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Mapprojection
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Commonly,amapprojectionisasystematictransformation
ofthelatitudesandlongitudesoflocationsonthesurfaceofa
sphereoranellipsoidintolocationsonaplane.[1]Map
projectionsarenecessaryforcreatingmaps.Allmap
projectionsdistortthesurfaceinsomefashion.Dependingon
thepurposeofthemap,somedistortionsareacceptableand
othersarenottherefore,differentmapprojectionsexistin
ordertopreservesomepropertiesofthespherelikebodyat
theexpenseofotherproperties.Thereisnolimittothe
numberofpossiblemapprojections.
Moregenerally,thesurfacesofplanetarybodiescanbe
mappedeveniftheyaretooirregulartobemodeledwellwith
asphereorellipsoidseebelow.Evenmoregenerally,
projectionsarethesubjectofseveralpuremathematicalfields,
includingdifferentialgeometryandprojectivegeometry.
However,"mapprojection"refersspecificallytoa
cartographicprojection.

AmedievaldepictionoftheEcumene(1482,
JohannesSchnitzer,engraver),constructedafterthe
coordinatesinPtolemy'sGeographyandusinghis
secondmapprojection

Contents
1Background
2Metricpropertiesofmaps
2.1Whichprojectionisbest?
2.2Distortion
3Constructionofamapprojection
3.1Choosingaprojectionsurface
3.2Aspectoftheprojection
3.3Notablelines
3.4Scale
3.5Choosingamodelfortheshapeofthebody
4Classification
5Projectionsbysurface
5.1Cylindrical
5.2Pseudocylindrical
5.3Hybrid
5.4Conic
5.5Pseudoconic
5.6Azimuthal(projectionsontoaplane)
6Projectionsbypreservationofametricproperty
6.1Conformal
6.2Equalarea
6.3Equidistant
6.4Gnomonic
6.5Retroazimuthal
6.6Compromiseprojections
7Seealso
8References
9Externallinks

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Background
Mapscanbemoreusefulthanglobesinmanysituations:theyaremorecompactandeasiertostoretheyreadily
accommodateanenormousrangeofscalestheyareviewedeasilyoncomputerdisplaystheycanfacilitate
measuringpropertiesoftheterrainbeingmappedtheycanshowlargerportionsoftheEarth'ssurfaceatonceand
theyarecheapertoproduceandtransport.Theseusefultraitsofmapsmotivatethedevelopmentofmap
projections.
However,CarlFriedrichGauss'sTheoremaEgregiumprovedthatasphere'ssurfacecannotberepresentedona
planewithoutdistortion.ThesameappliestootherreferencesurfacesusedasmodelsfortheEarth.Sinceanymap
projectionisarepresentationofoneofthosesurfacesonaplane,allmapprojectionsdistort.Everydistinctmap
projectiondistortsinadistinctway.Thestudyofmapprojectionsisthecharacterizationofthesedistortions.
Projectionisnotlimitedtoperspectiveprojections,suchasthoseresultingfromcastingashadowonascreen,or
therectilinearimageproducedbyapinholecameraonaflatfilmplate.Rather,anymathematicalfunction
transformingcoordinatesfromthecurvedsurfacetotheplaneisaprojection.Fewprojectionsinactualuseare
perspective.
Forsimplicitymostofthisarticleassumesthatthesurfacetobemappedisthatofasphere.Inreality,theEarth
andotherlargecelestialbodiesaregenerallybettermodeledasoblatespheroids,whereassmallobjectssuchas
asteroidsoftenhaveirregularshapes.Theseothersurfacescanbemappedaswell.Therefore,moregenerally,a
mapprojectionisanymethodof"flattening"intoaplaneacontinuouscurvedsurface.

Metricpropertiesofmaps
ManypropertiescanbemeasuredontheEarth'ssurface
independentlyofitsgeography.Someoftheseproperties
are:
Area
Shape
Direction
Bearing
Distance
Scale
Mapprojectionscanbeconstructedtopreserveatleast
AnAlbersprojectionshowsareasaccurately,butdistorts
oneoftheseproperties,thoughonlyinalimitedwayfor
shapes.
most.Eachprojectionpreservesorcompromisesor
approximatesbasicmetricpropertiesindifferentways.
Thepurposeofthemapdetermineswhichprojectionshouldformthebaseforthemap.Becausemanypurposes
existformaps,manyprojectionshavebeencreatedtosuitthosepurposes.
Anotherconsiderationintheconfigurationofaprojectionisitscompatibilitywithdatasetstobeusedonthemap.
Datasetsaregeographicinformationtheircollectiondependsonthechosendatum(model)oftheEarth.
Differentdatumsassignslightlydifferentcoordinatestothesamelocation,soinlargescalemaps,suchasthose
fromnationalmappingsystems,itisimportanttomatchthedatumtotheprojection.Theslightdifferencesin
coordinateassignationbetweendifferentdatumsisnotaconcernforworldmapsorothervastterritories,where
suchdifferencesgetshrunktoimperceptibility.

