geoscatter

Scatter chart in geographic coordinates

• 

Syntax

geoscatter(lat,lon)

geoscatter(lat,lon,A)

geoscatter(lat,lon,A,C)

geoscatter(___,"filled")

geoscatter(___,mkr)

geoscatter(tbl,latvar,lonvar)

geoscatter(tbl,latvar,lonvar,"filled")

geoscatter(ax,___)

geoscatter(___,Name,Value)

s = geoscatter(___)

Description

Vector Data

geoscatter(lat,lon) creates a scatter plot with markers in geographic coordinates. By default, the function uses circular markers. Specify the latitude coordinates in degrees using lat, and specify the longitude coordinates in degrees using lon. If the current axes is not a geographic or map axes, or if there is no current axes, then the function creates the scatter plot in a new geographic axes.

geoscatter(lat,lon,A) specifies the circle sizes in points squared. To use the same size for all the circles, specify A as a scalar. To plot each circle with a different size, specify A as a vector of the same size as lat and lon.

geoscatter(lat,lon,A,C) specifies the circle colors. You can specify one color for all the circles, or you can vary the color. For example, you can plot all red circles by specifying C as "red".

geoscatter(___,"filled") fills in the circles. You can use the "filled" option with any of the input argument combinations in the previous syntaxes.

geoscatter(___,mkr) specifies the marker type.

Table Data

geoscatter(tbl,latvar,lonvar) plots the variables latvar and lonvar from the table tbl. To plot one data set, specify one variable for latvar and one variable for lonvar. To plot multiple data sets, specify multiple variables for latvar, lonvar, or both. If both arguments specify multiple variables, they must specify the same number of variables. (Since R2022b)

geoscatter(tbl,latvar,lonvar,"filled") plots the specified variables from the table with filled circles. (Since R2022b)

Additional Options

geoscatter(ax,___) plots into the geographic axes or map axes specified by ax. Specify the axes as the first argument in any of the previous syntaxes.

geoscatter(___,Name,Value) specifies properties of the scatter plot using one or more name-value arguments. For a list of properties, see Scatter Properties.

s = geoscatter(___) returns the Scatter object. Use s to set properties after creating the plot. For a full list of properties, see Scatter Properties.

Examples

Create Geographic Scatter Plot

Specify the latitude and longitude coordinates of several locations in Boston. Create a scatter plot using filled markers.

lat = [42.3501 42.3598 42.3626 42.3668 42.3557];
lon = [-71.0870 -71.0662 -71.0789 -71.0801 -71.0662];
geoscatter(lat,lon,"filled")

Zoom out of the plot by adjusting the limits.

geolimits([42.3456 42.3694],[-71.0930 -71.0536])

Use Markers with Varying Sizes and Colors

Create a scatter plot using the latitude and longitude coordinates of several points along the Mississippi River. Specify the optional size and color arguments as vectors. The color values map to colors in the colormap.

lat = [32.30 33.92 35.17 36.98 37.69 38.34];
lon = [-91.05 -91.18 -90.09 -89.11 -89.52 -90.37];
A = 100*[5 12 15 3 10 3];
C = [1 2 2 3 1 1];

geoscatter(lat,lon,A,C,"filled")

Zoom out by adjusting the latitude and longitude limits of the plot. Then, change the basemap to a terrain basemap.

geolimits([31.60 38.91],[-97.04 -82.84])
geobasemap grayterrain

Specify Marker Symbol

Specify the latitude and longitude coordinates of several European cities. Create a scatter plot using magenta diamond markers.

lat = [48.85 51.5 40.41 41.9 52.52 52.36 52.22 47.49 44.42 50.07 48.20 46.94];
lon = [2.35 -0.12 -3.70 12.49 13.40 4.90 21.01 19.04 26.10 14.43 16.37 7.44];

geoscatter(lat,lon,"m","d")

Zoom out by adjusting the latitude and longitude limits of the plot. Then, change the basemap to a topographic basemap.

geolimits([30 60],[-20 50])
geobasemap topographic

Change Marker Color and Line Width

Specify the latitude and longitude coordinates of several locations in Boston.

lat = [42.3501 42.3598 42.3626 42.3668 42.3557];
lon = [-71.0870 -71.0662 -71.0789 -71.0801 -71.0662];

Create a scatter plot and set the marker edge color, marker face color, and line width.

geoscatter(lat,lon,70,"MarkerEdgeColor",[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250], ...
    "MarkerFaceColor",[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330],"LineWidth",2)

Zoom out of the plot by adjusting the limits. Then, change the basemap.

geolimits([42.3456 42.3694],[-71.0930 -71.0536])
geobasemap streets-dark

Plot Data from Table

Since R2022b

A convenient way to plot data from a table is to pass the table to the geoscatter function and specify the variables to plot.

