A vertical column visualization showing geological rock layers with standardized lithology patterns, formation names, ages, and thickness scales. Each layer is represented as a stacked rectangular block filled with a distinctive pattern (e.g., brick pattern for limestone, dots for sandstone, dashes for shale) following FGDC/USGS conventions. This plot is essential for communicating subsurface geology and sedimentary sequences in a compact, standardized format.
# anyplot.ai
# column-stratigraphic: Stratigraphic Column with Lithology Patterns
# Library: makie 0.22.10 | Julia 1.11.9
# Quality: 90/100 | Created: 2026-06-17
using CairoMakie
using Colors
using Random
Random.seed!(42)
# --- Theme tokens (Imprint palette, theme-adaptive chrome) ------------------
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"
# Imprint categorical palette — first series is always brand green
const IMPRINT_PALETTE = [
colorant"#009E73", # 1 — brand green
colorant"#C475FD", # 2 — lavender
colorant"#4467A3", # 3 — blue
colorant"#BD8233", # 4 — ochre
colorant"#AE3030", # 5 — matte red (deferred semantic anchor — skipped here)
colorant"#2ABCCD", # 6 — cyan
colorant"#954477", # 7 — rose
colorant"#99B314", # 8 — lime
]
const FILL_ALPHA = THEME == "light" ? 0.42 : 0.52
pattern_ink = RGBAf(INK.r, INK.g, INK.b, 0.82)
# Coal is rendered with a theme-stable dark fill so it always reads as
# semantic black/coal (rather than flipping to the near-white INK token in
# dark mode); its cleat partings use a fixed pale stroke that shows on it in
# both themes.
const COAL_FILL = colorant"#2E2E28"
const COAL_CLEAT = RGBAf(0.80, 0.79, 0.73, 0.65)
# --- Synthetic borehole section (depth increases downward, metres) ----------
tops = [0.0, 24.0, 58.0, 82.0, 120.0, 140.0, 176.0, 200.0, 214.0]
bottoms = [24.0, 58.0, 82.0, 120.0, 140.0, 176.0, 200.0, 214.0, 232.0]
lithology = ["Sandstone", "Shale", "Limestone", "Siltstone", "Conglomerate",
"Dolostone", "Sandstone", "Coal", "Shale"]
formation = ["Aeolian Sand Mbr", "Marl Bay Shale", "Reefal Limestone",
"Prodelta Siltstone", "Basal Conglomerate", "Tidal Dolostone",
"Fluvial Sandstone", "Cyclothem Coal", "Black Basinal Shale"]
age = ["Neogene", "Paleogene", "Late Cretaceous", "Early Cretaceous",
"Jurassic", "Triassic", "Permian", "Pennsylvanian", "Mississippian"]
# Lithology → fill colour (canonical Imprint order; coal reads as semantic black)
lith_order = ["Sandstone", "Shale", "Limestone", "Siltstone",
"Conglomerate", "Dolostone", "Coal"]
lith_color = Dict(
"Sandstone" => IMPRINT_PALETTE[1],
"Shale" => IMPRINT_PALETTE[2],
"Limestone" => IMPRINT_PALETTE[3],
"Siltstone" => IMPRINT_PALETTE[4],
"Conglomerate" => IMPRINT_PALETTE[6],
"Dolostone" => IMPRINT_PALETTE[7],
"Coal" => COAL_FILL,
)