Whichprojectionisbest?
Themathematicsofprojectiondonotpermitanyparticularmapprojectiontobe"best"foreverything.Something
willalwaysgetdistorted.Thereforeadiversityofprojectionsexiststoservicethemanyusesofmapsandtheir
vastrangeofscales.
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ModernnationalmappingsystemstypicallyemployatransverseMercatororclosevariantforlargescalemapsin
ordertopreserveconformalityandlowvariationinscaleoversmallareas.Forsmallerscalemaps,suchasthose
spanningcontinentsortheentireworld,manyprojectionsareincommonuseaccordingtotheirfitnessforthe
purpose.[2]
Thematicmapsnormallyrequireanequalareaprojectionsothatphenomenaperunitareaareshownincorrect
proportion.[3]However,representingarearatioscorrectlynecessarilydistortsshapesmorethanmanymapsthat
arenotequalarea.Hencereferencemapsoftheworldoftenappearoncompromiseprojectionsinstead.Duetothe
severedistortionsinherentinanymapoftheworld,withinreasonthechoiceofprojectionbecomeslargelyoneof
aesthetics.
TheMercatorprojection,developedfornavigationalpurposes,hasoftenbeenusedinworldmapswhereother
projectionswouldhavebeenmoreappropriate.[4][5][6][7]Thisproblemhaslongbeenrecognizedevenoutside
professionalcircles.Forexamplea1943NewYorkTimeseditorialstates:
Thetimehascometodiscard[theMercator]forsomethingthatrepresentsthecontinentsand
directionslessdeceptively...Althoughitsusage...hasdiminished...itisstillhighlypopularasawall
mapapparentlyinpartbecause,asarectangularmap,itfillsarectangularwallspacewithmoremap,
andclearlybecauseitsfamiliaritybreedsmorepopularity.[8]
Acontroversyinthe1980soverthePetersmapmotivatedtheAmericanCartographicAssociation(now
CartographyandGeographicInformationSociety)toproduceaseriesofbooklets(includingWhichMapis
Best[9])designedtoeducatethepublicaboutmapprojectionsanddistortioninmaps.In1989and1990,aftersome
internaldebate,sevenNorthAmericangeographicorganizationsadoptedaresolutionrecommendingagainst
usinganyrectangularprojection(includingMercatorandGallPeters)forreferencemapsoftheworld.[7][10]

Distortion
Theclassicwayofshowingthedistortioninherentinaprojectionistouse
Tissot'sindicatrix.Foragivenpoint,usingthescalefactorhalongthe
meridian,thescalefactorkalongtheparallel,andtheanglebetween
them,NicolasTissotdescribedhowtoconstructanellipsethat
characterizestheamountandorientationofthecomponentsof
distortion.[11][12]Byspacingtheellipsesregularlyalongthemeridiansand
parallels,thenetworkofindicatricesshowshowdistortionvariesacross
themap.
FortheMercatorprojection,andanyotherconformalprojection,h=kand
=90,soeachellipsedegeneratesintoacirclewiththeradiush=kbeing
equaltothesolescalefactorforthepoint.
Forthesinusoidalprojection,andanyotherequalareaprojection,the
semimajoraxisoftheellipseisthereciprocalofthesemiminoraxis,so
everyellipsehasthesameareaeventhoughtheirshapesvary.

Tissot'sIndicatricesontheMercator
projection

Forarbitraryprojections,neithertheshapenortheareaoftheellipsesarerelatedtoeachotheringeneral.[13]

Constructionofamapprojection
Thecreationofamapprojectioninvolvestwosteps:
1. SelectionofamodelfortheshapeoftheEarthorplanetarybody(usuallychoosingbetweenasphereor
ellipsoid).BecausetheEarth'sactualshapeisirregular,informationislostinthisstep.
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2. Transformationofgeographiccoordinates(longitudeandlatitude)toCartesian(x,y)orpolarplane
coordinates.Cartesiancoordinatesnormallyhaveasimplerelationtoeastingsandnorthingsdefinedona
gridsuperimposedontheprojection.
Someofthesimplestmapprojectionsareliterallyprojections,asobtainedbyplacingalightsourceatsome
definitepointrelativetotheglobeandprojectingitsfeaturesontoaspecifiedsurface.Thisisnotthecaseformost
projections,whicharedefinedonlyintermsofmathematicalformulaethathavenodirectgeometric
interpretation.

Choosingaprojectionsurface
Asurfacethatcanbeunfoldedorunrolledinto
aplaneorsheetwithoutstretching,tearingor
shrinkingiscalledadevelopablesurface.The
cylinder,coneandtheplanearealldevelopable
surfaces.Thesphereandellipsoiddonothave
developablesurfaces,soanyprojectionofthem
ontoaplanewillhavetodistorttheimage.(To
compare,onecannotflattenanorangepeel
withouttearingandwarpingit.)
AMillercylindricalprojectionmapstheglobeontoacylinder.
Onewayofdescribingaprojectionisfirstto
projectfromtheEarth'ssurfacetoa
developablesurfacesuchasacylinderorcone,andthentounrollthesurfaceintoaplane.Whilethefirststep
inevitablydistortssomepropertiesoftheglobe,thedevelopablesurfacecanthenbeunfoldedwithoutfurther
distortion.