Load a file containing county data into the workspace as a table. The table includes latitude and longitude coordinates in the table variables Latitude and Longitude, respectively.

tbl = readtable("counties.xlsx"); 

Plot the latitude and longitude coordinates over a two-tone basemap. Return the Scatter object as s.

s = geoscatter(tbl,"Latitude","Longitude");
geobasemap grayland

Change the marker style and color of the plot by setting the Marker and MarkerEdgeColor properties.

s.Marker = "*";
s.MarkerEdgeColor = "m";

Plot Table Data with Custom Colors and Marker Sizes

Since R2022b

One way to plot data from a table and customize the colors and marker sizes is to set the ColorVariable and SizeData properties. You can set these properties as name-value arguments when you call the geoscatter function, or you can set them on the Scatter object later.

For example, load a file containing county data into the workspace as a table. The table includes latitude and longitude coordinates in the table variables Latitude and Longitude, respectively.

tbl = readtable("counties.xlsx");

Plot the latitude and longitude coordinates using filled markers. Return the Scatter object as s.

s = geoscatter(tbl,"Latitude","Longitude","filled");

Change the marker sizes to 100 points by setting the SizeData property.

s.SizeData = 100;

Vary the marker colors by setting the ColorVariable property to a table variable. Then, add a colorbar.

s.ColorVariable = "Population2010";
c = colorbar;
c.Label.String = "County Population in 2010";

Input Arguments

lat — Latitude coordinates in degrees

vector with elements in range [–90, 90]

Latitude coordinates in degrees, specified as a vector with elements in the range [–90, 90]. The vector can contain NaN values.

The sizes of lat and lon must match.

Example: [43.0327 38.8921 44.0435]

Data Types: single | double

lon — Longitude coordinates in degrees

vector

Longitude coordinates in degrees, specified as a vector. The vector can contain NaN values.

The sizes of lat and lon must match.

Example: [-107.5556 -77.0269 -72.5565]

Data Types: single | double

A — Marker size, in points squared

36 (default) | scalar | vector | []

Marker size with units in points squared, specified as a numeric scalar, numeric vector, or empty array ([]). The size controls the area of each marker.

• Numeric scalar — Use a uniform marker size. For example, A = 100 creates all markers with an area of 100 points squared.

• Numeric vector — Use a different marker size for each data point. The size of A must match the size of lat and lon.

• Empty brackets ([]) — Use the default marker size of 36 points squared. Use this option when you want to specify the color input argument and use the default marker area, such as geoscatter(lat,lon,[],c).

The SizeData property of the scatter object stores the marker sizes.

Example: 50

Example: [36 25 25 17 46]

C — Marker color

RGB triplet | three-column matrix of RGB triplets | vector | "r" | "g" | "b" | ...

Marker color, specified as one of these options:

• RGB triplet or color name — Plot all markers with the same color.

• Three-column matrix of RGB triplets — Use different colors for each marker. Each row of the matrix specifies an RGB triplet color for the corresponding marker. The number of rows must equal the length of lat and lon.

• Vector — Use different colors for each marker and linearly map values in C to the current colormap. The length of C must equal the length of lat and lon. To change the colormap for the axes, use the colormap function.

An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1]; for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7]. Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the long and short color name options and the equivalent RGB triplet values.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]

When you specify marker colors, the geoscatter function sets the MarkerFaceColor property of the Scatter object to "flat" and stores the marker colors in the CData property.

Example: "green"

Example: "g"

Example: [0 1 0]

mkr — Marker symbol

"o" (default) | "+" | "*" | "." | "x" | ...

Marker symbol, specified as one of these values.

