Conformal
Mercator projection
Meridians and parallels form a rectangular grid, and the spacing between parallels grows toward the poles, so polar regions are hugely enlarged.
1569Gerardus Mercator
Map projections
Map projections: types and distortion
One world. Different ways to show it.
Compare 18 projections. See which preserve area, shapes and angles, then explore their maps.
Compare projection properties01 / Projection atlas
The same world in 18 projections
Choose a map to understand its distortion or try the projection in the interactive lab.
Compromise
Robinson projection
Parallels are straight lines, meridians are gentle curves, and the poles are lines about half as long as the equator.
1963Arthur H. Robinson
Equal-area
Gall-Peters projection
A rectangular map on which countries near the equator are strongly stretched vertically and areas near the poles are flattened.
1855 / 1973James Gall / Arno Peters
Equal-area
Mollweide projection
The whole world fits inside a 2:1 ellipse, and the parallels are straight lines.
1805Karl Brandan Mollweide
Compromise
Winkel Tripel projection
Apart from the equator and the central meridian every graticule line is curved, and the poles are straight lines.
1921Oswald Winkel
Equal-area
Equal Earth projection
Parallels are straight lines, the poles are flat lines, and the sides of the map are gently rounded, much like Robinson.
2018B. Šavrič, T. Patterson, B. Jenny
Conformal
Peirce quincuncial projection
The whole world fits in a square with the North Pole at the center; the South Pole is split into the four corners, and the equator forms a square turned by 45°.
1879Charles Sanders Peirce
Equidistant
Berghaus star projection
The northern hemisphere forms a circle around the pole, and the southern hemisphere is split into five triangular points of a star.
1879Hermann Berghaus
Conformal
August epicycloidal projection
The whole world fits inside the kidney-shaped outline of a nephroid, a two-cusped epicycloid.
1874F. August and G. Bellermann
Equidistant
Plate Carrée (equirectangular) projection
Meridians and parallels form a grid of equal squares, and the poles are lines as long as the equator.
c. AD 100Marinus of Tyre
Neither equal-area nor conformal
Orthographic projection
It looks like a photograph of the globe from space: only one hemisphere is visible, and areas near the edge of the disk are squeezed hard.
2nd century BCAncient Greeks (used by Hipparchus, among others)
Compromise
Waterman butterfly projection
The globe is unfolded into eight lobes that resemble butterfly wings, with the cuts running through the oceans.
1996Steve Waterman
Compromise
Dymaxion (Airocean) projection
The globe is projected onto the 20 triangular faces of an icosahedron and unfolded flat; the cuts run through the oceans and the land forms an almost continuous island.
1954Richard Buckminster Fuller (and Shoji Sadao)
Equal-area
Werner cordiform projection
The map is heart-shaped, and the parallels are concentric arcs around the North Pole.
1514Johannes Werner (based on Johannes Stabius' design)
Conformal
Spilhaus projection
A square map on which all the oceans form one continuous body of water, while the edges of the square cut through Asia and both Americas.
1979Athelstan Spilhaus (based on Adams' 1925 World in a Square II projection)
Neither equal-area nor conformal
Gnomonic projection
Less than a hemisphere is visible, every great circle is a straight line, and scale grows rapidly toward the edge of the view.
6th century BCUnknown; traditionally, though speculatively, attributed to Thales of Miletus
Equidistant
Azimuthal equidistant projection
The world forms a round disk; rings around the center mark equal distances from it, and the center's antipode becomes the outer edge.
c. 1000Anonymous; known since at least the 11th century
Equal-area
Interrupted Goode homolosine projection
The map is cut into lobes (six by default) with seams in the oceans, like a flattened orange peel.
1923John Paul Goode
02 / Comparison
Projection property matrix
What does each map preserve, and what does it sacrifice? Every projection and five properties in one table.
- Preserved
The property holds. Shapes and angles: locally.