Aspectoftheprojection
Onceachoiceismadebetween
projectingontoacylinder,cone,
orplane,theaspectoftheshape
mustbespecified.Theaspect
describeshowthedevelopable
surfaceisplacedrelativetothe
globe:itmaybenormal(suchthat
thesurface'saxisofsymmetry
coincideswiththeEarth'saxis),
transverse(atrightanglestothe
Earth'saxis)oroblique(anyangle
inbetween).

Notablelines

ThistransverseMercatorprojectionismathematicallythesameasastandard
Mercator,butorientedaroundadifferentaxis.

Thedevelopablesurfacemayalso
beeithertangentorsecanttothe
sphereorellipsoid.Tangentmeansthesurfacetouchesbutdoesnotslicethroughtheglobesecantmeansthe
surfacedoesslicethroughtheglobe.Movingthedevelopablesurfaceawayfromcontactwiththeglobenever
preservesoroptimizesmetricproperties,sothatpossibilityisnotdiscussedfurtherhere.
Tangentandsecantlinesarerepresentedundistorted.Iftheselinesareaparalleloflatitude,asinconical
projections,itiscalledastandardparallel.Thecentralmeridianisthemeridiantowhichtheglobeisrotated
beforeprojecting.Thecentralmeridian(usuallywritten)andaparalleloforigin(usuallywritten)areoften
usedtodefinetheoriginofthemapprojection.[14][15]

Scale
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Aglobeistheonlywaytorepresenttheearthwithconstantscalethroughouttheentiremapinalldirections.A
mapcannotachievethatpropertyforanyarea,nomatterhowsmall.Itcan,however,achieveconstantscalealong
specificlines.
Somepossiblepropertiesare:
Thescaledependsonlocation,butnotondirection.Thisisequivalenttopreservationofangles,the
definingcharacteristicofaconformalmap.
Scaleisconstantalonganyparallelinthedirectionoftheparallel.Thisappliesforanycylindricalor
pseudocylindricalprojectioninnormalaspect.
Combinationoftheabove:thescaledependsonlatitudeonly,notonlongitudeordirection.Thisappliesfor
theMercatorprojectioninnormalaspect.
Scaleisconstantalongallstraightlinesradiatingfromaparticulargeographiclocation.Thisisthedefining
characteristicofanequidistantprojectionsuchastheAzimuthalequidistantprojection.Therearealso
projections(Maurer,Close)wheretruedistancesfromtwopointsarepreserved.[16][17]

Choosingamodelfortheshapeofthebody
ProjectionconstructionisalsoaffectedbyhowtheshapeoftheEarthorplanetarybodyisapproximated.Inthe
followingsectiononprojectioncategories,theearthistakenasasphereinordertosimplifythediscussion.
However,theEarth'sactualshapeisclosertoanoblateellipsoid.Whethersphericalorellipsoidal,theprinciples
discussedholdwithoutlossofgenerality.
SelectingamodelforashapeoftheEarthinvolveschoosingbetweentheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofa
sphereversusanellipsoid.Sphericalmodelsareusefulforsmallscalemapssuchasworldatlasesandglobes,
sincetheerroratthatscaleisnotusuallynoticeableorimportantenoughtojustifyusingthemorecomplicated
ellipsoid.Theellipsoidalmodeliscommonlyusedtoconstructtopographicmapsandforotherlargeand
mediumscalemapsthatneedtoaccuratelydepictthelandsurface.Auxiliarylatitudesareoftenemployedin
projectingtheellipsoid.
Athirdmodelisthegeoid,amorecomplexandaccuraterepresentationofEarth'sshapecoincidentwithwhat
meansealevelwouldbeiftherewerenowinds,tides,orland.Comparedtothebestfittingellipsoid,ageoidal
modelwouldchangethecharacterizationofimportantpropertiessuchasdistance,conformalityandequivalence.
Thereforeingeoidalprojectionsthatpreservesuchproperties,themappedgraticulewoulddeviatefromamapped
ellipsoid'sgraticule.NormallythegeoidisnotusedasanEarthmodelforprojections,however,becauseEarth's
shapeisveryregular,withtheundulationofthegeoidamountingtolessthan100mfromtheellipsoidalmodel
outofthe6.3millionmEarthradius.Forirregularplanetarybodiessuchasasteroids,however,sometimesmodels
analogoustothegeoidareusedtoprojectmapsfrom.[18][19][20][21][22]

Classification
Afundamentalprojectionclassificationisbasedonthetypeofprojectionsurfaceontowhichtheglobeis
conceptuallyprojected.Theprojectionsaredescribedintermsofplacingagiganticsurfaceincontactwiththe
earth,followedbyanimpliedscalingoperation.Thesesurfacesarecylindrical(e.g.Mercator),conic(e.g.,
Albers),orazimuthalorplane(e.g.stereographic).Manymathematicalprojections,however,donotneatlyfitinto
anyofthesethreeconceptualprojectionmethods.Henceotherpeercategorieshavebeendescribedinthe
literature,suchaspseudoconic,pseudocylindrical,pseudoazimuthal,retroazimuthal,andpolyconic.
Anotherwaytoclassifyprojectionsisaccordingtopropertiesofthemodeltheypreserve.Someofthemore
commoncategoriesare:
Preservingdirection(azimuthalorzenithal),atraitpossibleonlyfromoneortwopointstoeveryother
point
Preservingshapelocally(conformalororthomorphic)
Preservingarea(equalareaorequiarealorequivalentorauthalic)
Preservingdistance(equidistant),atraitpossibleonlybetweenoneortwopointsandeveryotherpoint
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Preservingshortestroute,atraitpreservedonlybythegnomonicprojection
Becausethesphereisnotadevelopablesurface,itisimpossibletoconstructamapprojectionthatisbothequal
areaandconformal.

