Single smooth area with a shaded period and dotted baseline

Time series charts in CanvasXpress show how values change over calendar time: annual, monthly and daily series as lines, step lines, areas, columns and small multiples, with confidence bands, projections, shaded periods, event callouts, dual axes and direct end labels. These examples recreate editorial chart idioms (the Datawrapper reference set) with synthetic data and publication-style themes; every one of them is an ordinary Scatter2D, Line, Area, AreaLine, Bar, BarLine or Stacked configuration, so the same options apply to your own dated data.


Economist GGPlot Excel Paul Tol Black And White Solarized Stata Tableau Wall Street CanvasXpress
Edit this code: edit & runin place edit inJSFiddle edit inCodePen 
<html>

  <head>
    <!-- Include the CanvasXpress library in your HTML file -->
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://www.canvasxpress.org/dist/canvasXpress.css" type="text/css"/>
    <script src="https://www.canvasxpress.org/dist/canvasXpress.min.js"></script>
  </head>

  <body>

    <!-- Create a canvas element for the chart with the desired dimensions -->
    <div>
      <canvas id="canvasId" width="600" height="600"></canvas>
    </div>


    <!-- Create a script to initialize the chart -->
    <script>

      // Use a data frame (2D-array) for the graph
      var data = 

      // Create the configuration for the graph
      var config = {
         "graphType" : "Area",
         "graphOrientation" : "vertical",
         "theme" : "minimal",
         "lineType" : "spline",
         "xAxis" : [
            "Lake level above present (m)"
         ],
         "colorScheme" : "User",
         "colors" : [
            "#8FB3C2"
         ],
         "objectColorTransparency" : 0.6,
         "title" : "Rising and falling lake levels in the Chad basin",
         "subtitle" : "Lake surface elevation, meters above the present level",
         "smpTitle" : false,
         "smpLabelInterval" : 4,
         "smpTextRotate" : 90,
         "xAxisTitle" : false,
         "showLegend" : false,
         "setMinX" : 0,
         "setMaxX" : 36,
         "marginRight" : 22,
         "decorations" : {
            "range" : [
               {
                  "smp" : "9.5 ka",
                  "smp2" : "5.5 ka",
                  "color" : "rgba(240,160,60,0.22)"
               }
            ],
            "line" : [
               {
                  "value" : 10.5,
                  "color" : "#1B7F9E",
                  "width" : 3,
                  "label" : "Present-day level",
                  "align" : "left",
                  "type" : "dotted"
               }
            ],
            "marker" : [
               {
                  "text" : "Shorelines mapped\nduring the humid period",
                  "variable" : "Lake level above present (m)",
                  "sample" : "7.5 ka",
                  "type" : "arrow",
                  "x" : 0.52,
                  "y" : 0.32
               },
               {
                  "text" : "African Humid Period",
                  "variable" : "Lake level above present (m)",
                  "sample" : "7.5 ka",
                  "type" : "text",
                  "x" : 0.4,
                  "y" : 0.17,
                  "color" : "#9A6A1A"
               }
            ]
         },
         "byline" : "Chart: CanvasXpress",
         "source" : "Synthetic data for illustration"
      }

      // Event used to create graph (optional)
      var events = false

      // Call the CanvasXpress function to create the graph
      var cX = new CanvasXpress("canvasId", data, config, events);

    </script>

  </body>

</html>
Edit this code: edit & runin place edit inJSFiddle edit inCodePen 
<html>

  <head>
    <!-- Include the CanvasXpress library in your HTML file -->
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://www.canvasxpress.org/dist/canvasXpress.css" type="text/css"/>
    <script src="https://www.canvasxpress.org/dist/canvasXpress.min.js"></script>
  </head>

  <body>

    <!-- Create a canvas element for the chart with the desired dimensions -->
    <div>
      <canvas id="canvasId" width="600" height="600"></canvas>
    </div>