Marker	Description	Resulting Marker
"o"	Circle
"+"	Plus sign
"*"	Asterisk
"."	Point
"x"	Cross
"_"	Horizontal line
"|"	Vertical line
"square"	Square
"diamond"	Diamond
"^"	Upward-pointing triangle
"v"	Downward-pointing triangle
">"	Right-pointing triangle
"<"	Left-pointing triangle
"pentagram"	Pentagram
"hexagram"	Hexagram

"filled" — Option to fill the interior of the markers

"filled"

Option to fill the interior of the markers, specified as "filled". Use this option with markers that have a face, for example, "o" or "square". This option does not display markers that do not have a face and contain only edges, such as "+" and "*".

The "filled" option sets the MarkerFaceColor property of the Scatter object to "flat" and the MarkerEdgeColor property to "none". As a result, this option displays the marker faces and does not display the edges.

tbl — Source table

table | timetable

Source table containing the data to plot, specified as a table or a timetable.

latvar — Table variables containing latitude coordinates

string array | character vector | cell array | pattern | numeric scalar or vector | logical vector | vartype()

Table variables containing the latitude coordinates, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the table.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable names: A string, character vector, or cell array. A pattern object.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A ["A","B"] or {'A','B'} — Two variables named A and B "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — Variables named "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A vector of numbers. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [2 3] — The second and third variables from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects variables of a specified type.	vartype("categorical") — All the variables containing categorical values

Regardless of the variable name, the axis label on the plot is always Latitude.

The variables you specify must contain numeric data of type single or double. The data must be in the range [–90, 90].

If latvar and lonvar both specify multiple variables, the number of variables must be the same.

Example: geoscatter(tbl,["lat1","lat2"],"lon") specifies the table variables named lat1 and lat2 for the latitude coordinates.

Example: geoscatter(tbl,2,"lon") specifies the second variable for the latitude coordinates.

Example: geoscatter(tbl,vartype("numeric"),"lon") specifies all numeric variables for the latitude coordinates.

lonvar — Table variables containing longitude coordinates

string array | character vector | cell array | pattern | numeric scalar or vector | logical vector | vartype()

Table variables containing the longitude coordinates, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the table.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable names: A string, character vector, or cell array. A pattern object.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A ["A","B"] or {'A','B'} — Two variables named A and B "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — Variables named "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A vector of numbers. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [2 3] — The second and third variables from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects variables of a specified type.	vartype("categorical") — All the variables containing categorical values

Regardless of the variable name, the axis label on the plot is always Longitude.

The variables you specify must contain numeric data of type single or double.

If latvar and lonvar both specify multiple variables, the number of variables must be the same.

Example: geoscatter(tbl,"lat",["lon1","lon2"]) specifies the table variables named lon1 and lon2 for the longitude coordinates.

Example: geoscatter(tbl,"lat",2) specifies the second variable for the longitude coordinates.

Example: geoscatter(tbl,"lat",vartype("numeric")) specifies all numeric variables for the longitude coordinates.

ax — Target axes

GeographicAxes object | MapAxes object

Target axes, specified as a GeographicAxes object¹ or MapAxes (Mapping Toolbox™) object.

If you do not specify this argument, then the geoscatter function plots into the current axes, provided that the current axes is a geographic axes or map axes object.

Name-Value Arguments

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: geoscatter(lat,lon,"filled",MarkerFaceAlpha=0.5) creates filled, semi-transparent markers.

Before R2021a, use commas to separate each name and value, and enclose Name in quotes.

Example: geoscatter(lat,lon,"filled","MarkerFaceAlpha",0.5) creates filled, semi-transparent markers.

The scatter object properties listed here are only a subset. For a complete list, see Scatter Properties.

MarkerEdgeColor — Marker outline color

"flat" (default) | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | "r" | "g" | "b" | ...

Marker outline color, specified "flat", an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The default value of "flat" uses colors from the CData property.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

• An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1], for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

• A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and the hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]	"#FF0000"
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]	"#00FF00"
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]	"#0000FF"
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]	"#00FFFF"
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]	"#FF00FF"
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]	"#FFFF00"
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]	"#000000"
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]	"#FFFFFF"
"none"	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	No color

This table lists the default color palettes for plots in the light and dark themes.

Palette	Palette Colors
"gem" — Light theme default Before R2025a: Most plots use these colors by default.
"glow" — Dark theme default

You can get the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for these palettes using the orderedcolors and rgb2hex functions. For example, get the RGB triplets for the "gem" palette and convert them to hexadecimal color codes.

RGB = orderedcolors("gem");
H = rgb2hex(RGB);

Before R2023b: Get the RGB triplets using RGB = get(groot,"FactoryAxesColorOrder").

