Visualization VocabularyDataviz vocabulary
Explanatory diagram: dasymetric map
Drawing: Adrien Taudière (CC0)
ggplot2 example: dasymetric map
Adrien Taudière (CC0); R code ↓; data: INSEE and IGN via geo.api.gouv.fr (Hautes-Alpes communes and population); Corine Land Cover 2018 (EEA) (Licence Ouverte 2.0; Copernicus, free with attribution)

map

dasymetric map

also: dasymetric mapping

“A technique in which attribute data that is organized by a large or arbitrary area unit is more accurately distributed within that unit by the overlay of geographic boundaries that exclude, restrict, or confine the attribute in question.”

dasymetric map

Carte qui répartit plus finement une première variable grâce à une autre variable spatiale qui a un lien logique, parfois en retirant les zones où cette première variable ne peut pas se trouver.

Sert presque toujours à la densité de population : on retire des unités l'eau, les forêts et les terres agricoles. Börner la décrit comme un hybride de la choroplèthe et de la carte isarithmique. Nom anglais gardé en français (choix du développeur). Définition anglaise : version du GIS Dictionary d’Esri archivée en 2015 (la page actuelle la reformule).

Classification

  • map
  • maps › area maps
  • spatial

Attestation

Scientific literature

OpenAlex: 56 papers since 2005, 21% in the last five years; mostly in Social Sciences, Environmental Science, Computer Science; Wikidata

Seminal references

R code of the ggplot2 example

library(ggplot2)
library(dplyr)
library(sf)
library(patchwork)

## Communes of the Hautes-Alpes, their land cover (Corine Land Cover 2018) and
## their built or farmed land, prepared by tools/donnees_dasymetrique.R.
gpkg <- "illustrations/ggplot/data/dasymetric-map.gpkg"
communes <- st_read(gpkg, "communes", quiet = TRUE)
land <- st_read(gpkg, "occupation", quiet = TRUE)
habitable <- st_read(gpkg, "habitable", quiet = TRUE) |>
  left_join(st_drop_geometry(communes), by = "code") |>
  mutate(density = population / (as.numeric(st_area(geom)) / 1e6))

## One dot for 50 people, drawn anywhere in its commune: all that is known
## before the land cover is brought in.
set.seed(1)
dots <- st_sample(communes, size = round(communes$population / 50))

borders <- geom_sf(data = communes, fill = NA, colour = "grey70", linewidth = 0.1)
## The theme goes to each map, not to the whole: the "+" and "=" stay bare.
map <- function(p, legend = "none") {
  p + coord_sf(datum = NA) +
    theme_lex_viz(base_size = 7, grid = "", arrows = "") +
    theme(legend.position = legend, legend.key.size = unit(2.5, "mm"))
}
p1 <- map(ggplot() + borders + geom_sf(data = dots, size = 0.15, shape = 16, stroke = 0) +
  labs(subtitle = "People (1 dot = 50)"))
## Four of the Rattner colors, each given to the land cover it evokes.
p2 <- map(ggplot() +
  geom_sf(data = land, aes(fill = groupe), colour = NA) +
  scale_fill_manual(values = c(built = "#de8e69", farmland = "#a39fc9",
                               `forest and natural` = "#7a9132",
                               `water and wetlands` = "#4c849a")) +
  guides(fill = guide_legend(ncol = 2)) +
  labs(subtitle = "Land cover", fill = NULL), "bottom")
p3 <- map(ggplot() + borders +
  geom_sf(data = habitable, aes(fill = density), colour = NA) +
  scale_fill_continuous(transform = "log10", breaks = c(10, 100, 1000),
                        labels = lex_number) +
  guides(fill = guide_colourbar(barwidth = unit(25, "mm"))) +
  labs(subtitle = "People per km² of built or farmed land", fill = NULL), "bottom")
sign <- function(s) {
  ggplot() + annotate("text", x = 0, y = 0, label = s, size = 6) + theme_void()
}

p <- p1 + sign("+") + p2 + sign("=") + p3 +
  plot_layout(nrow = 1, widths = c(1, 0.12, 1, 0.12, 1)) +
  plot_annotation(
    title = "Hautes-Alpes: population spread over built and farmed land",
    subtitle = "16% of the area is left once forests, high mountains and water are removed: 153 people per km² there, compared with 25 across the whole department",
    caption = "Data: INSEE and IGN via geo.api.gouv.fr (Licence Ouverte);\nCorine Land Cover 2018, © European Union, Copernicus Land Monitoring Service",
    theme = theme_lex_viz(base_size = 7, grid = "", arrows = "")
  )

Sources (9)

130 occurrences in the corpus; indexed by 3 books

Cite this entry

Stable addresshttps://dataviz.adrientaudiere.com/en/term/dasymetric-map.html

ReferenceTaudière Adrien. 2026. dasymetric map. In Visualization Vocabulary, version 1.0.0. IdEst. https://dataviz.adrientaudiere.com/en/term/dasymetric-map.html

BibTeX
@incollection{taudiere2026-dasymetric-map,
  author    = {Taudière, Adrien},
  title     = {dasymetric map},
  booktitle = {Visualization Vocabulary},
  year      = {2026},
  version   = {1.0.0},
  publisher = {IdEst},
  url       = {https://dataviz.adrientaudiere.com/en/term/dasymetric-map.html},
  note      = {CC0 1.0}
}

Page created on 2026-11-03. Text last changed on 2026-11-10. Images last changed on 2026-11-12. Numbers computed on 2026-10-22.