Create Your First World Map

Geospatial data can be complex and difficult to process. Mapping Toolbox™ functions handle many of the details of loading, representing, and displaying spatial data. Spatial data describes location, shape, and spatial relationships. Geospatial data is spatial data that is georeferenced, or tied to, specific locations on, under, or above the surface of a planet.

This page shows how to create similar world maps using map axes (since R2023a) and axesm-based maps. For a comparison of map axes and axesm-based maps, including when to use each type of display, see Choose a 2-D Map Display.

Load Data

Load data to use in the examples.

Read three shapefiles into the workspace by using the readgeotable function.

• A shapefile containing world land areas. The file represents the land areas using polygons in geographic coordinates.

• A shapefile containing world rivers. The file represents the rivers using lines in geographic coordinates.

• A shapefile containing world cities. The file represents the cities using points in geographic coordinates.

land = readgeotable("landareas.shp");
rivers = readgeotable("worldrivers.shp");
cities = readgeotable("worldcities.shp");

Load a MAT file containing the coordinates of global coastlines. The variables within the MAT file, coastlat and coastlon, specify numeric latitude and longitude coordinates, respectively.

load coastlines

Create Map Using Map Axes

Create a world map using a map axes object.

Set up a new map by using the newmap function. By default, map axes objects use an Equal Earth projection centered on the prime meridian and the equator.

figure
newmap

Display the land areas using the geoplot function.

geoplot(land)

You can use map axes to create maps in any supported projected coordinate reference system (CRS). Set up a new map using a projected CRS that is appropriate for Europe. Create the CRS using the projcrs function and the EPSG code 3035, which uses a Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area projection method.

figure
p = projcrs(3035);
newmap(p)

Display the land areas as green polygons, the rivers as blue lines, and the cities as red points.

geoplot(land,FaceColor=[0.65 0.85 0.45])
hold on
geoplot(rivers,Color=[0 0.4470 0.7410])
geoplot(cities,MarkerEdgeColor=[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840])

Label the Atlantic Ocean. Specify the location of the text using latitude and longitude coordinates.

text(39,-43,"Atlantic Ocean")

Create Map Using axesm-Based Map

Create a world map using an axesm-based map.

Set up a map of the world by using the worldmap function. The function automatically selects the map projection and the coordinate limits based on the region you specify. When you specify the region as world, the function selects a Robinson projection centered on the prime meridian and the equator.

figure
worldmap world

Display the coastline data using the plotm function.

load coastlines
plotm(coastlat,coastlon)

You can also create axesm-based maps for smaller regions. Set up a map of Europe by using the worldmap function.

figure
worldmap europe

In addition to standard axes properties, axesm-based maps contain properties such as the map projection type, the projection parameters, and the map limits. You can access and modify these additional properties using by using the getm and setm functions.

Query the map projection used by the map. The result indicates that the map uses an Equidistant Conic projection.

ax = gca;
getm(ax,"MapProjection")

ans = 
'eqdconic'

Display the data by using the geoshow function. Display the world land areas as green polygons, the world rivers as blue lines, and the world cities as red points.

geoshow(land,"FaceColor",[0.88 0.95 0.81])
geoshow(rivers,"Color",[0 0.4470 0.7410])
geoshow(cities,"Marker",".","MarkerEdgeColor",[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840])

Label the Mediterranean Sea by using the textm function. Specify the location of the text using latitude and longitude coordinates.

textm(35,14,"Mediterranean Sea")