MATLAB: Do WORLDMAP and USAMAP plot an empty map axes in MATLAB 7.0.4 (R14SP2)

7.0.4axesemptymapMapping Toolboxr14sp2usamapworldmap

When I use the WORLDMAP and USAMAP functions in MATLAB 7.0.4 (R14SP2), they create empty map axes spanning the appropriate region. This behavior differs from previous versions of MATLAB. For example, in MATLAB 7.0.1 (R14SP1) the following commands
worldmap([32 43],[-125 -112]);
usamap('California');
produce axes that respectively display coastlines and political boundaries.

Best Answer

MATLAB 7.0.4 (R14SP2) does not ship with geopolitical boundary data ("Atlas Data"), as in previous releases. The change in behavior of WORLDMAP and USAMAP is intentional, and accommodates this change. Thus, WORLDMAP and USAMAP now choose an appropriate projection and create empty map axes with limits corresponding to their input arguments. In order to plot map data within a map axes, you must follow calls to WORLDMAP and USAMAP with calls to display functions such as GEOSHOW or PATCHM to render user-supplied or demo map data files.
Users who want to construct a map axes with WORLDMAP and add base map data in a single step can download a new function called WORLDDATAMAP from MATLAB Central
<http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/loadFile.do?objectId=7550&objectType=file>
and additional vector data in shapefile format from various sources on the Internet. Several data sources are cited in the downloaded documentation. Users can invoke WORLDDATAMAP using the same syntax as in older versions of WORLDMAP (Mapping Toolbox Version 2.0.3 (R14SP1) and earlier). Additional WORLDDATAMAP features and its ability to read and display vector data from shapefiles extend the functionality of WORLDMAP.
For more information on the functions mentioned and examples of their new implementations, please see the Version 2.1 (R14SP2) Mapping Toolbox release notes and the documentation for GEOSHOW, WORLDMAP, and USAMAP.
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