Note
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Adding an inset to the figure
To plot an inset figure inside another larger figure, we can use the
pygmt.Figure.inset
method. After a large figure has been created,
call inset
using a with
statement, and new plot elements will be
added to the inset figure instead of the larger figure.
import pygmt
Prior to creating an inset figure, a larger figure must first be plotted. In
the example below, pygmt.Figure.coast
is used to create a map of the
US state of Massachusetts.
fig = pygmt.Figure()
fig.coast(
region=[-74, -69.5, 41, 43], # Set bounding box of the large figure
borders="2/thin", # Plot state boundaries with thin lines
shorelines="thin", # Plot coastline with thin lines
projection="M15c", # Set Mercator projection and size of 15 centimeter
land="lightyellow", # Color land areas light yellow
water="lightblue", # Color water areas light blue
frame="a", # Set frame with annotation and major tick spacing
)
fig.show()
![insets](../../_images/sphx_glr_insets_001.png)
The pygmt.Figure.inset
method uses a context manager, and is called
using a with
statement. The position
parameter, including the inset
width, is required to plot the inset. Using the j argument, the location
of the inset is set to one of the 9 anchors (bottom-middle-top and
left-center-right). In the example below, BL
sets the inset to the bottom
left. The box
parameter can set the fill and border of the inset. In the
example below, +pblack
sets the border color to black and +glightred
sets the fill to light red.
fig = pygmt.Figure()
fig.coast(
region=[-74, -69.5, 41, 43],
borders="2/thin",
shorelines="thin",
projection="M15c",
land="lightyellow",
water="lightblue",
frame="a",
)
with fig.inset(position="jBL+w3c", box="+pblack+glightred"):
# pass is used to exit the with statement as no plotting methods are
# called
pass
fig.show()
![insets](../../_images/sphx_glr_insets_002.png)
When using j to set the anchor of the inset, the default location is in contact with the nearby axis or axes. The offset of the inset can be set with +o, followed by the offsets along the x- and y-axis. If only one offset is passed, it is applied to both axes. Each offset can have its own unit. In the example below, the inset is shifted 0.5 centimeters on the x-axis and 0.2 centimeters on the y-axis.
fig = pygmt.Figure()
fig.coast(
region=[-74, -69.5, 41, 43],
borders="2/thin",
shorelines="thin",
projection="M15c",
land="lightyellow",
water="lightblue",
frame="a",
)
with fig.inset(position="jBL+w3c+o0.5c/0.2c", box="+pblack+glightred"):
pass
fig.show()
![insets](../../_images/sphx_glr_insets_003.png)
Standard plotting methods can be called from within the inset
context
manager. The example below uses pygmt.Figure.coast
to plot a zoomed
out map that selectively paints the state of Massachusetts to show its
location relative to other states.
fig = pygmt.Figure()
fig.coast(
region=[-74, -69.5, 41, 43],
borders="2/thin",
shorelines="thin",
projection="M15c",
land="lightyellow",
water="lightblue",
frame="a",
)
# This does not include an inset fill as it is covered by the inset figure
# Inset width/height are determined by the ``region`` and ``projection``
# parameters.
with fig.inset(
position="jBL+o0.5c/0.2c",
box="+pblack",
region=[-80, -65, 35, 50],
projection="M3c",
):
# Use a plotting method to create a figure inside the inset.
fig.coast(
land="gray",
borders=[1, 2],
shorelines="1/thin",
water="white",
# Use dcw to selectively highlight an area
dcw="US.MA+gred",
)
fig.show()
![insets](../../_images/sphx_glr_insets_004.png)
Total running time of the script: (0 minutes 0.995 seconds)