<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <!-- Google Analytics + OutboundLink + Google Adsense --> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-79254642-1"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'UA-79254642-1'); </script> <script> var getOutboundLink = function(url) { gtag('event', 'click', { 'event_category': 'outbound', 'event_label': url, 'transport_type': 'beacon', 'event_callback': function(){document.location = url;} }); } </script> <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({ google_ad_client: "ca-pub-3523953066677938", enable_page_level_ads: true }); </script> <!-- Google Analytics + OutboundLink + Google Adsense --> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>Line plot with log scale – the R Graph Gallery</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <meta name="generator" content="pandoc" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no"> <meta name="description" content="How to build a line chart that has a log scale for its Y axis: a post with explanation and reproducible code."> <meta name="keywords" content="R,ggplot2,tidyverse,Example,Data,Dataviz,Datavisualization,Plot,Chart,Graph,Learning,Caveat,Pitfall,Mistake"> <meta name="author" content="Yan Holtz"> <link rel="icon" href="img/logo/R_single_small.png"> <!-- Control appearance when shared by social media --> <meta property="og:title" content="Line plot with log scale" /> <meta property="og:image" content="img/overview_RGG.png" /> <meta property="og:description" content="How to build a line chart that has a log scale for its Y axis: a post with explanation and reproducible code." /> <meta property='og:url' content="https://www.r-graph-gallery.com/line-plot-log-scale.html" /> <meta property="og:type" content="website" /> <!-- Bootstrap core CSS --> <link href="vendor/bootstrap/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> <!-- Custom fonts for this template --> <link href="vendor/font-awesome/css/font-awesome.min.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <!-- Custom styles for this template --> <link href="css/agency.css" rel="stylesheet"> <!-- JQUERY --> <script src="vendor/jquery/jquery.min.js"></script> </head> <body data-spy="scroll" data-target="#myScrollspy" data-offset="1"> <!-- THIS ALLOWS TO INSERT THE MENU THAT IS STORED IN A MENU.HTML FILE--> <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg fixed-top" id="mainNav"></nav> <script> $(function(){ $("#mainNav").load("html_chunk/menu.html"); }); </script> <!-- THIS ALLOWS TO INSERT THE MODAL OF THE MENU THAT IS STORED IN A MENU_MODAL.HTML FILE--> <div id="modal_menu_insertion"> </div> <script> $(function(){ $("#modal_menu_insertion").load("html_chunk/menu_modal.html"); }); </script> <!-- Header = Title in big + social media Icon + quick description --> <header class="masthead" style="padding-bottom: 30px;"> <div class="textlanding"> <center><h1>Line plot with log scale</h1></center> <hr class="short_hr"> <br> <ul class="list-inline social-buttons"> <li class="list-inline-item"> <a href="https://twitter.com/R_Graph_Gallery"> <i class="fa fa-twitter"></i> </a> </li> <li class="list-inline-item social-buttons"> <a href="https://github.com/holtzy"> <i class="fa fa-github" style="color: white"></i> </a> </li> <li class="list-inline-item social-buttons"> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/yan-holtz-2477534a/"> <i class="fa fa-linkedin"></i> </a> </li> <li class="list-inline-item social-buttons"> <a href="https://www.yan-holtz.com"> <i class="fa fa-home"></i> </a> </li> </ul> <center><p style="max-width: 600px; margin-top: 40px">This post explaines how to build a line chart with a log scale for its Y axis, using the <code>scale_y_log10</code> function.</p></center> <div style="text-align:center"> <a class="btn btn-secondary btn-xl text-uppercase js-scroll-trigger" href='lollipop-plot.html'>Lollipop section</a> <a class="btn btn-secondary btn-xl text-uppercase js-scroll-trigger" href='https://www.data-to-viz.com/graph/lollipop.html'>Data to Viz</a> </div> </div> </header> <!-- THIS ALLOWS TO INSERT THE ADVERTISEMENT BANNER THAT IS STORED IN A BANNER.HTML FILE--> <div id="position_for_images"></div> <script> $(function(){ $("#position_for_images").load("html_chunk/images.html"); }); </script> <!-- STYLE for chart pages but not the rest of tthe website --> <style> img { margin-top: 20px; } </style> <div class="container" style="padding-top: 100px"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-6 col-sm-12 align-self-center"> <p>It is sometimes useful to use a log scale for a numeric variable. Indeed, it allows to “magnify” the lower part of the curve.</p> <p>This is possible thanks to the <code>scale_y_log10()</code> function. Control the horizontal grid lines with <code>breaks</code>, and the axis limits with <code>limits</code>. (Note that 0 is not allowed, since log(0) is not defined.)