Projectionsbysurface
Thethreedevelopablesurfaces(plane,cylinder,cone)provideusefulmodelsforunderstanding,describing,and
developingmapprojections.However,thesemodelsarelimitedintwofundamentalways.Foronething,most
worldprojectionsinactualusedonotfallintoanyofthosecategories.Foranotherthing,evenmostprojections
thatdofallintothosecategoriesarenotnaturallyattainablethroughphysicalprojection.AsL.P.Leenotes,
Noreferencehasbeenmadeintheabovedefinitionstocylinders,conesorplanes.Theprojectionsare
termedcylindricorconicbecausetheycanberegardedasdevelopedonacylinderoracone,asthe
casemaybe,butitisaswelltodispensewithpicturingcylindersandcones,sincetheyhavegiven
risetomuchmisunderstanding.Particularlyisthissowithregardtotheconicprojectionswithtwo
standardparallels:theymayberegardedasdevelopedoncones,buttheyareconeswhichbearno
simplerelationshiptothesphere.Inreality,cylindersandconesprovideuswithconvenient
descriptiveterms,butlittleelse.[23]
Lee'sobjectionreferstothewaythetermscylindrical,conic,andplanar(azimuthal)havebeenabstractedinthe
fieldofmapprojections.Ifmapswereprojectedasinlightshiningthroughaglobeontoadevelopablesurface,
thenthespacingofparallelswouldfollowaverylimitedsetofpossibilities.Suchacylindricalprojection(for
example)isonewhich:
1. Isrectangular
2. Hasstraightverticalmeridians,spacedevenly
3. Hasstraightparallelssymmetricallyplacedabouttheequator
4. Hasparallelsconstrainedtowheretheyfallwhenlightshinesthroughtheglobeontothecylinder,withthe
lightsourcesomeplacealongthelineformedbytheintersectionoftheprimemeridianwiththeequator,and
thecenterofthesphere.
(Ifyourotatetheglobebeforeprojectingthentheparallelsandmeridianswillnotnecessarilystillbestraight
lines.Rotationsarenormallyignoredforthepurposeofclassification.)
Wherethelightsourceemanatesalongthelinedescribedinthislastconstraintiswhatyieldsthedifferences
betweenthevarious"natural"cylindricalprojections.Butthetermcylindricalasusedinthefieldofmap
projectionsrelaxesthelastconstraintentirely.Insteadtheparallelscanbeplacedaccordingtoanyalgorithmthe
designerhasdecidedsuitstheneedsofthemap.ThefamousMercatorprojectionisoneinwhichtheplacementof
parallelsdoesnotariseby"projection"insteadparallelsareplacedhowtheyneedtobeinordertosatisfythe
propertythatacourseofconstantbearingisalwaysplottedasastraightline.

Cylindrical
Theterm"normalcylindricalprojection"isusedtorefertoanyprojectioninwhichmeridiansaremappedto
equallyspacedverticallinesandcirclesoflatitude(parallels)aremappedtohorizontallines.
Themappingofmeridianstoverticallinescanbevisualizedbyimaginingacylinderwhoseaxiscoincideswith
theEarth'saxisofrotation.ThiscylinderiswrappedaroundtheEarth,projectedonto,andthenunrolled.
Bythegeometryoftheirconstruction,cylindricalprojectionsstretchdistanceseastwest.Theamountofstretchis
thesameatanychosenlatitudeonallcylindricalprojections,andisgivenbythesecantofthelatitudeasa
multipleoftheequator'sscale.Thevariouscylindricalprojectionsaredistinguishedfromeachothersolelyby
theirnorthsouthstretching(wherelatitudeisgivenby):
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Northsouthstretchingequalseast
weststretching(secant):Theeast
westscalematchesthenorthsouth
scale:conformalcylindricalor
Mercatorthisdistortsareas
excessivelyinhighlatitudes(seealso
transverseMercator).
Northsouthstretchinggrowswith
latitudefasterthaneastwest
stretching(secant):Thecylindric
perspective(orcentralcylindrical)
projectionunsuitablebecause
TheMercatorprojectionshowscoursesofconstantbearingasstraight
distortionisevenworsethaninthe
lines.
Mercatorprojection.
Northsouthstretchinggrowswith
latitude,butlessquicklythantheeastweststretching:suchastheMillercylindricalprojection
(secant[4/5]).
Northsouthdistancesneitherstretchednorcompressed(1):equirectangularprojectionor"platecarre".
Northsouthcompressionequalsthecosineofthelatitude(thereciprocalofeastweststretching):equalarea
cylindrical.Thisprojectionhasmanynamedspecializationsdifferingonlyinthescalingconstant,suchas
theGallPetersorGallorthographic(undistortedatthe45degreeparallels),Behrmann(undistortedatthe
30degreeparallels),andLambertcylindricalequalarea(undistortedattheequator).Sincethisprojection
scalesnorthsouthdistancesbythereciprocalofeastweststretching,itpreservesareaattheexpenseof
shapes.
Inthefirstcase(Mercator),theeastwestscalealwaysequalsthenorthsouthscale.Inthesecondcase(central
cylindrical),thenorthsouthscaleexceedstheeastwestscaleeverywhereawayfromtheequator.Eachremaining
casehasapairofsecantlinesapairofidenticallatitudesofoppositesign(orelsetheequator)atwhichtheeast
westscalematchesthenorthsouthscale.
NormalcylindricalprojectionsmapthewholeEarthasafiniterectangle,exceptinthefirsttwocases,wherethe
rectanglestretchesinfinitelytallwhileretainingconstantwidth.

