how show values *decreasing* up the y-axis like in a pcolor plot?

Normally x-axis (horizontal) values increase to right

    > and y-axis (vertical) values increase up the page.

    > Is it easy/possible to reverse this for the y-axis??
    > (So that y-values **decrease** up the page for some
    > range?)

  ylim(ymax, ymin)

OR

  xlim(xmax, xmin)

See, for example, http://matplotlib.sf.net/examples/invert_axes.py