Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 1, 2026

Cross-plot

A cross-plot, also called crossplot or cross plot, is a type of plot used in Earth science to describe relationships for two or more variables. Most plots referred to as cross-plots are scatter plots, but combinations of different charts and diagrams can be common. The axes of the plot are commonly linear, but may also be logarithmic.

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Jun 1, 2026
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Example of a cross-plot used in petroleum geology for the interpretation of water saturation and clay content using well log data source ↗

A cross-plot, also called crossplot or cross plot,1 is a type of plot used in Earth science to describe relationships for two or more variables.2 Most plots referred to as cross-plots are scatter plots,1 but combinations of different charts and diagrams can be common (e.g. histograms).3 The axes of the plot are commonly linear, but may also be logarithmic.4

Cross-plots are used to interpret geophysical (e.g., amplitude versus offset analysis), geochemical, and hydrologic data.

References

References

  1. Howarth, Richard J. (2017). Dictionary of Mathematical Geosciences: With Historical Notes. Cham: Springer International Publishing. Bibcode:2017dmgh.book.....H. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-57315-1. ISBN 978-3-319-57314-4.
  2. Rasaq, B; Igwenagu, Cl; Onifade, Ys (2015-10-08). "Cross plotting of Rock Properties for Fluid and Lithology Discrimination using Well Data in a Niger Delta Oil Field". Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management. 19 (3): 539. doi:10.4314/jasem.v19i3.25. ISSN 1119-8362.
  3. Cao, Maojun; Gao, Zhiyong; Yuan, Ye; Yan, Zhao; Zhang, Yihong (2022-04-01). "A Visualization and Analysis Method by Multi-Dimensional Crossplots from Multi-Well Heterogeneous Data". Energies. 15 (7): 2575. doi:10.3390/en15072575. ISSN 1996-1073.
  4. "crossplot". Energy Glossary. Retrieved 2023-01-27.