Before R2024a: Get the hexadecimal color codes using H = compose("#%02X%02X%02X",round(RGB*255)).

Example: [0.5 0.5 0.5]

Example: "blue"

Example: "#D2F9A7"

MarkerFaceColor — Marker fill color

"none" (default) | "flat" | "auto" | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | "r" | "g" | "b" | ...

Marker fill color, specified as "flat", "auto", an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The "flat" option uses the CData values. The "auto" option uses the same color as the Color property for the axes.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

• An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1], for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

• A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and the hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]	"#FF0000"
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]	"#00FF00"
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]	"#0000FF"
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]	"#00FFFF"
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]	"#FF00FF"
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]	"#FFFF00"
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]	"#000000"
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]	"#FFFFFF"
"none"	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	No color

This table lists the default color palettes for plots in the light and dark themes.

Palette	Palette Colors
"gem" — Light theme default Before R2025a: Most plots use these colors by default.
"glow" — Dark theme default

You can get the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for these palettes using the orderedcolors and rgb2hex functions. For example, get the RGB triplets for the "gem" palette and convert them to hexadecimal color codes.

RGB = orderedcolors("gem");
H = rgb2hex(RGB);

Before R2023b: Get the RGB triplets using RGB = get(groot,"FactoryAxesColorOrder").

Before R2024a: Get the hexadecimal color codes using H = compose("#%02X%02X%02X",round(RGB*255)).

Example: [0.3 0.2 0.1]

Example: "green"

Example: "#D2F9A7"

LineWidth — Width of marker edge

0.5 (default) | positive value

Width of marker edge, specified as a positive value in point units.

Example: 0.75

ColorVariable — Table variable containing color data

table variable index

Table variable containing the color data, specified as a variable index into the source table.

Specifying the Table Index

Use any of the following indexing schemes to specify the desired variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

Specifying Color Data

Specifying the ColorVariable property controls the colors of the markers. The data in the variable controls the marker fill color when the MarkerFaceColor property is set to "flat". The data can also control the marker outline color, when the MarkerEdgeColor is set to "flat".

The table variable you specify can contain values of any numeric type. The values can be in either of the following forms:

• A column of numbers that linearly map into the current colormap.

• A three-column array of RGB triplets. RGB triplets are three-element vectors whose values specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of specific colors. The intensities must be in the range [0,1]. For example, [0.5 0.7 1] specifies a shade of light blue.

When you set the ColorVariable property, MATLAB^® updates the CData property.

Output Arguments

s — Geographic scatter plot

Scatter object

Geographic scatter plot, returned as a Scatter object. Use s to access and modify properties of the geographic scatter plot after it has been created.

Tips

• When you plot on geographic axes, the geoscatter function assumes that coordinates are referenced to the WGS84 coordinate reference system. If you plot using coordinates that are referenced to a different coordinate reference system, then the coordinates might appear misaligned.

Version History

Introduced in R2018b

R2022b: Pass tables directly to geoscatter

Create a plot by passing a table to the geoscatter function followed by the variables you want to plot.

R2022b: Adding new plots to geographic axes does not reset basemap

When you plot into geographic axes by using functions such as geoscatter and geoplot, MATLAB does not reset the basemap. In R2022a and earlier releases, the basemap resets when you add new plots.

As a result, you can specify a basemap and then visualize data without using the hold function between commands. For example, this code creates a map using the streets basemap. Then it displays a scatter plot over the basemap. In R2022b, the basemap does not reset. In R2022a and earlier releases, the basemap resets to the default streets-light.

lat = [35 -22 51 39 37 42 47 -33];
lon = [139 -43 0 116 23 -71 -122 18];
 
figure
geobasemap streets
geoscatter(lat,lon,"filled")

This change does not affect existing code that sets the hold state to "on" between commands.

To reset the basemap when you add a new plot, use the cla reset syntax of the cla function before you create the plot. For example, to update the preceding code, use cla reset between the calls to geobasemap and geoscatter.

lat = [35 -22 51 39 37 42 47 -33];
lon = [139 -43 0 116 23 -71 -122 18];
 
figure
geobasemap streets
cla reset
geoscatter(lat,lon,"filled")

Alternatively, you can change the basemap to the default streets-light by using the geobasemap function. For more information about changing the basemap of geographic axes, see Access Basemaps for Geographic Axes and Charts.