mapaxes

R2026b

Create map axes

Since R2023a

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    Syntax

    mapaxes
    mapaxes(Name=Value)
    mapaxes(parent,___)
    mx = mapaxes(___)
    mapaxes(cmx)

    Description

    Create Map Axes

    mapaxes creates the default map axes in the current figure. By default, the function creates a world map that uses an Equal Earth projection.

    Use the mapaxes function when you want advanced control of the map axes, or when you want to include the map axes in an app. In other cases, create a map axes by using the newmap function.

    mapaxes(Name=Value) specifies options for the map axes using one or more name-value arguments. For example, FontSize=14 sets the font size for the map axes text to 14 points. For a list of properties, see MapAxes Properties.

    example

    mapaxes(parent,___) creates the map axes in the object specified by parent, instead of in the current figure, in addition to any combination of inputs from the previous syntaxes.

    example

    mx = mapaxes(___) returns the MapAxes object. Use mx to query and modify properties of the MapAxes object after creation. For a list of properties, see MapAxes Properties.

    example

    Specify Current Axes

    mapaxes(cmx) specifies the map axes cmx as the current axes.

    example

    Examples

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    Open Live Script

    Create a map with an inset map by positioning two MapAxes objects in a figure.

    Specify the position of the first MapAxes object so that it has a lower-left corner at the point (0.1, 0.1) with a width and height of 0.7. Specify the position of the second Axes object so that it has a lower-left corner at the point (0.67, 0.67) with a width and height of 0.26. By default, mapaxes normalizes the values to the figure. Return the MapAxes objects as mx1 and mx2.

    figure
mx1 = mapaxes(Position=[0.1 0.1 0.7 0.7]);
mx2 = mapaxes(Position=[0.67 0.67 0.26 0.26]);

    Figure contains 2 axes objects. Mapaxes object 1 is empty. Mapaxes object 2 is empty.

    Read a shapefile containing world land areas into the workspace as a geospatial table. The table represents the land areas using polygon shapes in geographic coordinates. Extract the table row for Australia.

    world = readgeotable("landareas.shp");
australia = geocode("australia",world);

    Change the projected coordinate reference system (CRS) of the first map axes to a CRS appropriate for Australia. Then, display the Australia polygon in the first axes.

    mx1.ProjectedCRS = projcrs(3112);
geoplot(mx1,australia)

    Display the global land area polygons and the Australia polygon in the second map axes. Use red for the Australia polygon.

    geoplot(mx2,world)
hold on
geoplot(mx2,australia,"red")

    Hide the ticks and tick labels on the second map axes by setting the TickDir and FontColor properties.

    mx2.TickDir = "none";
mx2.FontColor = "none";

    Figure contains 2 axes objects. Mapaxes object 1 contains an object of type polygon. Mapaxes object 2 contains 2 objects of type polygon.

    Since R2026b

    Open Live Script

    Create a map that uses a projected CRS that is appropriate for an arctic region. Maximize the axes within the figure by specifying the MapLayout argument as "maximized". Maximizing the axes hides the ticks, tick labels, graticule, and titles.

    figure
pcrs = projcrs(3995);
mapaxes(ProjectedCRS=pcrs,MapLayout="maximized")

    Retain the maximized map layout by setting the hold state of the axes to on. Then, display polygons representing land areas on the map.

    hold on

land = readgeotable("northernhemisphere.shp");
geoplot(land)

    Figure contains an axes object with type mapaxes. The mapaxes object contains an object of type polygon.

    Copyright 2026 The MathWorks, Inc.

    Open Live Script

    Create two MapAxes objects and specify their positions. Return the MapAxes objects as mx1 and mx2.

    figure
mx1 = mapaxes(Position=[0.1 0.1 0.45 0.45]);
mx2 = mapaxes(Position=[0.5 0.5 0.45 0.45]);

    Figure contains 2 axes objects. Mapaxes object 1 is empty. Mapaxes object 2 is empty.

