Provided by: gmt-common_5.4.3+dfsg-1_all 
NAME
psbasemap - Plot PostScript base maps
SYNOPSIS
psbasemap -Jparameters
-Rwest/east/south/north[/zmin/zmax][+r] [ -B[p|s]parameters ] [ -A[file] ] [ -Dinsert
box ] [ -Fbox ] [ -K ] [ -Jz|Zparameters ] [ -Lscalebar ] [ -O ] [ -P ] [ -U[stamp]
] [ -Trose ] [ -Tmag_rose ] [ -V[level] ] [ -Xx_offset ] [ -Yy_offset ] [ -fflags ] [
-pflags ] [ -ttransp ]
Note: No space is allowed between the option flag and the associated arguments.
DESCRIPTION
psbasemap creates PostScript code that will produce a basemap. Several map projections
are available, and the user may specify separate tick-mark intervals for boundary
annotation, ticking, and [optionally] gridlines. A simple map scale or directional rose
may also be plotted. At least one of the options -B, -L, or -T must be specified.
REQUIRED ARGUMENTS
-Jparameters (more …)
Select map projection.
-Rxmin/xmax/ymin/ymax[+r][+uunit] (more …)
Specify the region of interest.
For perspective view p, optionally append /zmin/zmax. (more …)
OPTIONAL ARGUMENTS
-A[file]
No plotting is performed. Instead, we determine the geographical coordinates of
the polygon outline for the (possibly oblique) rectangular map domain. The plot
domain must be given via -R and -J, with no other options allowed. The sampling
interval is controlled via MAP_LINE_STEP parameter. The coordinates are written to
file or to standard output if no file is specified.
-B[p|s]parameters (more …)
Set map boundary frame and axes attributes.
-D[unit]xmin/xmax/ymin/ymax[r][+sfile][+t] |
-D[g|j|J|n|x]refpoint+wwidth[/height][+jjustify][+odx[/dy]][+sfile][+t]
Draw a simple map insert box on the map. Requires -F. Specify the box in one of
three ways: (a) Give west/east/south/north of geographic rectangle bounded by
parallels and meridians; append r if the coordinates instead are the lower left and
upper right corners of the desired rectangle. (b) Give uxmin/xmax/ymin/ymax of
bounding rectangle in projected coordinates (here, u is the coordinate unit). (c)
Give the reference point on the map for the insert using one of four coordinate
systems: (1) Use -Dg for map (user) coordinates, (2) use -Dj or -DJ for setting
refpoint via a 2-char justification code that refers to the (invisible) map domain
rectangle, (3) use -Dn for normalized (0-1) coordinates, or (4) use -Dx for plot
coordinates (inches, cm, etc.). Append +wwidth[/height] of bounding rectangle or
box in plot coordinates (inches, cm, etc.). By default, the anchor point on the
scale is assumed to be the bottom left corner (BL), but this can be changed by
appending +j followed by a 2-char justification code justify (see pstext). Note:
If -Dj is used then justify defaults to the same as refpoint, if -DJ is used then
justify defaults to the mirror opposite of refpoint. Add +o to offset the inset
fig by dx/dy away from the refpoint point in the direction implied by justify (or
the direction implied by -Dj or -DJ). If you need access to the placement of the
lower left corner of the map insert and its dimensions in the current map unit, use
+sfile to write this information to file. Alternatively, you may append +t to
translate the plot origin to the lower left corner of the map insert. Specify
insert box attributes via the -F option [outline only].
-F[d|l|t][+cclearances][+gfill][+i[[gap/]pen]][+p[pen]][+r[radius]][+s[[dx/dy/][shade]]]
Without further options, draws a rectangular border around any map insert (-D), map
scale (-L) or map rose (-T) using MAP_FRAME_PEN; specify a different pen with
+ppen. Add +gfill to fill the logo box [no fill]. Append +cclearance where
clearance is either gap, xgap/ygap, or lgap/rgap/bgap/tgap where these items are
uniform, separate in x- and y-direction, or individual side spacings between logo
and border. Append +i to draw a secondary, inner border as well. We use a uniform
gap between borders of 2p and the MAP_DEFAULT_PEN unless other values are
specified. Append +r to draw rounded rectangular borders instead, with a 6p corner
radius. You can override this radius by appending another value. Finally, append +s
to draw an offset background shaded region. Here, dx/dy indicates the shift
relative to the foreground frame [4p/-4p] and shade sets the fill style to use for
shading [gray50]. Used in combination with -D, -L or -T. To specify separate
parameters for the various map features, append d|l|t to -F to specify panel
parameters for just that panel [Default uses the same panel parameters for all
selected map features].