Pseudocylindrical
Pseudocylindrical
projections
representthecentral
meridianasa
straightline
segment.Other
meridiansarelonger
thanthecentral
meridianandbow
outwardawayfrom
thecentral
meridian.
Pseudocylindrical
Asinusoidalprojectionshowsrelativesizesaccurately,butgrosslydistortsshapes.Distortioncanbe
projectionsmap
reducedby"interrupting"themap.
parallelsasstraight
lines.Along
parallels,eachpointfromthesurfaceismappedatadistancefromthecentralmeridianthatisproportionaltoits
differenceinlongitudefromthecentralmeridian.Onapseudocylindricalmap,anypointfurtherfromtheequator
thansomeotherpointhasahigherlatitudethantheotherpoint,preservingnorthsouthrelationships.Thistraitis
usefulwhenillustratingphenomenathatdependonlatitude,suchasclimate.Examplesofpseudocylindrical
projectionsinclude:

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Sinusoidal,whichwasthefirstpseudocylindricalprojectiondeveloped.Verticalscaleandhorizontalscale
arethesamethroughout,resultinginanequalareamap.Onthemap,asinreality,thelengthofeach
parallelisproportionaltothecosineofthelatitude.Thustheshapeofthemapforthewholeearthisthe
regionbetweentwosymmetricrotatedcosinecurves.[24]Thetruedistancebetweentwopointsonthesame
meridiancorrespondstothedistanceonthemapbetweenthetwoparallels,whichissmallerthanthe
distancebetweenthetwopointsonthemap.Thedistancebetweentwopointsonthesameparallelistrue.
Theareaofanyregionistrue.
Collignonprojection,whichinitsmostcommonformsrepresentseachmeridianas2straightlinesegments,
onefromeachpoletotheequator.
Toblerhyperelliptical

Mollweide

Goodehomolosine

EckertIV

EckertVI

KavrayskiyVII

Hybrid
TheHEALPixprojectioncombinesanequalareacylindricalprojectioninequatorialregionswiththeCollignon
projectioninpolarareas.

Conic
Theterm"conicprojection"isusedtorefertoany
projectioninwhichmeridiansaremappedtoequally
spacedlinesradiatingoutfromtheapexandcirclesof
latitude(parallels)aremappedtocirculararcscentered
ontheapex.[25]
Whenmakingaconicmap,themapmakerarbitrarily
pickstwostandardparallels.Thosestandardparallels
maybevisualizedassecantlineswherethecone
intersectstheglobeor,ifthemapmakerchoosesthe
sameparalleltwice,asthetangentlinewheretheconeis
tangenttotheglobe.Theresultingconicmaphaslow
Albersconic.
distortioninscale,shape,andareanearthosestandard
parallels.Distancesalongtheparallelstothenorthof
bothstandardparallelsortothesouthofbothstandardparallelsarestretcheddistancesalongparallelsbetween
thestandardparallelsarecompressed.Whenasinglestandardparallelisused,distancesalongallotherparallels
arestretched.
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Equidistantconic,whichkeepsparallelsevenlyspacedalongthemeridianstopreserveaconstantdistance
scalealongeachmeridian,typicallythesameorsimilarscaleasalongthestandardparallels.
Albersconic,whichadjuststhenorthsouthdistancebetweennonstandardparallelstocompensateforthe
eastweststretchingorcompression,givinganequalareamap.
Lambertconformalconic,whichadjuststhenorthsouthdistancebetweennonstandardparallelstoequal
theeastweststretching,givingaconformalmap.

Pseudoconic
Bonne
Wernercordiform,uponwhichdistancesarecorrectfromonepole,aswellasalongallparallels.
ContinuousAmericanpolyconic

