geoiconchart

Icon chart in geographic coordinates

Since R2024b

Syntax

geoiconchart(lat,lon)

geoiconchart(lat,lon,filename)

geoiconchart(tbl,latvar,lonvar)

geoiconchart(tbl,latvar,lonvar,filename)

geoiconchart(ax,___)

geoiconchart(___,Name=Value)

ic = geoiconchart(___)

Description

Vector Data

geoiconchart(lat,lon) displays pushpin icons at the specified latitude and longitude coordinates. Specify the latitudes using lat and the longitudes 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 icon chart in a new geographic axes.

geoiconchart(lat,lon,filename) displays custom icons specified by the image file in filename.

Table Data

geoiconchart(tbl,latvar,lonvar) displays pushpin icons using the variables latvar and lonvar from the table tbl.

geoiconchart(tbl,latvar,lonvar,filename) displays icons specified by the file in filename.

Additional Options

geoiconchart(ax,___) displays the icons in the geographic axes or map axes specified by ax. Specify the axes as the first argument in any of the previous syntaxes.

geoiconchart(___,Name=Value) specifies properties of the geographic icon chart using one or more name-value arguments. For a list of properties, see IconChart Properties.

ic = geoiconchart(___) returns the IconChart object. Use ic to set properties after creating the chart. For a full list of properties, see IconChart Properties.

Examples

Create Icon Chart

Read the latitude and longitude coordinates of European capitals into the workspace. Display the coordinates on a map by creating an icon chart. By default, the icon chart uses pushpin icons.

[lat,lon] = readvars("european_capitals.txt");
geoiconchart(lat,lon)

Zoom out by changing the geographic limits. Add a title.

geolimits([35.5 56],[-13 35])
title("European Capitals")

Use Custom Icons

Specify the latitude and longitude coordinates of two parks, a school, and two gas stations.

parkLat = [42.4779 42.4726];
parkLon = [-73.1696 -73.1534];

schoolLat = 42.4757;
schoolLon = -73.1772;

gasLat = [42.4741 42.473];
gasLon = [-73.1609 -73.163];

Display the coordinates on a map by creating three icon charts. Use a different icon for each chart by specifying the names of image files. Prepare to add a legend by specifying a display name for each chart.

figure
geoiconchart(parkLat,parkLon,"park.png",DisplayName="Park")
hold on
geoiconchart(schoolLat,schoolLon,"school.png",DisplayName="School")
geoiconchart(gasLat,gasLon,"gas-station.png",DisplayName="Gas Station")

Zoom out by changing the geographic limits. Add a legend.

geolimits([42.4647 42.4837],[-73.1845 -73.1457])
legend

Specify Icon Size

Read point data in geographic coordinates from a GPX file into a geospatial table. Extract the latitude and longitude coordinates from the table.

GT = readgeotable("shibuya_track.gpx",Layer="track_points");
lat = GT.Shape.Latitude;
lon = GT.Shape.Longitude;

Create an icon chart using icons with different sizes. The SizeData argument specifies the height of each icon in points.

numPoints = length(lat);
sz = linspace(20,60,numPoints);

figure
geoiconchart(lat,lon,SizeData=sz)

Zoom out by changing the geographic limits.

geolimits([35.65694 35.66096],[139.69491 139.70240])

Corresponding elements in the latitude, longitude, and size vectors determine the location and size of each icon. To display all the icons using the same size, specify the size using a numeric scalar.

Rotate Icon Around Anchor Point

Display a wind barb icon on a map. Prepare to change properties of the icon by returning the IconChart object in ic.

figure
ic = geoiconchart(42.3,-71.35,"wind-barb.png",SizeData=40);

When you change the rotation angle of an icon, the icon rotates around the anchor point. For custom icons, the default anchor point is the center of the icon. Change the anchor point to the bottom-center edge of the icon.

ic.IconAnchorPoint = "bottom";

Using a loop, rotate the icon around its base. As the rotation angle increases, the icon rotates in a counterclockwise direction.

for r = 0:5:360
    ic.IconRotation = r;
    drawnow
end

Plot Data from Table

Read a spreadsheet containing tsunami events into the workspace as a table. The table stores the coordinates of the tsunami events in the Latitude and Longitude variables, and the causes of the tsunami events in the Cause variable.

tsunamis = readtable("tsunamis.xlsx",TextType="string");

Create a subtable of tsunami events that were caused by volcanoes.

idx = contains(tsunamis.Cause,"Volcano");
volcano = tsunamis(idx,:);

Create an icon chart from the table. Pass the table to the geoiconchart function, followed by the variables that contain the latitude and longitude coordinates.

geoiconchart(volcano,"Latitude","Longitude","volcano.png")

Zoom out by changing the geographic limits. Add a title.

geolimits([-68 81],[-180 180])
title("Tsunami Events Caused by Volcanoes")

Plot Table Data with Custom Icon Sizes and Rotation Angles

One way to use custom icon sizes and rotation angles when creating an icon chart from a table is to set the SizeVariable and IconRotationVariable properties of the chart.