-Jz|Zparameters (more …)
Set z-axis scaling; same syntax as -Jx.
-K (more …)
Do not finalize the PostScript plot.
-L[g|j|J|n|x]refpoint+c[slon/]slat+wlength[e|f|k|M|n|u][+aalign][+f][+jjustify][+l[label]][+odx[/dy]][+u]
Draws a simple map scale centered on the reference point specified using one of
four coordinate systems: (1) Use -Lg for map (user) coordinates, (2) use -Lj or -LJ
for setting refpoint via a 2-char justification code that refers to the (invisible)
map domain rectangle, (3) use -Ln for normalized (0-1) coordinates, or (4) use -Lx
for plot coordinates (inches, cm, etc.). Scale is calculated for latitude slat
(optionally supply longitude slon for oblique projections [Default is central
meridian]), length is in km, or append unit from e|f|k|M|n|u. Change the label
alignment with +aalign (choose among l(eft), r(ight), t(op), and b(ottom)). Append
+f to get a “fancy” scale [Default is plain]. By default, the anchor point on the
map scale is assumed to be the center of the scale (MC), but this can be changed by
appending +j followed by a 2-char justification code justify (see pstext for list
and explanation of codes). Append +l to select the default label, which equals the
distance unit (meter, foot, km, mile, nautical mile, US survey foot) and is
justified on top of the scale [t]. Change this by giving your own label (append
+llabel). Add +o to offset the map scale by dx/dy away from the refpoint in the
direction implied by justify (or the direction implied by -Dj or -DJ). Select +u
to append the unit to all distance annotations along the scale (for the plain
scale, +u will instead select the unit to be appended to the distance length).
Note: Use FONT_LABEL to change the label font and FONT_ANNOT_PRIMARY to change the
annotation font. The height of the map scale is controlled by MAP_SCALE_HEIGHT,
and the pen thickness is set by MAP_TICK_PEN_PRIMARY. See -F on how to place a
panel behind the scale.
-O (more …)
Append to existing PostScript plot.
-P (more …)
Select “Portrait” plot orientation.
-Td[g|j|J|n|x]refpoint+wwidth[+f[level]][+jjustify][+lw,e,s,n][+odx[/dy]]
-Td draws a map directional rose on the map at the location defined by the
reference and anchor points: Give the reference point on the map for the rose using
one of four coordinate systems: (1) Use g for map (user) coordinates, (2) use j for
setting refpoint via a 2-char justification code that refers to the (invisible) map
domain rectangle, (3) use n for normalized (0-1) coordinates, or (4) use x for plot
coordinates (inches, cm, etc.) [Default]. You can offset the reference point by
dx/dy in the direction implied by justify. By default, the anchor point on the
scale is assumed to be the center of the rose (MC), but this can be changed by
appending +j followed by a 2-char justification code justify (see pstext for list
and explanation of codes). Note: If -Dj is used then justify defaults to the same
as refpoint, if -DJ is used then justify defaults to the mirror opposite of
refpoint. Add +o to offset the color scale by dx/dy away from the refpoint in the
direction implied by justify (or the direction implied by -Dj or -DJ). Append
+wwidth to set the width of the rose in plot coordinates (in inches, cm, or
points). Add +f to get a “fancy” rose, and specify in level what you want drawn.
The default [1] draws the two principal E-W, N-S orientations, 2 adds the two
intermediate NW-SE and NE-SW orientations, while 3 adds the eight minor
orientations WNW-ESE, NNW-SSE, NNE-SSW, and ENE-WSW. Label the cardinal points
W,E,S,N by adding +l and append your own four comma-separated strings to override
the default. Skip a specific label by leaving it blank. See Placing-dir-map-roses
and -F on how to place a panel behind the scale.