Azimuthal(projectionsontoaplane)
Azimuthalprojectionshavethe
propertythatdirectionsfroma
centralpointarepreservedand
thereforegreatcirclesthrough
thecentralpointarerepresented
bystraightlinesonthemap.
Usuallytheseprojectionsalso
haveradialsymmetryinthe
scalesandhenceinthe
distortions:mapdistancesfrom
Anazimuthalequidistantprojectionshowsdistancesanddirectionsaccuratelyfrom
thecentralpointarecomputedby
thecenterpoint,butdistortsshapesandsizeselsewhere.
afunctionr(d)ofthetrue
distanced,independentofthe
anglecorrespondingly,circleswiththecentralpointascenteraremappedintocircleswhichhaveascenterthe
centralpointonthemap.
ThemappingofradiallinescanbevisualizedbyimaginingaplanetangenttotheEarth,withthecentralpointas
tangentpoint.
Theradialscaleisr'(d)andthetransversescaler(d)/(Rsin(d/R))whereRistheradiusoftheEarth.
Someazimuthalprojectionsaretrueperspectiveprojectionsthatis,theycanbeconstructedmechanically,
projectingthesurfaceoftheEarthbyextendinglinesfromapointofperspective(alonganinfinitelinethrough
thetangentpointandthetangentpoint'santipode)ontotheplane:
Thegnomonicprojectiondisplaysgreatcirclesasstraightlines.Canbeconstructedbyusingapointof
perspectiveatthecenteroftheEarth.r(d)=ctan(d/R)sothatevenjustahemisphereisalreadyinfinitein
extent.[26][27]
TheGeneralPerspectiveprojectioncanbeconstructedbyusingapointofperspectiveoutsidetheearth.
PhotographsofEarth(suchasthosefromtheInternationalSpaceStation)givethisperspective.
Theorthographicprojectionmapseachpointontheearthtotheclosestpointontheplane.Canbe
constructedfromapointofperspectiveaninfinitedistancefromthetangentpointr(d)=csin(d/R).[28]Can
displayuptoahemisphereonafinitecircle.PhotographsofEarthfromfarenoughaway,suchasthe
Moon,givethisperspective.
Theazimuthalconformalprojection,alsoknownasthestereographicprojection,canbeconstructedby
usingthetangentpoint'santipodeasthepointofperspective.r(d)=ctan(d/2R)thescaleis
c/(2Rcos(d/2R)).[29]Candisplaynearlytheentiresphere'ssurfaceonafinitecircle.Thesphere'sfull
surfacerequiresaninfinitemap.
Otherazimuthalprojectionsarenottrueperspectiveprojections:
Azimuthalequidistant:r(d)=cditisusedbyamateurradiooperatorstoknowthedirectiontopointtheir
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antennastowardapointandseethedistancetoit.Distancefromthetangentpointonthemapis
proportionaltosurfacedistanceontheearth([30]forthecasewherethetangentpointistheNorthPole,see
theflagoftheUnitedNations)
Lambertazimuthalequalarea.Distancefromthetangentpointonthemapisproportionaltostraightline
distancethroughtheearth:r(d)=csin(d/2R)[31]
Logarithmicazimuthalisconstructedsothateachpoint'sdistancefromthecenterofthemapisthe
logarithmofitsdistancefromthetangentpointontheEarth.r(d)=cln(d/d0)locationscloserthanata
distanceequaltotheconstantd0arenotshown(,[32]figure65)

Comparisonofsomeazimuthalprojectionscentredon90Natthesamescale,orderedbyprojection
altitudeinEarthradii.(clickfordetail)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Comparison_azimuthal_projections.svg)

Projectionsbypreservationofametricproperty
Conformal
Conformal,or
orthomorphic,map
projectionspreserve
angleslocally,implying
thattheymap
infinitesimalcirclesof
constantsizeanywhere
ontheEarthto
infinitesimalcirclesof
Astereographicprojectionisconformalandperspectivebutnotequalareaorequidistant.
varyingsizesonthemap.
Incontrast,mappingsthat
arenotconformaldistortmostsuchsmallcirclesintoellipsesofdistortion.Animportantconsequenceof
conformalityisthatrelativeanglesateachpointofthemaparecorrect,andthelocalscale(althoughvarying
throughoutthemap)ineverydirectionaroundanyonepointisconstant.Thesearesomeconformalprojections:
Mercator:Rhumblinesarerepresentedbystraightsegments
TransverseMercator
Stereographic:Anycircleofasphere,greatandsmall,mapstoacircleorstraightline.
Roussilhe
Lambertconformalconic
Peircequincuncialprojection
Adamshemisphereinasquareprojection
Guyouhemisphereinasquareprojection

Equalarea

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Equalareamapspreserveareameasure,generallydistortingshapesinordertodothat.Equalareamapsarealso
calledequivalentorauthalic.Thesearesomeprojectionsthat
preservearea:
Albersconic
Bonne
Bottomley
Collignon
EckertII,IVandVI
Gallorthographic(alsoknownasGallPeters,orPeters,
projection)
Goode'shomolosine
Hammer
HoboDyer
Lambertazimuthalequalarea
Lambertcylindricalequalarea
Mollweide
Sinusoidal
Snydersequalareapolyhedralprojection,usedfor
geodesicgrids.
Toblerhyperelliptical
Werner

TheequalareaMollweideprojection

Equidistant
Thesearesomeprojectionsthatpreservedistancefromsomestandard
pointorline:
Equirectangulardistancesalongmeridiansareconserved
PlatecarreanEquirectangularprojectioncenteredattheequator
Azimuthalequidistantdistancesalonggreatcirclesradiatingfrom
centreareconserved
Equidistantconic
Sinusoidaldistancesalongparallelsareconserved
WernercordiformdistancesfromtheNorthPolearecorrectasare
thecurveddistanceonparallels
Soldner
Twopointequidistant:two"controlpoints"arearbitrarilychosenby
themapmaker.Distancefromanypointonthemaptoeachcontrol
pointisproportionaltosurfacedistanceontheearth.

