How to install Basemap Python Library in Ubuntu Linux

Basemap is a Python library for developers who want to create maps and perform various geographical plotting tasks. Here we learn how to install the Basemap Python library using the command line on Ubuntu Linux if you require mapping capabilities for your Python projects.

Step 1: Run Ubuntu Update

Start with the system update command on your Ubuntu terminal to update the existing packages and refresh the APT package manager index cache.

sudo apt update

Step 2: Install Required Dependencies

To install and use the Basemap Python library properly there are a few things that must be on your system such as Python and its package manager PIP. Use the given command to install the required necessary development packages on your Ubuntu Linux system.

sudo apt install libgeos-dev libproj-dev python3 python3-pip

Step 3: Install the Basemap Library on Ubuntu

Next, use the installed PIP package manager to download and install the Basemap Python library from Python Package Index (PyPI)  on your system.

pip install basemap --user
Install the Basemap python Library ubuntu

Step 4: Confirm library installation

To check whether the BaseMap Python library is installed correctly or not you can simply run the given command in your terminal.

python3 -m pip show basemap
Confirm python library installation

Step 5: Create a World Map using BaseMap

Let’s now create a Python script that will import and use the BaseMap library to construct a World Map in a window with GUI elements to control its size.

nano test_basemap.py

Add the following code:

from mpl_toolkits.basemap import Basemap
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# Create a Basemap object
map = Basemap()

# Draw a basic map
map.drawcoastlines()

# Display the map
plt.show()

Save the file by using Ctrl+X, type Y, and then hit the Enter key.

basemap code to draw MAP

Now, run the create Python Script, here is the command for that:

python3 filename

For example:

python3 test_basemap.py
Install and use BaseMap python in Ubuntu

This was a quick introduction to the BaseMap Library of Python and how to use it for creating maps. You can further check out the BaseMap documentation to learn more about it and how to use it to visualize geospatial data, create custom maps, perform geographical analyses, and explore the world of mapping in Python.

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