Contours
Details

- The following settings can be given for Contours:
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n contours at n equally spaced levels Automatic contours chosen automatically {Automatic,n} at most n contours chosen automatically {f1,f2,…} contours at levels fi {{f1,gr1},…} contours drawn with graphics directives gri func a function to be applied to zmin, zmax to get the list of contours - With Automatic settings, "nice" equally spaced contour levels are chosen, whose values minimize the number of digits in their decimal representation.
- In ContourPlot and ListContourPlot, Contours specifies contour lines.
- In ContourPlot3D and ListContourPlot3D, Contours specifies contour surfaces.
- ContourPlot and ContourPlot3D let you give an equation f==g or a list of equations as a way to specify single contours to draw.
Examples
Basic Examples (4)Summary of the most common use cases
Automatically select contours:
In[1]:=1

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https://wolfram.com/xid/0y74n4-3rz38p
Out[1]=1

Select three equally spaced contours:
In[1]:=1

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https://wolfram.com/xid/0y74n4-lt5zvu
Out[1]=1

Specify an explicit set of contours:
In[1]:=1

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https://wolfram.com/xid/0y74n4-xm92nh
Out[1]=1

Select five contour surfaces in three dimensions:
In[1]:=1

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https://wolfram.com/xid/0y74n4-f9b0u1
Out[1]=1

Wolfram Research (1991), Contours, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Contours.html (updated 2007).
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Wolfram Research (1991), Contours, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Contours.html (updated 2007).
Text
Wolfram Research (1991), Contours, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Contours.html (updated 2007).
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Wolfram Research (1991), Contours, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Contours.html (updated 2007).
CMS
Wolfram Language. 1991. "Contours." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2007. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Contours.html.
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Wolfram Language. 1991. "Contours." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2007. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Contours.html.
APA
Wolfram Language. (1991). Contours. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Contours.html
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Wolfram Language. (1991). Contours. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Contours.html
BibTeX
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@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_contours, author="Wolfram Research", title="{Contours}", year="2007", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Contours.html}", note=[Accessed: 14-March-2025
]}
BibLaTeX
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@online{reference.wolfram_2025_contours, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={Contours}, year={2007}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Contours.html}, note=[Accessed: 14-March-2025
]}