Atwopointequidistantprojectionof
Asia

Gnomonic
Greatcirclesaredisplayedas
straightlines:
Gnomonicprojection

Retroazimuthal
Directiontoafixedlocation
B(thebearingatthestarting
locationAoftheshortest
route)correspondstothe
directiononthemapfromA
toB:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection

TheGnomonicprojectionisthoughttobetheoldestmapprojection,developedby
Thalesinthe6thcenturyBC

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Littrowtheonlyconformalretroazimuthalprojection
Hammerretroazimuthalalsopreservesdistancefromthecentralpoint
CraigretroazimuthalakaMeccaorQiblaalsohasverticalmeridians

Compromiseprojections
Compromiseprojectionsgiveup
theideaofperfectlypreserving
metricproperties,seekinginstead
tostrikeabalancebetween
distortions,ortosimplymake
things"lookright".Mostofthese
typesofprojectionsdistortshape
inthepolarregionsmorethanat
theequator.Thesearesome
compromiseprojections:
TheRobinsonprojectionwasadoptedbyNationalGeographicMagazinein1988but

Robinson
abandonedbytheminabout1997fortheWinkelTripel.
vanderGrinten
Millercylindrical
WinkelTripel
BuckminsterFuller'sDymaxion
B.J.S.Cahill'sButterflyMap
KavrayskiyVII
WagnerVIprojection
Chamberlintrimetric
OronceFin'scordiform

Seealso
Brainmapping
Cartography
Geographicinformationsystem(GIS)
Geoinformatics
Listofmapprojections
Plans(drawings)
Southupmaporientation
Rubbersheeting
UVmapping
Worldmap
Geodeticdatum

References
1. Snyder,J.P.(1989).AlbumofMapProjections,UnitedStatesGeologicalSurveyProfessionalPaper
(http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/pp/pp1453).UnitedStatesGovernmentPrintingOffice.1453.
2. ChoosingaWorldMap.FallsChurch,Virginia:AmericanCongressonSurveyingandMapping.1988.p.1.ISBN0
961345926.
3. Slocum,TerryA.RobertB.McMasterFritzC.KesslerHughH.Howard(2005).ThematicCartographyand
GeographicVisualization(2nded.).UpperSaddleRiver,NJ:PearsonPrenticeHall.p.166.ISBN0130351237.
4. Bauer,H.A.(1942)."Globes,Maps,andSkyways(AirEducationSeries)".NewYork.p.28
5. Miller,OsbornMaitland(1942)."NotesonCylindricalWorldMapProjections".GeographicalReview43(3):405409.
6. Raisz,ErwinJosephus.(1938).GeneralCartography.NewYork:McGrawHill.2ded.,1948.p.87.
7. Robinson,ArthurHoward.(1960).ElementsofCartography,secondedition.NewYork:JohnWileyandSons.p.82.
8. Snyder,JohnP.(1993).FlatteningtheEarth:TwoThousandYearsofMapProjectionsp.157.ChicagoandLondon:
TheUniversityofChicagoPress.ISBN0226767469.(SummaryofthePeterscontroversy.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection

