Continent, Country, Region, and State Maps Made Easy

Mapping Toolbox™ functions axesm and setm enable you to control the full range of properties when constructing a projected map axes. Functions worldmap and usamap, on the other hand, trade control for simplicity and convenience. These two functions each create a map axes object that is suitable for a country or region of the world or the United States, automatically selecting the map projection, limits, and other properties based on the name of the area you want to map. Once you have jump-started your map with worldmap or usamap, you are ready to add your data, using geoshow or any of the lower level geographic data display functions. Optionally, you can use the map axes object created by worldmap or usamap as a starting point, and then customize it by adjusting selected properties with setm.