MAP
PROJECTIONS
EPM 24 - LECTURE 5
OUTLINE
Definitions
Attributes
Cartographic Surfaces
Basic Map Projections
Commonly Used Map Projections
Map Distortions
Definition
A system by which the curvature of the earth’s
surface can be transformed in order to display
the spheroid surface to a flat surface.
Most map projections may adopt one of two
compromises of these map properties:
1. Conformality
At each point on the map, the scale of distance is
kept the same in all directions.
Meridians and parallels intersect at right angles.
Shape is preserved locally.
Definition
2. Area
At each point on the map, the area of
transformed objects remain constant (has the
same proportional relationship) but not the
shape or size.
3. Distance
A map is equidistant when it portrays distances
from the center of the projection to any other
place in the map.
4. Scale
5. Direction
A map preserves direction when azimuths
(angles from a point on a line to another point)
are portrayed correctly in all directions.
ATTRIBUTES
Attribute Map property
Equal-area/Equivalent (true
Size
relative to size)
Shape Conformal (true relative to shape)
Scale Equidistant (uniform scale)
Azimuthal (correct compass
Direction
bearings)
Cartographic Surfaces
1. Plane (Azimuthal)
• Simplest form
• Tangent to earth’s surface at a point
• Scale distortion increases rapidly with distance from
the point of tangency
2. Cylinder
• A plane wrapped around the earth to form a cylinder
and a narrow belt of the earth’s surface around the
cylinder is projected onto it.
• Different froms of the Mercator projects use the
cylinder surface
Cartographic Surfaces
3. Cone
• Tangent to the earth at a parallel latitude.
• When “unrolled” the resulting projection maybe
extending indefinitely in one direction but limited
the other.
Cartographic
Surfaces
Commonly Used Map Projections
1. Orthographic
Projects mapping area onto a plane that is
tangent to the earth’s surface.
2. Mercator
Projects points onto a surface of a cylinder
that is wrapped around the equator with the
axis of the cylinder perpendicular to the
equator.
May be extended in the east-west direction
Commonly Used Map Projections
3. Transverse Mercator
Projects points onto the surface of a cylinder that is
wrapped around the poles.
May be extended in the north-south direction
4. Polyconic
The projection surface touches the globe along a
small circle or parallel.
Accuracy is perfect in zone along the common line
but deteriorates rapidly with distance from the zone
5. Lambert Conformal Conic
The cone cuts the spheroid along two parallels of
latitude such that the axis of the cone is the polar
axis of the spheroid.
Projection of
the Earth’s
surface onto
Geometric
Surfaces
Map Distortion
Types
1. Areal distortion
– causes different regions on the map to have
disproportionate sizes with respect to each other
2. Angular distortion
– Distortion of shape
– usually manifests itself as shearing, which means
that map features are twisted or bent
3. Direction distortion ,
– which means that directions are not shown
correctly
4. Interruption
– which means that two points next to each other on
the globe are separated on the map.