    <!-- Create a script to initialize the chart -->
    <script>

      // Create the data for the graph
      var data = {
         "y" : {
            "vars" : [
               "Lake level above present (m)"
            ],
            "smps" : [
               "12 ka",
               "11.5 ka",
               "11 ka",
               "10.5 ka",
               "10 ka",
               "9.5 ka",
               "9 ka",
               "8.5 ka",
               "8 ka",
               "7.5 ka",
               "7 ka",
               "6.5 ka",
               "6 ka",
               "5.5 ka",
               "5 ka",
               "4.5 ka",
               "4 ka",
               "3.5 ka",
               "3 ka",
               "2.5 ka",
               "2 ka",
               "1.5 ka",
               "1 ka",
               "0.5 ka",
               "0 ka"
            ],
            "data" : [
               [
                  34,
                  31,
                  26,
                  21.5,
                  17.2,
                  14.6,
                  12.3,
                  11.2,
                  11.6,
                  10.4,
                  7.6,
                  5.2,
                  3.9,
                  3.4,
                  3.6,
                  4.9,
                  6.3,
                  7.5,
                  8.4,
                  9,
                  9.4,
                  9.8,
                  10.1,
                  10.4,
                  10.6
               ]
            ]
         }
      }

      // Create the configuration for the graph
      var config = {
         "graphType" : "Area",
         "graphOrientation" : "vertical",
         "theme" : "minimal",
         "lineType" : "spline",
         "xAxis" : [
            "Lake level above present (m)"
         ],
         "colorScheme" : "User",
         "colors" : [
            "#8FB3C2"
         ],
         "objectColorTransparency" : 0.6,
         "title" : "Rising and falling lake levels in the Chad basin",
         "subtitle" : "Lake surface elevation, meters above the present level",
         "smpTitle" : false,
         "smpLabelInterval" : 4,
         "smpTextRotate" : 90,
         "xAxisTitle" : false,
         "showLegend" : false,
         "setMinX" : 0,
         "setMaxX" : 36,
         "marginRight" : 22,
         "decorations" : {
            "range" : [
               {
                  "smp" : "9.5 ka",
                  "smp2" : "5.5 ka",
                  "color" : "rgba(240,160,60,0.22)"
               }
            ],
            "line" : [
               {
                  "value" : 10.5,
                  "color" : "#1B7F9E",
                  "width" : 3,
                  "label" : "Present-day level",
                  "align" : "left",
                  "type" : "dotted"
               }
            ],
            "marker" : [
               {
                  "text" : "Shorelines mapped\nduring the humid period",
                  "variable" : "Lake level above present (m)",
                  "sample" : "7.5 ka",
                  "type" : "arrow",
                  "x" : 0.52,
                  "y" : 0.32
               },
               {
                  "text" : "African Humid Period",
                  "variable" : "Lake level above present (m)",
                  "sample" : "7.5 ka",
                  "type" : "text",
                  "x" : 0.4,
                  "y" : 0.17,
                  "color" : "#9A6A1A"
               }
            ]
         },
         "byline" : "Chart: CanvasXpress",
         "source" : "Synthetic data for illustration"
      }

      // Event used to create graph (optional)
      var events = false

            // Call the CanvasXpress function to create the graph
      var cX = new CanvasXpress("canvasId", data, config, events);

    </script>

  </body>

</html>
from canvasxpress.canvas import CanvasXpress
from canvasxpress.plot import show_in_browser

