A cross-sectional line plot showing ground elevation along a path or transect line, with the area below the profile filled to create a terrain silhouette. Distance along the transect is plotted on the x-axis and elevation on the y-axis. This visualization is widely used in hiking and cycling route planning, civil engineering corridor design, and geomorphology to convey terrain shape and difficulty at a glance.
# anyplot.ai
# area-elevation-profile: Terrain Elevation Profile Along Transect
# Library: makie 0.22.10 | Julia 1.11.9
# Quality: 90/100 | Created: 2026-06-10
using CairoMakie
using Colors
using Random
Random.seed!(42)
# Theme tokens
const THEME = get(ENV, "ANYPLOT_THEME", "light")
const PAGE_BG = THEME == "light" ? colorant"#FAF8F1" : colorant"#1A1A17"
const ELEVATED_BG = THEME == "light" ? colorant"#FFFDF6" : colorant"#242420"
const INK = THEME == "light" ? colorant"#1A1A17" : colorant"#F0EFE8"
const INK_SOFT = THEME == "light" ? colorant"#4A4A44" : colorant"#B8B7B0"
const INK_MUTED = THEME == "light" ? colorant"#6B6A63" : colorant"#A8A79F"
const FILL_ALPHA = THEME == "light" ? 0.28f0 : 0.42f0
const IMPRINT_PALETTE = [
colorant"#009E73", # 1 — brand green (first series, always)
colorant"#C475FD", # 2 — lavender
colorant"#4467A3", # 3 — blue
colorant"#BD8233", # 4 — ochre
colorant"#AE3030", # 5 — matte red (semantic: bad/loss)
colorant"#2ABCCD", # 6 — cyan
colorant"#954477", # 7 — rose
colorant"#99B314", # 8 — lime
]
# Data: Fictional alpine traverse — 80 km route across passes and summits
wp_dist = [ 0.0, 10.0, 18.0, 26.0, 35.0, 45.0, 60.0, 70.0, 80.0]
wp_elev = [950.0, 1600.0, 2750.0, 2050.0, 3180.0, 2600.0, 2900.0, 2150.0, 1050.0]
n = 320
distance = collect(range(0.0, 80.0, length=n))
function lerp_elev(d)
for i in 2:length(wp_dist)
if d <= wp_dist[i]
t = (d - wp_dist[i-1]) / (wp_dist[i] - wp_dist[i-1])
return wp_elev[i-1] + t * (wp_elev[i] - wp_elev[i-1])
end
end
return wp_elev[end]
end
elev_base = lerp_elev.(distance)
function gauss_smooth(v, sigma)
nv = length(v)
ks = round(Int, 3 * sigma)
result = similar(v, Float64)
for i in 1:nv
s = 0.0; w = 0.0
for j in max(1, i - ks):min(nv, i + ks)
wj = exp(-0.5 * ((j - i) / sigma)^2)
s += wj * v[j]; w += wj
end
result[i] = s / w
end
return result
end
# Terrain micro-texture via superimposed sinusoids (no cumulative drift)
terrain_noise = zeros(n)
for freq in [4, 9, 17, 29]
terrain_noise .+= randn() .* sin.(range(0.0, Float64(freq) * π, length=n) .+ rand() * 2π)
end
terrain_noise = gauss_smooth(terrain_noise, 3.0) .* 28.0
elevation = elev_base .+ terrain_noise
# Key landmarks — pairs of (distance_km, label)
lm_dists = [ 0.0, 18.0, 35.0, 45.0, 60.0, 80.0]
lm_labels = ["Trailhead", "First Pass", "Summit Peak", "Col de Neige", "Grand Col", "Trail End"]
lm_idx = [argmin(abs.(distance .- d)) for d in lm_dists]
lm_elevs = elevation[lm_idx]
lm_offsets = [180.0, 180.0, 200.0, -230.0, 180.0, 180.0]
lm_valigns = [:bottom, :bottom, :bottom, :top, :bottom, :bottom]
lm_haligns = [:left, :center, :center, :center, :center, :right ]
const TITLE = "area-elevation-profile · julia · makie · anyplot.ai"