</p> </div> <div class="col-md-6 col-sm-12"> <p><img src="line-plot-log-scale_files/figure-html/thecode-1.png" width="100%" /></p> </div> </div> <div class="sourceCode" id="cb1"><pre class="sourceCode r"><code class="sourceCode r"><a class="sourceLine" id="cb1-1" data-line-number="1"><span class="co"># Library</span></a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb1-2" data-line-number="2"><span class="kw">library</span>(ggplot2)</a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb1-3" data-line-number="3"></a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb1-4" data-line-number="4"><span class="co"># Create dummy data</span></a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb1-5" data-line-number="5">data <-<span class="st"> </span><span class="kw">data.frame</span>(</a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb1-6" data-line-number="6"> <span class="dt">x=</span><span class="kw">seq</span>(<span class="dv">10</span>,<span class="dv">100</span>),</a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb1-7" data-line-number="7"> <span class="dt">y=</span><span class="kw">seq</span>(<span class="dv">10</span>,<span class="dv">100</span>)<span class="op">/</span><span class="dv">2</span><span class="op">+</span><span class="kw">rnorm</span>(<span class="dv">90</span>)</a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb1-8" data-line-number="8">)</a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb1-9" data-line-number="9"></a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb1-10" data-line-number="10"><span class="co"># Make the plot</span></a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb1-11" data-line-number="11"><span class="kw">ggplot</span>(data, <span class="kw">aes</span>(<span class="dt">x=</span>x, <span class="dt">y=</span>y)) <span class="op">+</span></a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb1-12" data-line-number="12"><span class="st"> </span><span class="kw">geom_line</span>() <span class="op">+</span></a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb1-13" data-line-number="13"><span class="st"> </span><span class="kw">scale_y_log10</span>( <span class="dt">breaks=</span><span class="kw">c</span>(<span class="dv">1</span>,<span class="dv">5</span>,<span class="dv">10</span>,<span class="dv">15</span>,<span class="dv">20</span>,<span class="dv">50</span>,<span class="dv">100</span>), <span class="dt">limits=</span><span class="kw">c</span>(<span class="dv">1</span>,<span class="dv">100</span>) )</a></code></pre></div> <h1 id="without-log-transform">Without log transform</h1> <hr /> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-6 col-sm-12 align-self-center"> <p>This is the same chart without the log transform:</p> </div> <div class="col-md-6 col-sm-12"> <p><img src="line-plot-log-scale_files/figure-html/thecode2-1.png" width="100%" /></p> </div> </div> <div class="sourceCode" id="cb2"><pre class="sourceCode r"><code class="sourceCode r"><a class="sourceLine" id="cb2-1" data-line-number="1"><span class="co"># Library</span></a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb2-2" data-line-number="2"><span class="kw">library</span>(ggplot2)</a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb2-3" data-line-number="3"></a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb2-4" data-line-number="4"><span class="co"># Create dummy data</span></a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb2-5" data-line-number="5">data <-<span class="st"> </span><span class="kw">data.frame</span>(</a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb2-6" data-line-number="6"> <span class="dt">x=</span><span class="kw">seq</span>(<span class="dv">10</span>,<span class="dv">100</span>),</a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb2-7" data-line-number="7"> <span class="dt">y=</span><span class="kw">seq</span>(<span class="dv">10</span>,<span class="dv">100</span>)<span class="op">/</span><span class="dv">2</span><span class="op">+</span><span class="kw">rnorm</span>(<span class="dv">90</span>)</a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb2-8" data-line-number="8">)</a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb2-9" data-line-number="9"></a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb2-10" data-line-number="10"><span class="co"># Make the plot</span></a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb2-11" data-line-number="11"><span class="kw">ggplot</span>(data, <span class="kw">aes</span>(<span class="dt">x=</span>x, <span class="dt">y=</span>y)) <span class="op">+</span></a> <a class="sourceLine" id="cb2-12" data-line-number="12"><span class="st"> </span><span class="kw">geom_line</span>() </a></code></pre></div> <!