Create a geospatial table by geocoding the names of several American cities. The geospatial table represents the cities using point shapes in geographic coordinates. Get the latitude and longitude coordinates from the point shapes by converting the geospatial table into a table with Latitude and Longitude variables. Then, add table variables that contain linearly-spaced sizes and angles.

GT = geocode(["New York","Boston","Buffalo","Philadelphia","Washington D.C."],"city");
T = geotable2table(GT,["Latitude","Longitude"]);
T.Size = linspace(20,60,height(T))';
T.Angle = linspace(0,360,height(T))'

T=5×6 table
          Name           AdminLevel    Latitude    Longitude    Size    Angle
    _________________    __________    ________    _________    ____    _____

    "New York"             "city"       40.697       -73.93      20        0 
    "Boston"               "city"        42.41       -71.13      30       90 
    "Buffalo"              "city"       42.676      -78.908      40      180 
    "Philadelphia"         "city"       40.006      -75.117      50      270 
    "Washington D.C."      "city"       38.891      -77.034      60      360 

Create an icon chart from the table. Pass the table to the geoiconchart function, followed by the variables that contain the latitude and longitude coordinates. Change the sizes of the icons by specifying the SizeVariable property. Change the rotation angles of the icons by specifying the IconRotationVariable property.

figure
geobasemap grayland
geoiconchart(T,"Latitude","Longitude","airplane.png", ...
    SizeVariable="Size",IconRotationVariable="Angle")

Zoom out by changing the geographic limits.

geolimits([37.35 44.13],[-82.14 -67.94])

Specify Target Axes

Create multiple maps in a single figure by using a tiled chart layout.

Specify the latitude and longitude coordinates of several wildlife sanctuaries in Massachusetts.

lat = [42.3 42.24 42.43 42.29 42.46 41.94 41.9];
lon = [-72.65 -71.76 -73.24 -71.1 -71.91 -71.3 -70];

Create a 2-by-1 tiled chart layout.

figure
t = tiledlayout(1,2);

Place a geographic axes in the first tile. Display the sanctuaries in the geographic axes by using pushpin icons.

gx = geoaxes(t);
geobasemap(gx,"topographic")
geoiconchart(gx,lat,lon)
title(gx,"Geographic Axes and Pushpin Icons")

Place a map axes in the second tile. Specify the projected coordinate reference system (CRS) for the map axes using the EPSG code 26986, which uses a Lambert Conformal Conic projection method.

nexttile
pcrs = projcrs(26986);
mx = newmap(pcrs);

Add a simple basemap to the map axes by reading and plotting an area of interest (AOI) for the state of Massachusetts. Then, display the sanctuaries in the map axes by using a custom icon.

state = geocode("Massachusetts");
geoplot(mx,state,FaceColor=[0.7 0.7 0.7],EdgeColor=[0.65 0.65 0.65])
hold on
geoiconchart(mx,lat,lon,"park.png")
title(mx,"Map Axes and Tree Icons")

Apply matching geographic limits to the geographic axes and map axes. To get the limits, first buffer the AOI by 0.3 degrees. Then, find the bounds of the buffered AOI.

buffered = buffer(state.Shape,0.3);
[latlim,lonlim] = bounds(buffered);
geolimits(gx,latlim,lonlim)
geolimits(mx,latlim,lonlim)

Remove the grid from the geographic axes and the graticule from the map axes.

grid(gx,"off")
mx.GraticuleLineStyle = "none";

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.

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.

Data Types: single | double

filename — Name of icon file

string scalar | character vector

Name of the icon file, specified as a string scalar or a character vector. The geoiconchart function supports most formats supported by the imread function.

The icon file must satisfy these requirements:

• The height and width of the icon must be equal.

• The height and width of the icon must each be less than or equal to 256 pixels.

The way you specify the file depends on the location of the file.

• If the file is in your current folder or in a folder on the MATLAB^® path, then specify the name of the file, such as "myIcon.png".

• If the file is not in your current folder or in a folder on the MATLAB path, then specify the full or relative pathname, such as "C:\myfolder\myIcon.png" or "dataDir\myIcon.png".

tbl — Source table

table | timetable

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

latvar — Table variable containing latitude coordinates

string scalar | character vector | pattern object | numeric scalar | logical vector | vartype()

Table variable containing the latitude coordinates, specified using one of these indexing schemes.

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

For geographic axes, regardless of the variable name, the axis label is always Latitude.

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

Example: geoiconchart(tbl,"lat","lon") specifies the table variable named lat for the latitude coordinates.