title_fontsize = 20 # 51 chars < 67 baseline — no scaling needed
# Figure
fig = Figure(
size = (1600, 900),
fontsize = 14,
backgroundcolor = PAGE_BG,
)
ax = Axis(
fig[1, 1];
title = TITLE,
titlesize = title_fontsize,
titlecolor = INK,
xlabel = "Distance (km)",
ylabel = "Elevation (m)",
xlabelsize = 14,
ylabelsize = 14,
xlabelcolor = INK,
ylabelcolor = INK,
xticklabelsize = 12,
yticklabelsize = 12,
xticklabelcolor = INK_SOFT,
yticklabelcolor = INK_SOFT,
xtickcolor = INK_SOFT,
ytickcolor = INK_SOFT,
backgroundcolor = PAGE_BG,
topspinevisible = false,
rightspinevisible = false,
leftspinecolor = INK_SOFT,
bottomspinecolor = INK_SOFT,
xgridvisible = false,
ygridcolor = RGBAf(INK.r, INK.g, INK.b, 0.12),
yminorgridvisible = false,
xminorgridvisible = false,
limits = (0.0, 82.0, 500.0, 3700.0),
)
# Filled terrain silhouette (Imprint brand green; alpha higher on dark for equal visual weight)
band!(ax, distance, fill(500.0, n), elevation;
color = RGBAf(IMPRINT_PALETTE[1].r, IMPRINT_PALETTE[1].g, IMPRINT_PALETTE[1].b, FILL_ALPHA))
# Profile line
lines!(ax, distance, elevation;
color = IMPRINT_PALETTE[1], linewidth = 2.5)
# Landmark annotations — Summit Peak gets extra emphasis as the highest point
for i in 1:length(lm_dists)
d = lm_dists[i]
name = lm_labels[i]
elev = lm_elevs[i]
off = lm_offsets[i]
va = lm_valigns[i]
is_summit = (name == "Summit Peak")
msize = is_summit ? 13 : 9
mstroke = is_summit ? 2.5f0 : 1.5f0
# Connector line from terrain point to label position
lines!(ax, [d, d], [elev, elev + off];
color = RGBAf(INK_MUTED.r, INK_MUTED.g, INK_MUTED.b, 0.5),
linewidth = 0.8)
# Dot marker at elevation (Summit Peak larger for focal hierarchy)
scatter!(ax, [d], [elev];
color = IMPRINT_PALETTE[1], markersize = msize,
strokecolor = PAGE_BG, strokewidth = mstroke)
# Label: name + elevation; 13 pt for mobile readability
text!(ax, d, elev + off;
text = "$(name)\n$(round(Int, elev)) m",
align = (lm_haligns[i], va),
fontsize = 13,
color = INK_SOFT)
end
# Vertical exaggeration note (bottom-right)
text!(ax, 80.0, 540.0;
text = "VE ≈ 15×",
align = (:right, :bottom),
fontsize = 13,
color = INK_MUTED)
save("plot-$(THEME).png", fig; px_per_unit = 2)
Runnable source as JSON, for any HTTP client: https://api.anyplot.ai/specs/area-elevation-profile/makie/code. Any spec id and library id listed in llms-full.txt fit the same URL shape; every URL below is complete and callable.
{
"spec_id": "area-elevation-profile",
"language": "julia",
"library": "makie",
"page": "https://anyplot.ai/area-elevation-profile/julia/makie",
"hub": "https://anyplot.ai/area-elevation-profile",
"code_json": "https://api.anyplot.ai/specs/area-elevation-profile/makie/code",
"spec_json": "https://api.anyplot.ai/specs/area-elevation-profile",
"render_light_png": "https://storage.googleapis.com/anyplot-images/plots/area-elevation-profile/julia/makie/plot-light.png",
"render_dark_png": "https://storage.googleapis.com/anyplot-images/plots/area-elevation-profile/julia/makie/plot-dark.png",
"quality_score": 90.0,
"license": "MIT",
"guide": "https://anyplot.ai/llms.txt"
}Part of Terrain Elevation Profile Along Transect on anyplot.ai.