if __name__ == "__main__":
  # Define the chart with its data and configuration
  chart: CanvasXpress = CanvasXpress(
    render_to = "timeseries11",
    data = {
      "y": {
        "vars": ["Lake level above present (m)"],
        "smps": ["12 ka", "11.5 ka", "11 ka", "10.5 ka", "10 ka", "9.5 ka", "9 ka", "8.5 ka", "8 ka", "7.5 ka", "7 ka", "6.5 ka", "6 ka", "5.5 ka", "5 ka", "4.5 ka", "4 ka", "3.5 ka", "3 ka", "2.5 ka", "2 ka", "1.5 ka", "1 ka", "0.5 ka", "0 ka"],
        "data": [
          [34, 31, 26, 21.5, 17.2, 14.6, 12.3, 11.2, 11.6, 10.4, 7.6, 5.2, 3.9, 3.4, 3.6, 4.9, 6.3, 7.5, 8.4, 9, 9.4, 9.8, 10.1, 10.4, 10.6]
        ]
      }
    },
    config = {
      "graphType": "Area",
      "graphOrientation": "vertical",
      "theme": "minimal",
      "lineType": "spline",
      "xAxis": ["Lake level above present (m)"],
      "colorScheme": "User",
      "colors": ["#8FB3C2"],
      "objectColorTransparency": 0.6,
      "title": "Rising and falling lake levels in the Chad basin",
      "subtitle": "Lake surface elevation, meters above the present level",
      "smpTitle": False,
      "smpLabelInterval": 4,
      "smpTextRotate": 90,
      "xAxisTitle": False,
      "showLegend": False,
      "setMinX": 0,
      "setMaxX": 36,
      "marginRight": 22,
      "decorations": {
        "range": [
          {
            "smp": "9.5 ka",
            "smp2": "5.5 ka",
            "color": "rgba(240,160,60,0.22)"
          }
        ],
        "line": [
          {
            "value": 10.5,
            "color": "#1B7F9E",
            "width": 3,
            "label": "Present-day level",
            "align": "left",
            "type": "dotted"
          }
        ],
        "marker": [
          {
            "text": "Shorelines mapped\nduring the humid period",
            "variable": "Lake level above present (m)",
            "sample": "7.5 ka",
            "type": "arrow",
            "x": 0.52,
            "y": 0.32
          },
          {
            "text": "African Humid Period",
            "variable": "Lake level above present (m)",
            "sample": "7.5 ka",
            "type": "text",
            "x": 0.4,
            "y": 0.17,
            "color": "#9A6A1A"
          }
        ]
      },
      "byline": "Chart: CanvasXpress",
      "source": "Synthetic data for illustration"
    },
    width = 760,
    height = 560
  )

  # Display the chart in its own Web page
  show_in_browser(chart)
Run this notebook: Open in Binder 
from canvasxpress.canvas import CanvasXpress
from canvasxpress.plot import graph

graph(
  CanvasXpress(
    render_to = "timeseries11",
    data = {
      "y": {
        "vars": ["Lake level above present (m)"],
        "smps": ["12 ka", "11.5 ka", "11 ka", "10.5 ka", "10 ka", "9.5 ka", "9 ka", "8.5 ka", "8 ka", "7.5 ka", "7 ka", "6.5 ka", "6 ka", "5.5 ka", "5 ka", "4.5 ka", "4 ka", "3.5 ka", "3 ka", "2.5 ka", "2 ka", "1.5 ka", "1 ka", "0.5 ka", "0 ka"],
        "data": [
          [34, 31, 26, 21.5, 17.2, 14.6, 12.3, 11.2, 11.6, 10.4, 7.6, 5.2, 3.9, 3.4, 3.6, 4.9, 6.3, 7.5, 8.4, 9, 9.4, 9.8, 10.1, 10.4, 10.6]
        ]
      }
    },
    config = {
      "graphType": "Area",
      "graphOrientation": "vertical",
      "theme": "minimal",
      "lineType": "spline",
      "xAxis": ["Lake level above present (m)"],
      "colorScheme": "User",
      "colors": ["#8FB3C2"],
      "objectColorTransparency": 0.6,
      "title": "Rising and falling lake levels in the Chad basin",
      "subtitle": "Lake surface elevation, meters above the present level",
      "smpTitle": False,
      "smpLabelInterval": 4,
      "smpTextRotate": 90,
      "xAxisTitle": False,
      "showLegend": False,
      "setMinX": 0,
      "setMaxX": 36,
      "marginRight": 22,
      "decorations": {
        "range": [
          {
            "smp": "9.5 ka",
            "smp2": "5.5 ka",
            "color": "rgba(240,160,60,0.22)"
          }
        ],
        "line": [
          {
            "value": 10.5,
            "color": "#1B7F9E",
            "width": 3,
            "label": "Present-day level",
            "align": "left",
            "type": "dotted"
          }
        ],
        "marker": [
          {
            "text": "Shorelines mapped\nduring the humid period",
            "variable": "Lake level above present (m)",
            "sample": "7.5 ka",
            "type": "arrow",
            "x": 0.52,
            "y": 0.32
          },
          {
            "text": "African Humid Period",
            "variable": "Lake level above present (m)",
            "sample": "7.5 ka",
            "type": "text",
            "x": 0.4,
            "y": 0.17,
            "color": "#9A6A1A"
          }
        ]
      },
      "byline": "Chart: CanvasXpress",
      "source": "Synthetic data for illustration"
    },
    width = 760,
    height = 560
  )
)