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9. AmericanCartographicAssociation'sCommitteeonMapProjections,1986.WhichMapisBestp.12.FallsChurch:
AmericanCongressonSurveyingandMapping.
10. "CartographicNotes"(http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tcag18/16/3).AmericanCartographer.1989.16(3):222223.
11. Snyder.WorkingManual,page24.
12. Snyder.FlatteningtheEarth,pp147149
13. MoregeneralexampleofTissot'sindicatrix:theWinkeltripelprojection.
14. "Projectionparameters"
(http://www.geography.hunter.cuny.edu/~jochen/GTECH361/lectures/lecture04/concepts/Map%20coordinate%20systems
/Projection%20parameters.htm).
15. "Mapprojections"
(http://edndoc.esri.com/arcsde/9.2/concepts/geometry/coordref/coordsys/projected/mapprojections.htm).
16. Snyder,JohnP.(1993).Flatteningtheearth:twothousandyearsofmapprojections.UniversityofChicagoPress.
ISBN0226767469.
17. Snyder,JohnP.(1997).Flatteningtheearth:twothousandyearsofmapprojections.UniversityofChicagoPress.
ISBN9780226767475.
18. Cheng,Y.Lorre,J.J.(2000)."EqualAreaMapProjectionforIrregularlyShapedObjects".Cartographyand
GeographicInformationScience27(2):91.doi:10.1559/152304000783547957
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1559%2F152304000783547957).
19. Stooke,P.J.(1998)."MappingWorldswithIrregularShapes".TheCanadianGeographer/LeGographecanadien42:
61.doi:10.1111/j.15410064.1998.tb01553.x(https://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.15410064.1998.tb01553.x).
20. Shingareva,K.B.Bugaevsky,L.M.Nyrtsov,M.(2000)."MathematicalBasisforNonsphericalCelestialBodies
Maps"(http://www.lsgi.polyu.edu.hk/staff/ZL.Li/vol_2_2/06_nyrtsov.pdf)(PDF).JournalofGeospatialEngineering2
(2):4550.
21. Nyrtsov,M.V.(August2003)."TheClassificationofProjectionsofIrregularlyshapedCelestialBodies"
(http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2003/Papers/141.pdf)(PDF).Proceedingsofthe21st
InternationalCartographicConference(ICC):11581164.
22. Clark,P.E.Clark,C.S.(2013)."CSNBMappingAppliedtoIrregularBodies".ConstantScaleNaturalBoundary
MappingtoRevealGlobalandCosmicProcesses.SpringerBriefsinAstronomy.p.71.doi:10.1007/978146147762
4_6(https://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2F9781461477624_6).ISBN9781461477617.
23. Lee,L.P.(1944)."Thenomenclatureandclassificationofmapprojections".EmpireSurveyReviewVII(51):190200.
doi:10.1179/sre.1944.7.51.190(https://dx.doi.org/10.1179%2Fsre.1944.7.51.190).p.193
24. Weisstein,EricW.,"SinusoidalProjection"(http://mathworld.wolfram.com/SinusoidalProjection.html),MathWorld.
25. CarlosA.Furuti."ConicProjections"(http://www.progonos.com/furuti/MapProj/Normal/ProjCon/projCon.html)
26. Weisstein,EricW.,"GnomonicProjection"(http://mathworld.wolfram.com/GnomonicProjection.html),MathWorld.
27. "TheGnomonicProjection"(http://members.shaw.ca/quadibloc/maps/maz0201.htm).RetrievedNovember18,2005.
28. Weisstein,EricW.,"OrthographicProjection"(http://mathworld.wolfram.com/OrthographicProjection.html),
MathWorld.
29. Weisstein,EricW.,"StereographicProjection"(http://mathworld.wolfram.com/StereographicProjection.html),
MathWorld.
30. Weisstein,EricW.,"AzimuthalEquidistantProjection"
(http://mathworld.wolfram.com/AzimuthalEquidistantProjection.html),MathWorld.
31. Weisstein,EricW.,"LambertAzimuthalEqualAreaProjection"
(http://mathworld.wolfram.com/LambertAzimuthalEqualAreaProjection.html),MathWorld.
32. "http://www.gis.psu.edu/projection/chap6figs.html"(http://www.gis.psu.edu/projection/chap6figs.html).Retrieved
November18,2005.

Notes
FranEvanisko,AmericanRiverCollege,lecturesforGeography20:"CartographicDesignforGIS",Fall2002
MapProjections(http://www.csiss.org/mapprojections/index.html)PDFversionsofnumerousprojections,created
andreleasedintothePublicDomainbyPaulB.Anderson...memberoftheInternationalCartographicAssociation's
CommissiononMapProjections

Externallinks
ACornucopiaofMapProjections

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection

WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedtoMap
projections.

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(http://www.mapthematics.com/Projections/Images/Cornucopia33.jpg),avisualizationofdistortionona
vastarrayofmapprojectionsinasingleimage.
G.Projector(http://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/gprojector/),freesoftwarecanrendermanyprojections(NASA
GISS).
Colorimagesofmapprojectionsanddistortion(http://www.mapthematics.com/ProjectionsList.php)
(Mapthematics.com).
Geometricaspectsofmapping:mapprojection
(http://kartoweb.itc.nl/geometrics/Map%20projections/body.htm)(KartoWeb.itc.nl).
Javaworldmapprojections(http://www.se16.info/js/mapproj.htm),HenryBottomley(SE16.info).
Mapprojectionshttp://www.3dsoftware.com/Cartography/USGS/MapProjections/
(https://web.archive.org/web/20070104121606/http://www.3dsoftware.com/Cartography/USGS/MapProject
ions/)attheWaybackMachine(archivedJanuary4,2007)(3DSoftware).
Mapprojections(http://members.shaw.ca/quadibloc/maps/mapint.htm),JohnSavard.
MapProjections(http://mathworld.wolfram.com/topics/MapProjections.html)(MathWorld).
MapProjections(http://www.uff.br/mapprojections/mp_en.html)AninteractiveJAVAapplettostudy
deformations(area,distanceandangle)ofmapprojections(UFF.br).
MapProjections:HowProjectionsWork
(http://www.progonos.com/furuti/MapProj/Normal/CartHow/cartHow.html)(Progonos.com).
MapProjectionsPoster(http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/MapProjections/projections.html)(U.S.Geographical
Survey).
MapRef:TheInternetCollectionofMapProjectionsandReferenceSystemsinEurope
(http://www.mapref.org/)
PROJ.4CartographicProjectionsLibrary(http://trac.osgeo.org/proj/).
ProjectionReference(http://www.radicalcartography.net/?projectionref)Tableofexamplesandproperties
ofallcommonprojections(RadicalCartography.net).
UnderstandingMapProjections
(http://kartoweb.itc.nl/geometrics/Map%20projections/Understanding%20Map%20Projections.pdf)PDF(1.70MB)
MelitaKennedy(ESRI).
WorldMapProjections(http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/WorldMapProjections/),StephenWolfram
basedonworkbyYuSungChang(WolframDemonstrationsProject).
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Map_projection&oldid=669649185"
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