# Depth of the unconformity (drawn as a wavy boundary instead of a straight rule)
const UNCONFORMITY = 120.0
# --- Lithology pattern painter ----------------------------------------------
# Draws an FGDC/USGS-style texture clipped to the rectangle [x0,x1]×[ytop,ybot].
# Reused for the column blocks and the legend swatches.
function add_pattern!(ax, lith, x0, x1, ytop, ybot; ink)
w = x1 - x0
h = ybot - ytop
px = w * 0.05
if lith == "Sandstone"
# stipple dots
n = clamp(round(Int, w * h * 0.55), 12, 360)
xs = x0 .+ px .+ rand(n) .* (w - 2px)
ys = ytop .+ rand(n) .* h
scatter!(ax, xs, ys; marker = :circle, markersize = 2.6,
color = ink, strokewidth = 0)
elseif lith == "Shale"
# fine continuous laminae
segs = Point2f[]
yy = ytop + 4.0
while yy < ybot - 0.5
push!(segs, Point2f(x0 + px, yy), Point2f(x1 - px, yy))
yy += 4.6
end
linesegments!(ax, segs; color = ink, linewidth = 0.8)
elseif lith == "Limestone"
# brick: horizontal courses + staggered vertical joints
bh = 7.5
bw = (x1 - x0) / 4
segs = Point2f[]
yy = ytop
row = 0
while yy <= ybot + 0.01
yclip = min(yy, ybot)
push!(segs, Point2f(x0, yclip), Point2f(x1, yclip))
yy += bh
row += 1
end
yy = ytop
row = 0
while yy < ybot - 0.5
off = isodd(row) ? bw / 2 : 0.0
xx = x0 + off
while xx <= x1 + 0.01
if xx >= x0 && xx <= x1
push!(segs, Point2f(xx, yy), Point2f(xx, min(yy + bh, ybot)))
end
xx += bw
end
yy += bh
row += 1
end
linesegments!(ax, segs; color = ink, linewidth = 0.9)
elseif lith == "Siltstone"
# broken, staggered dashes
dyl = 6.0
dl = w / 6
gap = dl * 0.7
segs = Point2f[]
yy = ytop + dyl
row = 0
while yy < ybot - 0.5
off = isodd(row) ? (dl + gap) / 2 : 0.0
xx = x0 + px + off
while xx < x1 - px
push!(segs, Point2f(xx, yy), Point2f(min(xx + dl, x1 - px), yy))
xx += dl + gap
end
yy += dyl
row += 1
end
linesegments!(ax, segs; color = ink, linewidth = 1.0)
elseif lith == "Conglomerate"
# scattered clasts (open circles of varying size) over a faint matrix
n = clamp(round(Int, w * h * 0.10), 5, 70)
cx = x0 .+ 1.5px .+ rand(n) .* (w - 3px)
cy = ytop .+ 0.06h .+ rand(n) .* (h * 0.88)
sz = 8.0 .+ rand(n) .* 12.0
scatter!(ax, cx, cy; marker = :circle, markersize = sz,
color = RGBAf(0, 0, 0, 0), strokecolor = ink, strokewidth = 1.2)
nm = clamp(round(Int, w * h * 0.18), 8, 120)
scatter!(ax, x0 .+ px .+ rand(nm) .* (w - 2px), ytop .+ rand(nm) .* h;
marker = :circle, markersize = 1.4, color = ink, strokewidth = 0)
elseif lith == "Dolostone"
# rhombic texture: staggered open diamonds
dx = w / 4
dy = 9.0
cx = Float64[]
cy = Float64[]
yy = ytop + dy / 2
row = 0
while yy < ybot - dy / 4
off = isodd(row) ? dx / 2 : 0.0
xx = x0 + dx / 2 + off
while xx < x1 + 0.01
if xx >= x0 && xx <= x1
push!(cx, xx)
push!(cy, yy)
end
xx += dx
end
yy += dy
row += 1
end
scatter!(ax, cx, cy; marker = :diamond, markersize = 11,
color = RGBAf(0, 0, 0, 0), strokecolor = ink, strokewidth = 1.0)
elseif lith == "Coal"
# solid block already filled; add a few light cleat partings
segs = Point2f[]
for f in (0.3, 0.55, 0.78)
yy = ytop + f * h
push!(segs, Point2f(x0 + px, yy), Point2f(x1 - px, yy))
end
linesegments!(ax, segs; color = COAL_CLEAT, linewidth = 1.2)
end
end
# --- Figure -----------------------------------------------------------------
title_str = "column-stratigraphic · julia · makie · anyplot.ai"
title_sz = round(Int, 20 * min(1.0, 67 / length(title_str)))
fig = Figure(
resolution = (1600, 900),
fontsize = 14,
backgroundcolor = PAGE_BG,
)
ax = Axis(
fig[1, 1];
backgroundcolor = PAGE_BG,
title = title_str,