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

lonvar — Table variable containing longitude coordinates

string scalar | character vector | pattern object | numeric scalar | logical vector | vartype()

Table variable containing the longitude coordinates, specified using one of these indexing schemes.

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

For geographic axes, regardless of the variable name, the axis label is always Longitude.

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

Example: geoiconchart(tbl,"lat","lon") specifies the table variable named lon for the longitude coordinates.

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

ax — Target axes

GeographicAxes object | MapAxes object

Target axes, specified as a GeographicAxes object¹ or MapAxes object.

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

You can modify the appearance and behavior of a GeographicAxes object or MapAxes object by setting its properties. For a list of properties, see GeographicAxes Properties or MapAxes Properties.

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: geoiconchart(lat,lon,filename,IconAnchorPoint="top") sets the anchor point to the top-center edge of the icon.

Note

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

SizeData — Icon heights

22 (default) | positive scalar | vector of positive scalars

Icon heights, specified using one of these forms:

• Positive scalar — Use the same height for all of the icons.

• Vector of positive scalars — Use a different height for each icon. The size of the vector must match the number of data points. The vector can contain NaN values.

Specify the values in point units, where one point equals 1/72 inch. To specify an icon that has a height of one inch, use a value of 72. You can also specify NaN values.

IconAnchorPoint — Location of anchor point for icon

"center" | "topright" | "right" | "bottomright" | "bottom" | ...

Location of the anchor point for the icon, specified as one of the values in this table. The coordinates of the anchor point correspond to the latitude and longitude coordinates that you pass to the geoiconchart function.

Value	Description
"center"	Center of the icon
"topright"	Top-right corner of the icon
"right"	Right-center edge of the icon
"bottomright"	Bottom-right corner of the icon
"bottom"	Bottom-center edge of the icon
"bottomleft"	Bottom-left corner of the icon
"left"	Left-center edge of the icon
"topleft"	Top-left corner of the icon
"top"	Top-center edge of the icon

When you create the icon chart using the default pushpin icon, the default anchor point is "bottom". When you create the icon chart by specifying the name of an icon file, the default anchor point is "center".

IconRotation — Icon rotation angle, in degrees

0 (default) | numeric scalar | numeric vector

Icon rotation angle, in degrees, specified using one of these forms:

• Numeric scalar — Use the same rotation angle for all of the icons.

• Numeric vector — Use a different rotation angle for each icon. The size of the vector must match the number of data points.

The icon rotates around the anchor point specified by the IconAnchorPoint property.

Positive values rotate the icon counterclockwise. Negative values rotate the icon clockwise.

IconColorData — Icon colors

n-by-n-by-3 array

Icon colors, specified as an n-by-n-by-3 array of RGB triplets. The value of n must be less than or equal to 256.

Each RGB triplet defines a color for one pixel of the icon. An RGB triplet is a three-element vector that specifies the intensities of the red, green and blue components of the color. The first page of the array contains the red components, the second page contains the green components, and the third page contains the blue components.

The interpretation of IconColorData depends on the data type of the array.

• If IconColorData is of type double or single, then an RGB triplet value of [0 0 0] corresponds to black and [1 1 1] corresponds to white.

• If IconColorData is an integer type, then the icon uses the full range of data to determine the color. For example, if IconColorData is of type uint8, then [0 0 0] corresponds to black and [255 255 255] corresponds to white. If IconColorData is of type int8, then [-128 -128 -128] corresponds to black and [127 127 127] corresponds to white.

When the value of IconAlphaData is not scalar, the sizes of IconColorData and IconAlphaData must be consistent.

For more information about changing the color of an icon, see Control Color and Transparency of Icon Chart.

IconAlphaData — Icon transparency

scalar | n-by-n matrix

Icon transparency, specified as one of these options:

• A scalar — Use a consistent transparency across the entire icon.

• An n-by-n matrix — Each value defines the transparency for one pixel of the icon. The value of n must be less than or equal to 256. The size of the matrix must be consistent with the size of the first two dimensions of IconColorData.

The interpretation of IconAlphaData depends on the data type:

• If IconAlphaData is of type double or single, then 0 is completely transparent and 1 is opaque. Values between 0 and 1 are semitransparent.

• If IconAlphaData is an integer type, then the icon uses the full range of data to determine the transparency. For example, if IconAlphaData is of type int8, then -128 is completely transparent and 127 is opaque. Values between -128 and 127 are semitransparent.

For more information about changing the transparency of an icon, see Control Color and Transparency of Icon Chart.

Output Arguments

ic — Icon chart

IconChart object

Icon chart, returned as an IconChart object. Use ic to modify the properties of an icon chart after you create it. For a full list of properties, see IconChart Properties.

Tips

• When you plot on geographic axes, the geoiconchart 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 R2024b