    Make mx1 the current axes. This action makes the axes the target for subsequent graphics functions. Display polygons representing global land areas on the axes.

    mapaxes(mx1)
land = readgeotable("landareas.shp");
geoplot(land)

    Figure contains 2 axes objects. Mapaxes object 1 contains an object of type polygon. Mapaxes object 2 is empty.

    Open Live Script

    Create a figure with two tabs. Add a map axes to each tab by specifying the parent container for each axes. 

    figure
tab1 = uitab(Title="Tab1");
mx1 = mapaxes(tab1);

tab2 = uitab(Title="Tab2");
mx2 = mapaxes(tab2);

    Plot polygons representing global land areas in the first tab and points representing global cities in the second tab.

    land = readgeotable("landareas.shp");
geoplot(mx1,land)

cities = readgeotable("worldcities.shp");
geoplot(mx2,cities)

    Figure contains 2 axes objects and another object of type uitabgroup. Mapaxes object 1 contains an object of type point. Mapaxes object 2 contains an object of type polygon.

    Open Live Script

    Create a map axes with a title. Remove the graticule lines, specify the map outline color, and specify the font color using name-value arguments.

    mapaxes(GraticuleLineStyle="none",OutlineColor="r",FontColor="b")
title("My title")

    Figure contains an axes object with type mapaxes. The mapaxes object is empty.

    Alternatively, you can set properties of the MapAxes object after creation by returning the MapAxes object as a variable.

    figure
mx = mapaxes;
title("My title")

mx.GraticuleLineStyle = "none";
mx.OutlineColor = "r";
mx.FontColor = "b";

    To use a different color for the title than for the tick labels, set the Color property of the title.

    mx.Title.Color = "k";

    Figure contains an axes object with type mapaxes. The mapaxes object is empty.

    Input Arguments

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    Parent container, specified as a Figure, Panel, Tab, TiledChartLayout, or GridLayout object.

    Axes to make current, specified as a MapAxes object.

    Name-Value Arguments

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    Specify optional pairs of arguments as Name1=Value1,...,NameN=ValueN, where Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name-value arguments must appear after other arguments, but the order of the pairs does not matter.

    Example: mapaxes(Position=[0.3 0.3 0.5 0.5]) specifies the position of the map axes so that is has a lower-left corner at the point (0.3, 0.3) with a width and height of 0.5. By default, mapaxes normalizes the values to the figure.

    Note

    Use name-value arguments to specify values for the properties of the MapAxes objects created by this function. The properties listed here are only a subset. For a full list, see MapAxes Properties.

    Projected coordinate reference system (CRS), specified as a projcrs object. MapAxes objects use the projection method and projection parameters stored in the projected CRS to transform geographic (latitude-longitude) coordinates to projected (xy) coordinates.

    When you change the projected CRS, MATLAB® automatically updates the map axes to use the new projected CRS.

    To change the projection parameters of the CRS, access the underlying ProjectionParameters property of the projcrs object.

    p = projcrs(26919);
newmap(p)
mx = gca;
mx.ProjectionParameters.LongitudeOfNaturalOrigin = -75;

    For examples of how to customize the projection used by map axes, see Change Projection and Projection Parameters.

    By default, map axes objects use the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS 84) / Equal Earth Greenwich projected CRS, which has the EPSG code 8857.

    The projected CRS must have a forward and inverse projection implementation. Most projected CRSs have a forward and inverse projection implementation.

    If you specify a projcrs object with a vertical CRS, the map axes stores the projcrs object with the vertical CRS removed.

    Map layout, specified as one of these options:

    • "normal" — Display the map in a box that is inset from the edges of the parent container. For many projected CRSs, this box includes the quadrangle defined by CartographicLatitudeLimits and CartographicLongitudeLimits and some areas surrounding the quadrangle. The axes does not display data where the projection has undefined numeric results or extreme map distortion. This option is appropriate for most data visualization and exploration.

