Basemap Data Assets

2.0.0 verified Mon Apr 27 auth: no python

Data assets for matplotlib basemap. This package provides the shapefiles, topography, and other geospatial data required by the basemap toolkit. Version 2.0.0 is a major release that reorganized data handling and removed deprecated datasets. Release cadence is sporadic, tied to basemap releases.

pip install basemap-data

Common errors

error ImportError: No module named 'mpl_toolkits.basemap' ↓

cause basemap package not installed.

fix

Run pip install basemap (and also pip install basemap-data for data).

error FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '.../basemap-data/...' ↓

cause basemap-data not installed or path not set correctly.

fix

Run pip install basemap-data. If using custom path, set env var BASEMAP_DATA_DIR.

error AttributeError: module 'mpl_toolkits.basemap' has no attribute 'Basemap' ↓

cause Outdated basemap version (<1.0.0).

fix

Upgrade with pip install --upgrade basemap basemap-data.

Warnings

breaking Basemap and basemap-data packages are removed from metplotlib. Use Cartopy instead. ↓

fix Migrate to Cartopy: `pip install cartopy` and `import cartopy.crs as ccrs`. See https://matplotlib.org/basemap/users/intro.html

gotcha basemap-data does NOT include the full dataset archive. Some older shapefiles may require separate download from SOEST. ↓

fix If you get missing shapefile errors, ensure basemap-data is installed and you are using a supported projection. Old custom datasets need manual placement in the data directory.

deprecated The 'basemap' package itself is deprecated. No new features, only critical bug fixes. ↓

fix Plan migration to Cartopy (https://scitools.org.uk/cartopy/).

Imports

Basemap

from mpl_toolkits.basemap import Basemap

No change; same as always.

Quickstart

Minimal example: create a Basemap instance and draw coastlines. Ensure basemap-data is installed so shapefiles are found automatically.

import os
os.environ['BASEMAP_DATA_DIR'] = '/path/to/basemap-data'  # optional custom path
from mpl_toolkits.basemap import Basemap
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
m = Basemap(projection='mill', llcrnrlat=-60, urcrnrlat=90, llcrnrlon=-180, urcrnrlon=180)
m.drawcoastlines()
plt.show()