-- Close container --> </div> <!-- ============================ RELATED SECTION ============================ --> <section class="bg-light" id="portfolio_landing" style="padding-top: 30px; padding-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 100px;"> <div class="container"> <p class="mySeryTitle">Related chart types</p> <hr> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-2 col-sm-4 portfolio-item"> <a class="portfolio-link" href="line-plot.html"> <div class="portfolio-hover"> <div class="portfolio-hover-content"> <i class="fa fa-plus fa-3x"></i> </div> </div> <img class="img-fluid" src="img/section/Line150.png" alt=""> </a> <div class="captionPortfolio">Line plot</div> </div> <div class="col-md-2 col-sm-4 portfolio-item"> <a class="portfolio-link" href="area-chart.html"> <div class="portfolio-hover"> <div class="portfolio-hover-content"> <i class="fa fa-plus fa-3x"></i> </div> </div> <img class="img-fluid" src="img/section/Area150.png" alt=""> </a> <div class="captionPortfolio">Area</div> </div> <div class="col-md-2 col-sm-4 portfolio-item"> <a class="portfolio-link" href="stacked-area-graph.html"> <div class="portfolio-hover"> <div class="portfolio-hover-content"> <i class="fa fa-plus fa-3x"></i> </div> </div> <img class="img-fluid" src="img/section/StackedArea150.png" alt=""> </a> <div class="captionPortfolio">Stacked area</div> </div> <div class="col-md-2 col-sm-4 portfolio-item"> <a class="portfolio-link" href="streamgraph.html"> <div class="portfolio-hover"> <div class="portfolio-hover-content"> <i class="fa fa-plus fa-3x"></i> </div> </div> <img class="img-fluid" src="img/section/Stream150.png" alt=""> </a> <div class="captionPortfolio">Streamchart</div> </div> <div class="col-md-2 col-sm-4 portfolio-item"> <a class="portfolio-link" href="time-series.html"> <div class="portfolio-hover"> <div class="portfolio-hover-content"> <i class="fa fa-plus fa-3x"></i> </div> </div> <img class="img-fluid" src="img/section/Time150.gif" alt=""> </a> <div class="captionPortfolio">Time Series</div> </div> </div> </div> </section> <!-- ============================ CONTACT SECTION ============================ --> <section id="contact" class="bg" style="background-color: white; padding-top: 60px"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-lg-2 text-center"></div> <div class="col-lg-8 text-center"> <br><br><br> <h2 class="section-heading text-uppercase" style="color: black">Contact</h2> <p>This document is a work by <a href="https://www.yan-holtz.com">Yan Holtz</a>. Any feedback is highly encouraged. You can fill an issue on <a href="https://github.com/holtzy/D3-graph-gallery/issues">Github</a>, drop me a message on <a href="https://twitter.com/R_Graph_Gallery">Twitter</a>, or send an email pasting <a href="">yan.holtz.data</a> with <a href="">gmail.com</a>.</p> <div style="text-align:center"> <a class="btn btn-primary btn-xl text-uppercase js-scroll-trigger" href="https://github.com/holtzy">Github</a> <a class="btn btn-primary btn-xl text-uppercase js-scroll-trigger" href="https://twitter.com/R_Graph_Gallery">Twitter</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </section> <!-- ============================ FOOTER SECTION ============================ --> <footer class="bg-light" id="myFooter"> <div class="container" > <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-4"> <span class="copyright">Copyright © the R graph gallery 2018</span> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <ul class="list-inline social-buttons"> <li class="list-inline-item"> <a href="https://twitter.com/R_Graph_Gallery"> <i class="fa fa-twitter"></i> </a> </li> <li class="list-inline-item"> <a href="https://github.com/holtzy"> <i class="fa fa-github"></i> </a> </li> <li class="list-inline-item"> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/yan-holtz-2477534a/"> <i class="fa fa-linkedin"></i> </a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <ul class="list-inline quicklinks"> <li class="list-inline-item"> <a href="#">Privacy Policy</a> </li> <li class="list-inline-item"> <a href="#">Terms of Use</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </footer> <script> // add bootstrap table styles to pandoc tables function bootstrapStylePandocTables() { $('tr.header').parent('thead').parent('table').addClass('table table-condensed'); } $(document).ready(function () { bootstrapStylePandocTables(); }); </script> <!-- ============================ JAVASCRIPT SECTION ============================ --> <!-- Bootstrap core JavaScript --> <script src="vendor/bootstrap/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script> <!-- Custom scripts for this template --> <script src="js/agency.min.js"></script> </body> </html>