- Partially
Only from the centre or along a family of lines. Continuity: at most a hemisphere.
- Compromise
Several properties have deliberately moderate distortion.
- Distorted
The property does not hold. Continuity: the map is cut into parts.
Scroll sideways to compare every property. Projection names stay in place.
| ProjectionOpen the full guide | Arearelative sizes | Shapelocal shapes | Distancesroute lengths | Angles and directionslocal angles | Continuitywithout cuts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01Mercator projectionConformal | Distorted | Preserved | Distorted | Preserved | Preserved |
| 02Robinson projectionCompromise | Compromise | Compromise | Compromise | Compromise | Preserved |
| 03Gall-Peters projectionEqual-area | Preserved | Distorted | Distorted | Distorted | Preserved |
| 04Mollweide projectionEqual-area | Preserved | Distorted | Distorted | Distorted | Preserved |
| 05Winkel Tripel projectionCompromise | Compromise | Compromise | Compromise | Compromise | Preserved |
| 06Equal Earth projectionEqual-area | Preserved | Distorted | Distorted | Distorted | Preserved |
| 07Peirce quincuncial projectionConformal | Distorted | Preserved | Distorted | Preserved | Preserved |
| 08Berghaus star projectionEquidistant | Distorted | Distorted | Partially | Partially | Interrupted |
| 09August epicycloidal projectionConformal | Distorted | Preserved | Distorted | Preserved | Preserved |
| 10Plate Carrée (equirectangular) projectionEquidistant | Distorted | Distorted | Partially | Distorted | Preserved |
| 11Orthographic projectionNeither equal-area nor conformal | Distorted | Distorted | Distorted | Distorted | Partially |
| 12Waterman butterfly projectionCompromise | Compromise | Compromise | Compromise | Compromise | Interrupted |
| 13Dymaxion (Airocean) projectionCompromise | Compromise | Compromise | Compromise | Compromise | Interrupted |
| 14Werner cordiform projectionEqual-area | Preserved | Distorted | Partially | Distorted | Preserved |
| 15Spilhaus projectionConformal | Distorted | Preserved | Distorted | Preserved | Interrupted |
| 16Gnomonic projectionNeither equal-area nor conformal | Distorted | Distorted | Distorted | Distorted | Partially |
| 17Azimuthal equidistant projectionEquidistant | Distorted | Distorted | Partially | Partially | Preserved |
| 18Interrupted Goode homolosine projectionEqual-area | Preserved | Distorted | Partially | Distorted | Interrupted |
No flat map preserves every distance. Preserved shapes and angles refer to small areas. Classification is based mainly on the Esri ArcGIS Pro projection documentation.
Take a closer look at two projections side by side03 / Reading maps
What is a map projection?
A map projection is a mathematical method used to represent the three-dimensional curved surface of the Earth on a flat map plane. Because a sphere cannot be flattened without tearing, stretching, or compressing it, every flat map must contain distortions.
The Cartographer's Trilemma
In 1827, mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss proved (in his Theorema Egregium) that a sphere cannot be projected onto a flat plane without deformation. Cartographers must choose which of the three main properties to preserve at the expense of others:
Conformal projections
Preserve local angles and shapes. They are vital for navigation (Mercator keeps compass bearings straight), but they strongly distort area, usually most of all far from the map center.
Examples in the catalog: Mercator, Peirce Quincuncial, August Epicycloidal, Spilhaus Projection
Equal-area projections
Preserve the relative sizes of landmasses. Countries have the correct relative surface areas, but their local shapes become heavily stretched or distorted.
Examples in the catalog: Gall-Peters, Mollweide, Equal Earth, Werner Projection, Interrupted Goode Homolosine
Compromise projections
Do not perfectly preserve area or shapes, but instead balance both distortions to produce a natural, visually pleasing map of the world.
Examples in the catalog: Robinson, Winkel Tripel, Waterman Butterfly, Airocean (Dymaxion)