Choose a 2-D Map Display

Mapping Toolbox™ provides several options for creating 2-D map displays. Choose a map display based on criteria such as the map projection, the type of data, and interactivity options.

Sample Goals	Map Display Option	Sample Map	Related Information
Projection Use a projected coordinate reference system (CRS) defined by a geospatial data file or by the EPSG. View a polar region. Data Plot data originating in a mixture of projected and geographic coordinates. Plot vector data. Interactivity Interactively explore using pan, zoom, and data tips. Build apps using App Designer.	Use a map axes object. (since R2023a) Create a map axes object from a projected CRS by using the newmap function. Specify the projected CRS by using a projcrs object. Plot data into a map axes object by using functions such as geoplot, geoscatter, geoiconchart, and bubblechart. Customize map axes using MATLAB® graphics functions. For example, change the geographic limits using geolimits, add text using text, and change the format of the tick labels using geotickformat.		Create Common Plots Using Map Axes Change Projection and Projection Parameters Customize Appearance of Map Axes Create Map Axes in App
Projection Use a Web Mercator map projection, which is common for web-based mapping workflows. Data Provide geographic context using high-zoom-level basemaps. Provide geographic context using data layers imported from Web Map Service (WMS) servers. Plot data originating in a mixture of projected and geographic coordinates. Plot vector data. Interactivity Interactively explore using pan, zoom, and data tips. Build apps using App Designer.	Use a geographic axes object. Unlike map axes, geographic axes do not require you to create an axes object before plotting data. All geographic axes use a Web Mercator projection. Plot data into a geographic axes object by using functions such as geoplot, geoscatter, geoiconchart, geodensityplot, and bubblechart. Customize geographic axes using MATLAB graphics functions. For example, change the basemap using geobasemap, change the geographic limits using geolimits, add text using text, and change the format of the tick labels using geotickformat.		Create Choropleth Map from Table Data Create Classification Map from Table Data Customize Appearance of Geographic Axes Create Geographic Axes in App
Projection Use a map projection appropriate for a world or US region by specifying the name of the region, for example Europe or California. Use a predefined projection defined by MATLAB. View a polar region. Data Plot data in geographic coordinates. Plot a mixture of vector and raster data.	Use an axesm-based map. Create axesm-based maps of world or US regions by using the worldmap and usamap functions, respectively. Create axesm-based maps that use predefined projections by using the axesm function. Plot data into axesm-based maps by using functions such as geoshow and contourm. Customize axesm-based maps by using Mapping Toolbox functions. For example, add text using textm, add a scale ruler using scaleruler, and add a north arrow using northarrow.		Create Maps of World and US Regions Summary and Guide to Projections Create Map Displays with Geographic Data
Projection Plot data already in a projection using Cartesian axes. Data Plot data in projected coordinates. Plot a mixture of vector and raster data. Plot data using a plot type not supported by map axes or geographic axes, for example digraphs and contours. Interactivity Build apps using App Designer.	Use an axes object. Axes do not require you to create the axes object before plotting data. Plot map data into an axes object by using functions such as mapshow, digraph, and binscatter. Customize axes using MATLAB graphics functions. For example, add text using text and change the map limits using xlim and ylim.		Create Maps with Data in Projected Coordinate Reference Systems Create Common Plots over Basemap Images