-Tm[g|j|J|n|x]refpoint+wwidth[+ddec[/dlabel]]][+ipen][+jjustify][+lw,e,s,n][+ppen][+tints][+odx[/dy]]
-Tm draws a map magnetic rose on the map at the location defined by the reference and
anchor points: Give the reference point on the map for the rose using one of four
coordinate systems: (1) Use g for map (user) coordinates, (2) use j for setting
refpoint via a 2-char justification code that refers to the (invisible) map domain
rectangle, (3) use n for normalized (0-1) coordinates, or (4) use x for plot
coordinates (inches, cm, etc.) [Default]. You can offset the reference point by dx/dy
in the direction implied by justify. By default, the anchor point on the scale is
assumed to be the center of the rose (MC), but this can be changed by appending +j
followed by a 2-char justification code justify (see pstext for list and explanation of
codes). Note: If -Dj is used then justify defaults to the same as refpoint, if -DJ is
used then justify defaults to the mirror opposite of refpoint. Add +o to offset the
color scale by dx/dy away from the refpoint in the direction implied by justify (or the
direction implied by -Dj or -DJ). Append +wwidth to set the width of the rose in plot
coordinates (in inches, cm, or points). Use +d to assign the magnetic declination and
set dlabel, which is a label for the magnetic compass needle (Leave empty to format a
label from dec, or give - to bypass labeling). With +d, both directions to geographic
and magnetic north are plotted [Default is geographic only]. If the north label is *
then a north star is plotted instead of the north label. Annotation and two levels of
tick intervals for both geographic and magnetic directions default to 30/5/1 degrees;
override these settings by appending +tints, and append six slash-separated intervals
to set both the geographic (first three) and magnetic (last three) intervals. Label
the cardinal points W,E,S,N by adding +l and append your own four comma-separated
strings to override the default. Skip a specific label by leaving it blank. Number
GMT default parameters control pens, fonts, and color. See Placing-dir-map-roses and
-F on how to place a panel behind the scale.
-U[[just]/dx/dy/][c|label] (more …)
Draw GMT time stamp logo on plot.
-V[level] (more …)
Select verbosity level [c].
-X[a|c|f|r][x-shift[u]]
-Y[a|c|f|r][y-shift[u]] (more …)
Shift plot origin.
-f[i|o]colinfo (more …)
Specify data types of input and/or output columns. This applies only to the
coordinates specified in the -R option.
-p[x|y|z]azim[/elev[/zlevel]][+wlon0/lat0[/z0]][+vx0/y0] (more …)
Select perspective view.
-t[transp] (more …)
Set PDF transparency level in percent.
-^ or just -
Print a short message about the syntax of the command, then exits (NOTE: on Windows
just use -).
-+ or just +
Print an extensive usage (help) message, including the explanation of any
module-specific option (but not the GMT common options), then exits.
-? or no arguments
Print a complete usage (help) message, including the explanation of all options,
then exits.
EXAMPLES
The following section illustrates the use of the options by giving some examples for the
available map projections. Note how scales may be given in several different ways
depending on the projection. Also note the use of upper case letters to specify map width
instead of map scale.
NON-GEOGRAPHICAL PROJECTIONS
Linear x-y plot
To make a linear x/y frame with all axes, but with only left and bottom axes annotated,
using xscale = yscale = 1.0, ticking every 1 unit and annotating every 2, and using xlabel
= “Distance” and ylabel = “No of samples”, use
gmt psbasemap -R0/9/0/5 -Jx1 -Bf1a2 -Bx+lDistance -By+l"No of samples" -BWeSn > linear.ps
Log-log plot
To make a log-log frame with only the left and bottom axes, where the x-axis is 25 cm and
annotated every 1-2-5 and the y-axis is 15 cm and annotated every power of 10 but has
tick-marks every 0.1, run
gmt psbasemap -R1/10000/1e20/1e25 -JX25cl/15cl -Bx2+lWavelength -Bya1pf3+lPower -BWS > loglog.ps
Power axes
To design an axis system to be used for a depth-sqrt(age) plot with depth positive down,
ticked and annotated every 500m, and ages annotated at 1 my, 4 my, 9 my etc, use
gmt psbasemap -R0/100/0/5000 -Jx1p0.5/-0.001 -Bx1p+l"Crustal age" -By500+lDepth > power.ps
Polar (theta,r) plot
For a base map for use with polar coordinates, where the radius from 0 to 1000 should
correspond to 3 inch and with gridlines and ticks intervals automatically determined, use
gmt psbasemap -R0/360/0/1000 -JP6i -Bafg > polar.ps
CYLINDRICAL MAP PROJECTIONS
Cassini
A 10-cm-wide basemap using the Cassini projection may be obtained by
gmt psbasemap -R20/50/20/35 -JC35/28/10c -P -Bafg -B+tCassini > cassini.ps
Mercator [conformal]
