Maps and Graphs with GMT

The Generic Mapping Tools, known as GMT, is a software package widely used in geophysics to create and customize high-quality, professional-looking maps and graphs in various projections. GMT is particularly powerfull in that its programs can be called from shell-scripts or compiled executables.

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The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the use of GMT, in particular help them overcome the fear that the extremely powerful, yet sometimes a bit abstruse, GMT syntax may inspire. The course is divided in a number of sessions, that may (or may not!) correspond to the succession of labs:

  • Session 1: getting around in unix/linux, pscoast: a basic GMT command [pdf]
  • Session 2: colors, pen attributes, and text [pdf]
  • Session 3: map projections [pdf]
  • Session 4: plotting symbols, lines, and polygons on a map [pdf]
  • Session 5: non-geographic plots [pdf]
  • Session 6: plotting griddded data sets [pdf]
  • Session 7: writing command-line scripts [pdf]


GMT is developed by Paul Wessel (University of Hawaii at Manoa) and Walter H. F. Smith (Geoscience Laboratory, NOAA). More information, examples, cook-book, and on-line manual are at http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/

© 2020