using CanvasXpress

canvasxpress(Dict(
  "y" => Dict(
    "vars" => ["Lake level above present (m)"],
    "smps" => ["12 ka", "11.5 ka", "11 ka", "10.5 ka", "10 ka", "9.5 ka", "9 ka", "8.5 ka", "8 ka", "7.5 ka", "7 ka", "6.5 ka", "6 ka", "5.5 ka", "5 ka", "4.5 ka", "4 ka", "3.5 ka", "3 ka", "2.5 ka", "2 ka", "1.5 ka", "1 ka", "0.5 ka", "0 ka"],
    "data" => [
      [34, 31, 26, 21.5, 17.2, 14.6, 12.3, 11.2, 11.6, 10.4, 7.6, 5.2, 3.9, 3.4, 3.6, 4.9, 6.3, 7.5, 8.4, 9, 9.4, 9.8, 10.1, 10.4, 10.6]
    ]
  )
);
  graphType = "Area",
  graphOrientation = "vertical",
  theme = "minimal",
  lineType = "spline",
  xAxis = ["Lake level above present (m)"],
  colorScheme = "User",
  colors = ["#8FB3C2"],
  objectColorTransparency = 0.6,
  title = "Rising and falling lake levels in the Chad basin",
  subtitle = "Lake surface elevation, meters above the present level",
  smpTitle = false,
  smpLabelInterval = 4,
  smpTextRotate = 90,
  xAxisTitle = false,
  showLegend = false,
  setMinX = 0,
  setMaxX = 36,
  marginRight = 22,
  decorations = Dict(
    "range" => [
      Dict(
        "smp" => "9.5 ka",
        "smp2" => "5.5 ka",
        "color" => "rgba(240,160,60,0.22)"
      )
    ],
    "line" => [
      Dict(
        "value" => 10.5,
        "color" => "#1B7F9E",
        "width" => 3,
        "label" => "Present-day level",
        "align" => "left",
        "type" => "dotted"
      )
    ],
    "marker" => [
      Dict(
        "text" => "Shorelines mapped\nduring the humid period",
        "variable" => "Lake level above present (m)",
        "sample" => "7.5 ka",
        "type" => "arrow",
        "x" => 0.52,
        "y" => 0.32
      ),
      Dict(
        "text" => "African Humid Period",
        "variable" => "Lake level above present (m)",
        "sample" => "7.5 ka",
        "type" => "text",
        "x" => 0.4,
        "y" => 0.17,
        "color" => "#9A6A1A"
      )
    ]
  ),
  byline = "Chart: CanvasXpress",
  source = "Synthetic data for illustration"
)
CanvasXpress Logo

CanvasXpress a stand-alone JavaScript Library for Data Analytics. Built for the purpose of reproducible research with a sophisticated and unobtrusive user interface. Full and effortless audit trail of data, configuration and all user interactions in every visualization.

©2025 All Rights Reserved. CanvasXpress®

Documentation
Examples Docs Learn Api Spec Quality Accessibility Updates Changelog
Company
Contact License Governance Support Regulated & GxP Admin
Information
Terms of Use Privacy policy References
⇧