A Mercator map with scale 0.025 inch/degree along equator, and showing the length of 5000
km along the equator (centered on 1/1 inch), may be plotted as
gmt psbasemap -R90/180/-50/50 -Jm0.025i -Bafg -B+tMercator -Lx1i/1i+c0+w5000k > mercator.ps
Miller
A global Miller cylindrical map with scale 1:200,000,000 may be plotted as
gmt psbasemap -Rg -Jj180/1:200000000 -Bafg -B+tMiller > miller.ps
Oblique Mercator [conformal]
To create a page-size global oblique Mercator basemap for a pole at (90,30) with gridlines
every 30 degrees, run
gmt psbasemap -R0/360/-70/70 -Joc0/0/90/30/0.064cd -B30g30 -B+t"Oblique Mercator" > oblmerc.ps
Transverse Mercator [conformal]
A regular Transverse Mercator basemap for some region may look like
gmt psbasemap -R69:30/71:45/-17/-15:15 -Jt70/1:1000000 -Bafg -B+t"Survey area" -P > transmerc.ps
Equidistant Cylindrical Projection
This projection only needs the central meridian and scale. A 25 cm wide global basemap
centered on the 130E meridian is made by
gmt psbasemap -R-50/310/-90/90 -JQ130/25c -Bafg -B+t"Equidistant Cylindrical" > cyl_eqdist.ps
Universal Transverse Mercator [conformal]
To use this projection you must know the UTM zone number, which defines the central
meridian. A UTM basemap for Indo-China can be plotted as
gmt psbasemap -R95/5/108/20r -Ju46/1:10000000 -Bafg -B+tUTM > utm.ps
Cylindrical Equal-Area
First select which of the cylindrical equal-area projections you want by deciding on the
standard parallel. Here we will use 45 degrees which gives the Gall-Peters projection. A 9
inch wide global basemap centered on the Pacific is made by
gmt psbasemap -Rg -JY180/45/9i -Bafg -B+tGall-Peters > gall-peters.ps
CONIC MAP PROJECTIONS
Albers [equal-area]
A basemap for middle Europe may be created by
gmt psbasemap -R0/90/25/55 -Jb45/20/32/45/0.25c -Bafg -B+t"Albers Equal-area" > albers.ps
Lambert [conformal]
Another basemap for middle Europe may be created by
gmt psbasemap -R0/90/25/55 -Jl45/20/32/45/0.1i -Bafg -B+t"Lambert Conformal Conic" > lambertc.ps
Equidistant
Yet another basemap of width 6 inch for middle Europe may be created by
gmt psbasemap -R0/90/25/55 -JD45/20/32/45/6i -Bafg -B+t"Equidistant conic" > econic.ps
Polyconic
A basemap for north America may be created by
gmt psbasemap -R-180/-20/0/90 -JPoly/4i -Bafg -B+tPolyconic > polyconic.ps
AZIMUTHAL MAP PROJECTIONS
Lambert [equal-area]
A 15-cm-wide global view of the world from the vantage point -80/-30 will give the
following basemap:
gmt psbasemap -Rg -JA-80/-30/15c -Bafg -B+t"Lambert Azimuthal" > lamberta.ps
Follow the instructions for stereographic projection if you want to impose rectangular
boundaries on the azimuthal equal-area map but substitute -Ja for -Js.
Equidistant
A 15-cm-wide global map in which distances from the center (here 125/10) to any point is
true can be obtained by:
gmt psbasemap -Rg -JE125/10/15c -Bafg -B+tEquidistant > equi.ps
Gnomonic
A view of the world from the vantage point -100/40 out to a horizon of 60 degrees from the
center can be made using the Gnomonic projection:
gmt psbasemap -Rg -JF-100/40/60/6i -Bafg -B+tGnomonic > gnomonic.ps
Orthographic
A global perspective (from infinite distance) view of the world from the vantage point
125/10 will give the following 6-inch-wide basemap:
gmt psbasemap -Rg -JG125/10/6i -Bafg -B+tOrthographic > ortho.ps
General Perspective
The -JG option can be used in a more generalized form, specifying altitude above the
surface, width and height of the view point, and twist and tilt. A view from 160 km above
-74/41.5 with a tilt of 55 and azimuth of 210 degrees, and limiting the viewpoint to 30
degrees width and height will product a 6-inch-wide basemap:
gmt psbasemap -Rg -JG-74/41.5/160/210/55/30/30/6i -Bafg -B+t"General Perspective" > genper.ps
Stereographic [conformal]
To make a polar stereographic projection basemap with radius = 12 cm to -60 degree
latitude, with plot title “Salinity measurements”, using 5 degrees annotation/tick
interval and 1 degree gridlines, run
gmt psbasemap -R-45/45/-90/-60 -Js0/-90/12c/-60 -B5g1 -B+t"Salinity measurements" > stereo1.ps
To make a 12-cm-wide stereographic basemap for Australia from an arbitrary view point (not
the poles), and use a rectangular boundary, we must give the pole for the new projection
and use the -R option to indicate the lower left and upper right corners (in lon/lat) that
will define our rectangle. We choose a pole at 130/-30 and use 100/-45 and 160/-5 as our
corners. The command becomes
gmt psbasemap -R100/-45/160/-5r -JS130/-30/12c -Bafg -B+t"General Stereographic View" > stereo2.ps
MISCELLANEOUS MAP PROJECTIONS
Hammer [equal-area]
The Hammer projection is mostly used for global maps and thus the spherical form is used.
