Question
Why does the size of the map change when I change the FLatLimit property of the map axes in Mapping Toolbox 2.7.2 (R2009a)? I am plotting a map in azimuthal projection and I am changing the FLatLimit from [-Inf 30](minimum latitude of 60) to [-Inf 40](minimum latitude of 50N ). I have noticed that the second plot is of a smaller size. When a minimum latitude of 60N is used, the plots (the figure area covered by the circle) are big. When a minimum latitude of 50N is used, the plot gets smaller. I would like the plot size - the circle in the figure showing the data - to remain constant regardless of the minimum latitude I choose for the north polar stereographic plot. load topo; [meshlat,meshlon] = meshgrat(topo,topolegend,[90 180]); % plot the first map with FLatLimit=[-Inf 30] subplot(2,1,1) axesm('MapProjection','ortho', 'Origin',[90 0 0], ... 'FLatLimit',[-Inf 30]); title(sprintf('FLatLimit [-Inf 30]')); axis off; surfm(meshlat,meshlon,topo); demcmap(topo); hold off % plot the second map with FLatLimit=[-Inf 40] subplot(2,1,2) axesm('MapProjection','ortho','Origin',[90 0 0], ... 'FLatLimit',[-Inf 40]); title(sprintf('FLatLimit [-Inf 40]')); axis off; surfm(meshlat,meshlon,topo); demcmap(topo); hold off
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Expert Answer
Kshitij Singh
PhD Expert
Answered Aug 12, 2026
Understanding Axes Behavior in MATLAB Maps
When MATLAB axes limits are set to 'auto', they adjust automatically based on the map's radius. For a map with a 30-degree radius, the projected map unit radius is 0.5, and the axes limits adjust accordingly. For a 40-degree radius, the projected map unit radius is approximately 0.6453, causing MATLAB to round the XLim and YLim properties outward to [-0.8, 0.8]. This results in the map occupying a smaller portion of the axes.
Solution: Using TIGHTMAP for Better Fit
To make the map fill the axes, call TIGHTMAP after plotting. This function checks the map frame polygon limits in the map's X and Y dimensions and manually adjusts the axes limits to match.
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