true,...
  'Selector',{@(name) strcmp(name,'Antarctica'), 'Name'});
patchm(antarctica.Lat, antarctica.Lon, [0.5 1 0.5])

Draw a map of Africa and India with Major Cities

Draw a map of Africa and India with major cities and populated areas.

worldmap({'Africa','India'})
land = shaperead('landareas.shp', 'UseGeoCoords', true);
geoshow(land, 'FaceColor', [0.15 0.5 0.15])
cities = shaperead('worldcities', 'UseGeoCoords', true);
geoshow(cities, 'Marker', '.', 'Color', 'red')

Display Geoid Heights Over South America and Central Pacific

Display geoid heights from the EGM96 geoid model over a map of South America and the central Pacific. First, get geoid heights and a geographic postings reference object. Load coastline latitude and longitude data.

[N,R] = egm96geoid;
load coastlines

Create a world map by specifying latitude and longitude limits. Then, display the geoid heights and coastline data.

latlim = [-50 50];
lonlim = [160 -30];
worldmap(latlim,lonlim)

geoshow(N,R,'DisplayType','surface')
geoshow(coastlat,coastlon,'Color','k')

Display Map of Terrain Elevations in Korea

Load elevation data and a geographic cells reference object for the Korean peninsula. Create a world map with appropriate latitude and longitude limits. Then, display the data as a texture map using geoshow. Apply a colormap appropriate for elevation data using demcmap.

load korea5c
worldmap(korea5c,korea5cR);
geoshow(korea5c,korea5cR,'DisplayType','texturemap')
demcmap(korea5c)

Map the United States of America Coloring State Polygons

Make a map of the United States of America, coloring state polygons.

ax = worldmap('USA');
load coastlines
geoshow(ax, coastlat, coastlon,...
'DisplayType', 'polygon', 'FaceColor', [.45 .60 .30])
states = shaperead('usastatelo', 'UseGeoCoords', true);
faceColors = makesymbolspec('Polygon',...
    {'INDEX', [1 numel(states)], 'FaceColor', ...
    polcmap(numel(states))}); % NOTE - colors are random
geoshow(ax, states, 'DisplayType', 'polygon', ...
  'SymbolSpec', faceColors)

Input Arguments

region — Region to display

'World' | 'North Pole' | 'South Pole' | 'Pacific' | character vector | string scalar | string array | cell array of character vectors

Region to display, specified as a string scalar, string array, character vector, or cell array of character vectors. Permissible values include names of continents, countries, and islands as well as 'World', 'North Pole', 'South Pole', and 'Pacific'.

Example: {'Africa','India'}

latlim — Latitude limits

two-element vector

Latitude limits, specified as a two-element vector of the form [southern_limit northern_limit].

lonlim — Longitude limits

two-element vector

Longitude limits, specified as a two-element vector of the form [western_limit eastern_limit].

Z — Data grid

M-by-N array

Data grid, specified as an M-by-N array. Z is a regular data grid associated with a geographic reference R.

R — Geographic reference

geographic raster reference object | vector | matrix

Geographic reference, specified as one of the following.

Type	Description
Geographic raster reference object	GeographicCellsReference or GeographicPostingsReference geographic raster reference object. The RasterSize property must be consistent with the size of the data grid, size(Z).
Vector	1-by-3 numeric vector with elements: [cells/degree northern_latitude_limit western_longitude_limit]
Matrix	3-by-2 numeric matrix that transforms raster row and column indices to or from geographic coordinates according to: [lon lat] = [row col 1] * R R defines a (non-rotational, non-skewed) relationship in which each column of the data grid falls along a meridian and each row falls along a parallel.

For more information about referencing vectors and matrices, see Georeferenced Raster Data.

Output Arguments

h — Handle of the map axes

handle object

Handle of the map axes, returned as a handle object.

Tips

• All axes created with worldmap are initialized with a spherical Earth model having a radius of 6,371,000 meters.

• worldmap uses tightmap to adjust the axes limits around the map. If you change the projection, or just want more white space around the map frame, use tightmap again or auto axis.