How different map projection distorts the globe
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A map projection is a method used to flatten the Earth’s surface into a plane to create a geographical map. It requires a systematic transformation of the latitudes and longitudes of locations from the globe’s surface into locations on a plane.
All projections of a sphere onto a plane distort the planet’s surface in some way and to some extent. Depending on the map’s purpose, some distortions are acceptable while others are not. As a result, different map projections exist to preserve certain properties of a sphere-like body at the expense of other properties.
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The distortions created by different map projections
Different map projections create various types of distortions due to the challenge of representing a three-dimensional sphere on a two-dimensional plane. For example, the Mercator projection preserves angles and shapes but distorts size, making areas near the poles appear much larger than they are. The Robinson projection aims to create visually appealing maps by balancing size and shape distortions, though neither is perfectly accurate. The Gall-Peters projection preserves area, showing regions in their true size relative to each other, but it distorts shape, making continents and countries look elongated. Each projection trades off some accuracy in one aspect to achieve better representation in another, depending on the map’s intended use.
The map below that shows 70 different map projections all at once. Overlapping Projection is a simplistic but powerful visualization of how map projections distort countries’ sizes worldwide.
Projection Face is another excellent representation of the distortions created by different map projections.
The Comparing Map Projections below provides you to directly compare various types of map projections and perceive the levels of distortions that particular map projection introduces by visualizing a globe in two dimensions.
Conformal projections
Conformal projections are a type of map projection that preserve local angles and shapes, making them particularly useful for navigational purposes. However, they do not preserve area, meaning that the size of regions on the map may be greatly distorted.
Mercator projection
The most famous Conformal map projection is the Mercator. The Mercator projection is a cylindrical map projection presented by the Flemish geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator (1569). The Mercator projection distorts the size of objects as the latitude increases from the Equator to the poles. The Mercator projection was designed for use in marine navigation because its unique feature represents any ship course of permanent bearing as a straight segment.
The maps below show world Mercator projection with the country going to true size.
Equal-area projections
Equal-area projections are types of map projections that preserve the area of displayed features. This means that regions on the map have the same proportional area as they do on the globe, ensuring that the relative sizes of different areas are accurately represented. However, while they maintain area accuracy, they often distort shapes, angles, and distances to achieve this.
Peters Projection
The Peters projection is a rectangular map projection that outlines all areas such that they have the correct sizes relative to each other.
Arno Peters, a German filmmaker, promoted it as a better alternative to the Mercator projection, which increasingly increases regions’ sizes according to their remoteness from the equator. According to Peters, the underdeveloped counties are located near the equator. As a result, these nations seem smaller on a Mercator and therefore look less significant.
The map of the world below shows area accurate Peters Projection Map overlaid with typical Mercator Projection Map
Unusual Map Projections
Spilhaus projection
Spilhaus map projection centered on Antarctica, the world’s oceans come together to form a single, continuous, unbroken water body.
Benjamin has created one of the most unusual versions of Spilhaus map projections, which has been optimized to show the track of the Beagle’s route during Charles Darwin’s famous voyage (1831 – 1836).
observablehq.com
The Hotine Oblique Projection
The Hotline projection is a variant of the oblique Mercator projection derivations.
While the regular Mercator projection maps the equator/the transverse metaequator equivalent to the meridian of reference equidistantly, the oblique Mercator projection aims conformal mapping of the ellipsoid of revolution constraint to an equidistant mapping of an oblique metaequator. The Hotline oblique cylindrical orthomorphic projection used for conformal mapping of obliquely oriented areas and doesn’t follow a north-south or east-west trend.
The Euler Spiral Map Projection
The Euler Spiral Map Projection is curving globe onto a flat spiral. The more spirals used in a Euler spiral map projection the less distortion there is.
Are you a map enthusiast? We recommend exploring the following atlases, maps, and globes.
Useful guide on map projections
The Mercator projection vs the true size of each country