To get a world map centered on Greenwich at a scale of 1:200000000, use
gmt psbasemap -Rd -Jh0/1:200000000 -Bafg -B+tHammer > hammer.ps
Sinusoidal [equal-area]
To make a sinusoidal world map centered on Greenwich, with a scale along the equator of
0.02 inch/degree, use
gmt psbasemap -Rd -Ji0/0.02i -Bafg -B+tSinusoidal > sinus1.ps
To make an interrupted sinusoidal world map with breaks at 160W, 20W, and 60E, with a
scale along the equator of 0.02 inch/degree, run the following sequence of commands:
gmt psbasemap -R-160/-20/-90/90 -Ji-90/0.02i -Bx30g30 -By15g15 -BWesn -K > sinus_i.ps
gmt psbasemap -R-20/60/-90/90 -Ji20/0.02i -Bx30g30 -By15g15 -Bwesn -O -K -X2.8i >> sinus_i.ps
gmt psbasemap -R60/200/-90/90 -Ji130/0.02i -Bx30g30 -By15g15 -BwEsn -O -X1.6i >> sinus_i.ps
Eckert IV [equal-area]
Pseudo-cylindrical projection typically used for global maps only. Set the central
longitude and scale, e.g.,
gmt psbasemap -Rg -Jkf180/0.064c -Bafg -B+t"Eckert IV" > eckert4.ps
Eckert VI [equal-area]
Another pseudo-cylindrical projection typically used for global maps only. Set the central
longitude and scale, e.g.,
gmt psbasemap -Rg -Jks180/0.064c -Bafg -B+t"Eckert VI" > eckert6.ps
Robinson
Projection designed to make global maps “look right”. Set the central longitude and width,
e.g.,
gmt psbasemap -Rd -JN0/8i -Bafg -B+tRobinson > robinson.ps
Winkel Tripel
Yet another projection typically used for global maps only. You can set the central
longitude, e.g.,
gmt psbasemap -R90/450/-90/90 -JR270/25c -Bafg -B+t"Winkel Tripel" > winkel.ps
Mollweide [equal-area]
The Mollweide projection is also mostly used for global maps and thus the spherical form
is used. To get a 25-cm-wide world map centered on the Dateline:
psbasemap -Rg -JW180/25c -Bafg -B+tMollweide > mollweide.ps
Van der Grinten
The Van der Grinten projection is also mostly used for global maps and thus the spherical
form is used. To get a 18-cm-wide world map centered on the Dateline:
gmt psbasemap -Rg -JV180/18c -Bafg -B+t"Van der Grinten" > grinten.ps
Arbitrary rotation
If you need to plot a map but have it rotated about a vertical axis then use the -p
option. For instance, the rotate the basemap below 90 degrees about an axis centered on
the map, try
gmt psbasemap -R10/40/10/40 -JM10c -P -Bafg -B+t"I am rotated" -p90+w25/25 -Xc > rotated.ps
CUSTOM LABELS OR INTERVALS
The -B option sets up a regular annotation interval and the annotations derive from the
corresponding x, y, or z coordinates. However, some applications requires special control
on which annotations to plot and even replace the annotation with other labels. This is
achieved by using cintfile in the -B option, where intfile contains all the information
about annotations, ticks, and even gridlines. Each record is of the form coord type
[label], where coord is the coordinate for this annotation (or tick or gridline), type is
one or more letters from a (annotation), i interval annotation, f tickmark, and g
gridline. Note that a and i are mutually exclusive and cannot both appear in the same
intfile. Both a and i requires you to supply a label which is used as the plot annotation.
If not given then a regular formatted annotation based on the coordinate will occur.
RESTRICTIONS
For some projections, a spherical earth is implicitly assumed. A warning will notify the
user if -V is set.
BUGS
The -B option is somewhat complicated to explain and comprehend. However, it is fairly
simple for most applications (see examples).
SEE ALSO
gmt, gmt.conf, gmtcolors
COPYRIGHT
2018, P. Wessel, W. H. F. Smith, R. Scharroo, J. Luis, and F. Wobbe