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.

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).

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.

• National Geographic Atlas of the World
• Great Maps: The World’s Masterpieces Explored and Explained
• Rand McNally Classic Edition World Wall Map
• Peters Projection World Map
• Desktop World Globe

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The Spilhaus Projection: Centering the Oceans

In 1942, the oceanographer and geophysicist Athelstan Frederick Spilhaus developed a fascinating world map. Unlike traditional maps that prioritize landmasses, the Spilhaus projection centers the world’s oceans. This approach shifts our focus to the interconnectedness of marine regions, emphasizing their central role in Earth’s ecosystem.

Here is another map in the Spilhaus projection created by le-cartographe.net.

By centering Antarctica and the surrounding oceans, the Spilhaus projection allows us to visualize the vast expanses of the World Ocean as a cohesive whole. This perspective is particularly useful for understanding global ocean currents and surface water temperatures.

For instance, the Spilhaus projection can vividly illustrate ocean currents. These currents are the lifeblood of our planet’s climate system, transporting heat and nutrients across the globe. By presenting the oceans as a continuous entity, the Spilhaus map makes it easier to track the dynamic movement of these currents and understand their global impact.

Similarly, the Spilhaus projection is ideal for displaying the temperature of the surface water layer throughout the year. This visualization helps us grasp the seasonal variations in ocean temperatures, which influence weather patterns, marine ecosystems, and the global climate.

The Dymaxion Projection: A Land-Centric View

In contrast to the Spilhaus projection, R. Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion map projection shows all the landmasses nearly continuously. This map minimizes distortion of the continents, providing a contiguous view of Earth’s land areas. The Dymaxion map is particularly useful for understanding human geography and geopolitical relationships, presenting an alternative perspective on our world.

Exploring the World with Different Perspectives

Both the Spilhaus and Dymaxion projections offer unique insights into our planet’s geography. The Spilhaus projection emphasizes the interconnectedness of the world’s oceans and their central role in Earth’s systems, while the Dymaxion map provides a comprehensive view of the continents. Together, these maps encourage us to appreciate the complexity and interconnectedness of our world.

Popular World Maps on Amazon

For those interested in exploring different map projections, here are some popular world maps available on Amazon:

• National Geographic World Map
• Gall Orthographic World Map
• Peters Projection World Map
• Scratch Off World Map Poster

The post Discovering the World Ocean with the Spilhaus Projection appeared first on Vivid Maps.

But here’s the problem: the Mercator projection is seriously misleading about the size of countries and continents. The further a landmass is from the equator, the more dramatically it gets stretched out. This means countries in the Northern Hemisphere look much larger than they actually are.
A perfect example of this distortion is Greenland and Africa. If you’ve ever glanced at a typical world map, you might think these landmasses are roughly the same size. In reality, Africa is actually 14 times larger than Greenland! The map systematically exaggerates the size of northern countries like Greenland, Russia, and parts of North America, while minimizing the scale of regions closer to the equator.

Despite its inaccuracies, this map is everywhere – from school textbooks to smartphone apps to Google Maps. It’s so ubiquitous that most people don’t even realize how much it misrepresents the true proportions of our planet.

Reddit user neilrkaye made an amazing animation of the Mercator projection to correct shape and size.

If one were to calculate the areas of various landmasses based on their physical representations on a Mercator map, the areas would differ significantly than the actual areas of each of those landmasses, particularly for those in the Southern Hemisphere. The chart below shows these differences.

Greenland seems the same size as Africa when, in reality, Africa’s area is 14 times as large. In reality, Greenland’s actual area is comparable to the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone.

Africa appears to be approximately the same size as South America when, in reality, Africa is over one and a half times as large.

Alaska seems to be the same size as Australia, although Australia is 4.5 times as large. Alaska also takes as much area on the map as Brazil, whereas Brazil’s area is about five times that of Alaska.

Madagascar and Great Britain look almost the same size, while Madagascar is more than twice as large as Great Britain.

Here is a mosaic of world countries retaining their correct size and shape created using ggplot in R. Largest nations, also shown in the bar graph.

For creating this map, each country was projected to the spherical projection and placed at the center of where it appears in the Natural Earth projection.

This demonstrates you can’t fit shapes on a sphere back together again once you place them on the flat.

And to add another impressive illustration, a Reddit user named dranerertiam created a map that vividly demonstrates how the Mercator projection distorts geographical shapes. The map shows a circle with a 5000-kilometer radius, centered in Paris.

The Mercator projection is a fascinating yet flawed cartographic technique that has shaped our global understanding for centuries. While ingenious for navigation, it creates a deeply misleading visual representation of our planet, systematically inflating the size of northern landmasses and minimizing equatorial regions. Understanding its limitations reminds us that maps are not neutral representations of reality, but human-created tools with inherent biases that can subtly influence our perception of the world.

The post The Mercator Problems appeared first on Vivid Maps.

Source: lursh123

The highest percentage of opponents of same-sex relationships was registered in Armenia.

“Homosexuality is seen as tantamount to pedophilia in Armenia. It’s simply not on the cards as a conversation topic, the taboo is too strong. The only hope is a combination of brave individuals taking a stand for themselves and coming out, positive influencing coming from the diaspora (which is still very homophobic itself), and perhaps some of the developments being made in Tbilisi coming across the border. 


None of these factors seem very potent at the moment, and progress will be glacial in the meantime. Naturally, this is all a byproduct of geography. A landlocked Asian state masquerading as an Eastern European democracy in the process of integrating with the EU will always look completely out of place in a survey like this.”

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Here’s the thing: we’ve got a problem that’s literally impossible to solve. We’re trying to wrap a globe (think: orange peel) onto a flat surface (think: your screen right now). Something’s got to give, and what gives is accuracy.

Want to have your mind blown? Greenland isn’t actually the size of a continent – it’s way smaller than most people think. On most maps, it looks almost as big as Africa. The reality? Africa is about 14 times bigger. That’s like comparing a basketball to a beach ball!

What’s Really Going On Here?

Mercator maps distort distances, stretching areas further from the equator. It’s like pulling on a rubber band – the middle stays the same, but the edges get stretched way out of shape.

This leads to some pretty crazy revelations:

• You could fit the entire USA, China, AND India inside Africa – with room left over for dessert
• Texas is big, sure, but it would get lost in the Sahara Desert
• Australia? It’s way bigger than most people think – you could fit most of Europe inside it

The Real Giants of Our Planet

Let’s talk about Africa for a second. Pull up any regular map, and sure, Africa looks big. But the real story? It’s HUGE. You could take China, all of Western Europe, India, Argentina, and throw in Scandinavia for good measure – and they’d all fit inside Africa’s borders. Still have room for a few more countries, actually.

Here are some other fun size surprises:

• Madagascar is bigger than Sweden (bet you didn’t see that coming!)
• Japan would stretch right down the US East Coast
• Brazil is almost as big as the whole United States
• The Democratic Republic of Congo is 75 times bigger than Belgium (which used to run it)

Want to blow your own mind for a while? Head over to thetruesize.com and start dragging countries around. Fair warning: you might lose an hour or two, but you’ll never look at a map the same way again.

What do you think? Did any of these size comparisons surprise you? Have you noticed other ways maps mess with our heads? Drop a comment below – I’d love to hear what shocked you the most!

The post The Real Size of the World: Maps Have Been Lying to You (But Not on Purpose!) appeared first on Vivid Maps.

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Red: Greenland 
Blue: Countries larger than Greenland

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28,385 stories in MA retrieved from November 2011 to the present.

28,385 stories in MA retrieved from November 2011 to the present.

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