Map Projections of the Globe

Map projections are used to portray some portion of the globe (a nearly spherical object) on a flat surface. Unfortunately, the process of representing a spherical object in two-dimensions always leads to some distortion of shape, distance, direction, scale or area. The choice of projection used always involves tradeoffs (e.g. the mercator projection is a famous example of a map that portrays accurate directions but inaccurate relative areas). Here we've represented the countries of earth using a variety of projections.

Bonne

Loximuthal

Mercator

Sinusoidal

World From Space

© 2007 ZevRoss Spatial Analysis