titlesize = title_sz,
titlecolor = INK,
titlegap = 14,
ylabel = "Depth (m)",
ylabelsize = 15,
ylabelcolor = INK,
yticks = 0:40:240,
yticklabelsize = 13,
yticklabelcolor = INK_SOFT,
ytickcolor = INK_SOFT,
leftspinecolor = INK_SOFT,
topspinevisible = false,
rightspinevisible = false,
bottomspinevisible = false,
xgridvisible = false,
ygridvisible = false,
)
hidexdecorations!(ax)
xlims!(ax, 0.0, 11.8)
ylims!(ax, 240.0, -24.0) # inverted y: 0 m at top, deepest layer at the bottom
# Column geometry
const X0 = 2.3
const X1 = 4.7
const X_AGE = 2.05 # age labels — right-aligned, to the left of the column
const X_FORM = 5.0 # formation labels — left-aligned, to the right of the column
# --- Layers: tinted fill + lithology pattern --------------------------------
for i in eachindex(tops)
ytop = tops[i]
ybot = bottoms[i]
lith = lithology[i]
c = lith_color[lith]
fillc = lith == "Coal" ? RGBAf(c.r, c.g, c.b, 1.0) :
RGBAf(c.r, c.g, c.b, FILL_ALPHA)
poly!(ax, Rect2f(X0, ytop, X1 - X0, ybot - ytop);
color = fillc, strokewidth = 0)
add_pattern!(ax, lith, X0, X1, ytop, ybot; ink = pattern_ink)
end
# --- Layer boundaries (solid) + one wavy unconformity -----------------------
boundary_segs = Point2f[]
for d in unique(vcat(tops, bottoms[end]))
d == UNCONFORMITY && continue
push!(boundary_segs, Point2f(X0, d), Point2f(X1, d))
end
linesegments!(ax, boundary_segs; color = INK_SOFT, linewidth = 1.6)
# Wavy unconformity line
wx = range(X0, X1, length = 90)
wy = UNCONFORMITY .+ 2.6 .* sin.((wx .- X0) .* (2π * 3 / (X1 - X0)))
lines!(ax, collect(wx), collect(wy); color = INK_SOFT, linewidth = 2.4)
# Column outline (left/right edges)
lines!(ax, [X0, X0], [tops[1], bottoms[end]]; color = INK_SOFT, linewidth = 1.6)
lines!(ax, [X1, X1], [tops[1], bottoms[end]]; color = INK_SOFT, linewidth = 1.6)
# --- Age (left) and formation (right) labels --------------------------------
for i in eachindex(tops)
ymid = (tops[i] + bottoms[i]) / 2
text!(ax, X_AGE, ymid; text = age[i],
align = (:right, :center), color = INK_SOFT, fontsize = 12.5)
label = string(formation[i], "\n", Int(tops[i]), "–", Int(bottoms[i]), " m")
text!(ax, X_FORM, ymid; text = label,
align = (:left, :center), color = INK, fontsize = 13)
end
# Unconformity annotation: a thin leader nudges the label clear of the column
# edge into the open whitespace, between the two adjacent formation rows.
lines!(ax, [X1, 6.9], [UNCONFORMITY, UNCONFORMITY];
color = INK_MUTED, linewidth = 1.0, linestyle = :dot)
text!(ax, 7.0, UNCONFORMITY; text = "unconformity",
align = (:left, :center), color = INK_MUTED, fontsize = 11.5)
# --- Lithology legend (pattern key, upper right) ----------------------------
text!(ax, 8.9, -14.0; text = "Lithology", align = (:left, :center),
color = INK, fontsize = 14)
sw_x0 = 8.9
sw_x1 = 10.0
sw_h = 17.0
for (k, lith) in enumerate(lith_order)
yc = 6.0 + (k - 1) * 29.0
yt = yc - sw_h / 2
yb = yc + sw_h / 2
c = lith_color[lith]
fillc = lith == "Coal" ? RGBAf(c.r, c.g, c.b, 1.0) :
RGBAf(c.r, c.g, c.b, FILL_ALPHA)
poly!(ax, Rect2f(sw_x0, yt, sw_x1 - sw_x0, sw_h);
color = fillc, strokecolor = INK_SOFT, strokewidth = 1.2)
add_pattern!(ax, lith, sw_x0, sw_x1, yt, yb; ink = pattern_ink)
text!(ax, sw_x1 + 0.15, yc; text = lith,
align = (:left, :center), color = INK_SOFT, fontsize = 13)
end
# --- Save -------------------------------------------------------------------
save("plot-$(THEME).png", fig; px_per_unit = 2)
Part of Stratigraphic Column with Lithology Patterns on anyplot.ai.