Map projection

A mathematical transformation that represents Earth’s curved surface on a flat map. Every projection distorts at least one property, such as area, shape, distance, or direction.

Mercator projection: A cylindrical map projection that preserves local angles but greatly enlarges areas near the poles. Its conformal geometry preserves direction locally while stretching high-latitude regions.
Latitude: An angular coordinate measuring a location’s position north or south of the Equator. Latitude helps determine where a projection’s scale and distortion change.
Equal-area projection: A map projection that preserves area ratios across the map. It prioritizes accurate size comparisons rather than preserving local shape.
Web Mercator: A spherical variant of the Mercator projection widely used for online map tiles. Its efficient square tiling makes it practical for interactive web maps.
Marinus of Tyre: A Greek geographer of the first or second century CE associated with an early rectangular world map grid. His work helped establish coordinate-based approaches to representing the known world.
Lambert conformal conic projection: A conic map projection that preserves local angles and is suited to midlatitude regions. It shows how conic geometry can preserve shape across a chosen latitude band.
Longitude: An angular coordinate measuring a location’s position east or west of the prime meridian. Projection formulas transform longitude as well as latitude into map coordinates.
Conformal map projection: A projection that preserves local angles and infinitesimal shapes, though not generally area. It preserves local shape at the cost of potentially severe area distortion.
Universal Transverse Mercator: A coordinate system dividing most of Earth into sixty transverse Mercator zones. Its zones provide practical grid coordinates for detailed land mapping.
Claudius Ptolemy: A second-century Greek scholar whose Geography described coordinates and methods for mapping the known world. His treatise transmitted and developed projection methods in ancient cartography.

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