Making Maps

Turn a GeoDataFrame into a map someone else can read.

The mapping path, from a first plot to batch-exported images. turn a GeoDataFrame into a map someone else can read1plot & layerone axes, many layers2projection & classeswhat the map says3legend, scale, basemapthe furniture4export & batchone, or two hundredThe two concepts in the middle decide what the map says; everything else decides how it looks

A default `.plot()` is a debugging tool, not a map. These guides go from a first plot to a figure you can hand over: several layers stacked in the right order, a projection chosen for the area rather than inherited from the data, a classification scheme that does not invent a story the numbers do not support, legends and labels that survive export, basemaps, interactive maps, and a batch job that renders one image per region unattended.

This path is about matplotlib as much as about GeoPandas, because GeoPandas draws the data and everything else on the map is drawn by hand. If you only read two, make them the projection guide and the classification guide: those two decide what the map says, and the rest decide how it looks.

Start here

The cornerstone guide — the whole workflow end to end. Everything after it goes deeper into one part of it.

Step 1 How to Plot Maps in Python with GeoPandas and Matplotlib plot map geopandas matplotlib Begin the path →

The full path, in order

The concepts underneath the work, then each task, then the errors that task produces. Work down, or jump to the step you need.

  1. How to Plot Multiple Layers on One Map in GeoPandas plot multiple layers geopandas ⚙️ How-To
  2. Choosing a Map Projection for Display: What Web Mercator Distorts map projection for display python 🧭 Concept
  3. Choropleth Classification Explained: Quantiles, Equal Interval and Natural Breaks choropleth classification schemes 🧭 Concept
  4. How to Create a Choropleth Map in Python with GeoPandas choropleth map geopandas ⚙️ How-To
  5. How to Add a Basemap to a GeoPandas Map with contextily geopandas basemap contextily ⚙️ How-To
  6. How to Add Legends, Labels and a Scale Bar to a GeoPandas Map geopandas map legend labels ⚙️ How-To
  7. How to Create Interactive Maps in Python with Folium folium interactive maps python 🧭 Concept
  8. How to Save a Map as an Image in Python with Matplotlib save map image matplotlib python ⚙️ How-To
  9. How to Batch-Generate a Map Image for Every Region in Python batch generate maps python ⚙️ How-To
  10. Why Is My GeoPandas Plot Blank or Empty? How to Fix It geopandas plot blank 🔧 Fix
  11. My GeoPandas Choropleth Colours Look Wrong: How to Fix It geopandas choropleth colours wrong 🔧 Fix
  12. My Folium Map Is Blank or Will Not Display: How to Fix It folium map not showing 🔧 Fix

Topics this path covers

A path is a route; a topic is everything the site has on a subject. Open a topic to see the guides this path skips.

Maps & visualisation CRS & projections Geometry & topology Data cleaning Batch processing

Other ways in

📚 All learning paths 🗂️ All topics ⚙️ How-To guides 🔧 Fixes