Map Projections
Projection↕ | Type↕ | Year Created↕ | Preserves↕ | Known For↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mercator | Cylindrical (conformal) | 1569 | Angles and shapes (conformal) | The map everyone grew up with, makes Greenland look the size of Africa (it's 14x smaller), perfect for navigation because straight lines = constant compass bearing, the most criticized map in history |
Robinson | Pseudocylindrical (compromise) | 1963 | Nothing perfectly — compromises everything | National Geographic's choice for 10 years, looks 'right' to most people even though nothing is accurate, the diplomat of projections — everyone's slightly unhappy but nobody's furious |
Winkel Tripel | Azimuthal (modified, compromise) | 1921 | Balanced area, distance, and direction | National Geographic's current standard (since 1998), minimizes total distortion better than almost anything, name means 'triple' in German for its three-way compromise, the gold standard of wall maps |
Peters (Gall-Peters) | Cylindrical (equal-area) | 1855 / 1967 | Area (equal-area) | The political map — shows Africa and South America at their true massive size, West Wing episode made it famous, looks 'stretched' to Western eyes used to Mercator, sparked the biggest map controversy ever |
Mollweide | Pseudocylindrical (equal-area) | 1805 | Area (equal-area) | The elliptical world map, great for showing global distributions and climate data, edges get squished but areas are honest, the scientist's choice for thematic maps, elegantly curved |
Goode Homolosine | Pseudocylindrical (interrupted, equal-area) | 1923 | Area (by interrupting oceans) | The 'orange peel' map — slices the oceans to keep land accurate, looks like someone peeled the globe, brilliant for land-based data but sailors hate it, the most creative solution to an impossible problem |
Azimuthal Equidistant | Azimuthal | ~1000 AD (al-Biruni) | Distances from center point | The UN flag uses it (centered on North Pole), flat Earth believers accidentally use a legitimate projection, shows true distances from one point to everywhere, used for radio and seismic analysis |
Stereographic | Azimuthal (conformal) | ~150 AD (Ptolemy) | Angles and shapes locally (conformal) | The oldest projection still in regular use, maps circles on the globe to circles on the map, weather maps and polar regions love it, the astronomer's and navigator's projection |
Lambert Conformal Conic | Conic (conformal) | 1772 | Angles and shapes (conformal) | Aviation charts worldwide use it, US State Plane Coordinate System is built on it, great for mid-latitude countries that stretch east-west, the pilot's map projection, engineering standard |
Albers Equal-Area Conic | Conic (equal-area) | 1805 | Area (equal-area) | USGS standard for maps of the contiguous United States, preserves area perfectly for mid-latitude regions, the definitive way to map the USA, census and thematic mapping workhorse |
Transverse Mercator | Cylindrical (conformal, transverse) | 1772 (Lambert) / 1822 (Gauss) | Angles along central meridian | UTM grid system that every GPS on Earth uses, Google Maps' base projection, rotated Mercator that's accurate in narrow north-south strips, the silent king of modern navigation |
Dymaxion (Fuller) | Polyhedral (icosahedron) | 1943 | Relative area and shape (minimal distortion) | Buckminster Fuller's genius unfolded icosahedron, no 'right way up' — challenges north-is-up bias, shows continents as nearly contiguous landmass, the most intellectually provocative map ever made |
Equirectangular (Plate Carrée) | Cylindrical (equidistant) | ~100 AD (Marinus of Tyre) | Latitude-longitude grid spacing | The simplest possible projection — just plot lat/lon as x/y, default texture map for 3D globes and satellite imagery, every space photo of Earth uses it, mathematically trivial but visually familiar |
Sinusoidal | Pseudocylindrical (equal-area) | 1606 (Mercator's son?) | Area and distances along central meridian and equator | Equal-area with pointed edges, great for single-continent maps, Africa and South America look correct, NASA uses it for planetary mapping, the mathematically elegant equal-area option |
AuthaGraph | Polyhedral (tetrahedron-based) | 1999 | Area and shape (nearly uniform distortion) | Won Japan's Good Design Grand Award, tessellates infinitely without edge distortion, arguably the most accurate flat world map ever created, quietly revolutionary, the future of cartography |
Free to explore · No signup needed
Frequently asked questions
How is the Map Projections list ranked?
The Map Projections list is currently sorted by the source data's default ordering. Community voting is not enabled on this dataset.
How many entries are in this Map Projections dataset?
This dataset contains 15 entries, each with multiple sortable, filterable columns. The full table is visible on this page and can be downloaded as a CSV, JSON, or Excel file.
Can I download the Map Projections data?
Yes. The download buttons at the top of the page give you the full 15-row dataset as CSV, JSON, or Excel. Use of the data is permitted under a Creative Commons Attribution license — credit dtbse.com when you republish.
Related Datasets
More in Science
Types of Optical Illusion
Impossible triangle, Muller-Lyer arrows, Ames room — which optical illusion breaks your brain the most?
Types of Bioluminescent Organism
Fireflies, anglerfish, glowing jellyfish, dinoflagellates — which living light show is the most dazzling?
Fields Medal Winners
All Fields Medal laureates — the highest honor in mathematics.
Types of Supernovae
Type Ia, Type II, hypernova or kilonova - which stellar explosion is the most catastrophic cosmic event?
Planets of the Solar System
All 8 planets of our solar system with type, distance from the Sun, diameter, moon count, and orbital period in Earth years.
Types of Sundial Design
Horizontal, vertical, analemmatic, equatorial — which sundial design is the most ingenious timekeeper?
Nobel Prize in Chemistry Winners
All Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureates with year and country.
Types of Astronomical Calendar Event
Solstices, equinoxes, perihelion — which celestial timing event is most fascinating?
Types of Volcanic Rock & Igneous Formation
Obsidian, pumice, basalt, granite — which igneous rock has the most fascinating origin story?
Renewable Energy Sources
Major renewable and emerging clean energy sources with their global contribution, advantages, and limitations.
Gemstones & Precious Stones
Popular gemstones and precious stones with their physical properties, primary sources, symbolism, and market value.
Types of Historical Clock & Timekeeping
Sundials, water clocks, atomic clocks — which timekeeping invention was the most transformative?