    • "cartographic" — Display only the data within the quadrangle defined by the CartographicLatitudeLimits and CartographicLongitudeLimits properties. This option is useful when creating static maps or when preparing maps for publication. For more information about creating maps using the "cartographic" option, see Create Map of Quadrangle Using Cartographic Map Layout.

    • "maximized" — Maximize the map by filling the available space within the parent container. Hide the ticks, tick labels, graticule, and titles. This option makes the Position and OuterPosition properties equal. This option is useful when you want to emphasize the content of the map, such as when creating an app. (since R2026b)

    This table compares the "normal", "cartographic", and "maximized" options for several projected CRSs. The figures within the table show the box specified by Position in red and the box specified by OuterPosition in blue.

    Projected CRS "normal" "cartographic" "maximized"

    A projected CRS for a temperate region.

    This row shows maps created from a projcrs object that uses a Lambert Conic Conformal projection method. The projcrs object corresponds to the EPSG code 3112.

    Map of Australia in normal map layout

    Map of Australia in cartographic map layout

    Map of Australia in maximized map layout

    A projected CRS for a polar region.

    This row shows maps created from a projcrs object that uses a Polar Stereographic projection method. The projcrs object corresponds to the EPSG code 5042.

    Map of Antarctica in normal map layout

    Map of Antarctica in cartographic map layout

    Map of Antarctica in maximized map layout

    A projected CRS for a global region.

    This row shows maps created from a projcrs object that uses an Equal Earth projection method. The projcrs object corresponds to the EPSG code 8857.

    In this case, the map layouts for the "normal" and "cartographic" options are the same.

    Map of world in normal map layout

    Map of world in cartographic map layout

    Map of world in maximized map layout

    Size and location, excluding a margin for the labels, specified as a four-element vector of the form [left bottom width height]. By default, MATLAB measures the values in units normalized to the container. To change the units, set the Units property.

    • The left and bottom elements define the distance from the lower-left corner of the container (typically a figure, panel, or tab) to the lower-left corner of the position boundary.

    • The width and height elements are the position boundary dimensions.

    If you want to specify the position and account for the text around the axes, then set the OuterPosition property instead. This figure shows the areas defined by the OuterPosition values (blue) and the Position values (red).

    Map axes with a title. The inner position is outlined in red. The outer position is outlined in blue.

    Note

    Setting this property has no effect when the parent container is a TiledChartLayout object.

    Size and location, including the labels and a margin, specified as a four-element vector of the form [left bottom width height]. By default, MATLAB measures the values in units normalized to the container. To change the units, set the Units property. The default value of [0 0 1 1] includes the whole interior of the container.

    • The left and bottom elements define the distance from the lower-left corner of the container (typically a figure, panel, or tab) to the lower-left corner of the outer position boundary.

    • The width and height elements are the outer position boundary dimensions.

    This figure shows the areas defined by the OuterPosition values (blue) and the Position values (red).

    Map axes with a title. The inner position is outlined in red. The outer position is outlined in blue.

    Note

    Setting this property has no effect when the parent container is a TiledChartLayout object.

    Position units, specified as one of these values.

    UnitsDescription
    "normalized" (default)Normalized with respect to the container, which is typically the figure or a panel. The lower-left corner of the container maps to (0,0) and the upper-right corner maps to (1,1).
    "inches"Inches.
    "centimeters"Centimeters.
    "characters"

    Based on the default UIControl font of the graphics root object:

    • Character width = width of letter x.

    • Character height = distance between the baselines of two lines of text.

    "points"Typography points. One point equals 1/72 of an inch.
    "pixels"

    Pixels.

    On Windows® and Macintosh systems, the size of a pixel is 1/96th of an inch. This size is independent of your system resolution.

    On Linux® systems, the size of a pixel is determined by your system resolution.

    When specifying the units using a name-value argument during object creation, you must set the Units property before specifying the properties that you want to use these units, such as Position.

    Version History

    Introduced in R2023a

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    See Also

    Properties

    Functions

    Topics