Week 6 Lab

World Equidistant Conic, DC to Kabul = 6,947.483075 Miles

Africa Albers Equal Area Conic, DC to Kabul = 9,575.351047 Miles

South America Lambert Conformal Conic, DC to Kabul = 13,253.552958 Miles

Bab South Palau Azimuthal Equidistant, DC to Kabul = 9,599.886128 Miles

USA Contiguous Lambert Conformal Conic. DC to Kabul = 7,228.384988 Miles

North Pole Azimuthal Equal Area, DC to Kabul =

6,836.232468 Miles

There are many different kinds of map projections that can be used. These projections can show the world in different ways. Because you cannot just put a piece of paper around the globe, all projections will not accurately represent the globe. The kinds of map projections that I used in this lab were equal area, equidistant, and conformal.

            A projection is equal area when areas on the map maintain the same proportional relationship to the areas on the Earth that they represent. Equidistant projections preserve distance from some standard point or line on the map. A projection is conformal when its parallels and meridians intersect at right angles. Conformal projections preserve local shapes and angles.

            Projections are necessary because they allow us to see the three dimensional earth as two dimensions. However, distortion will occur no matter the kind of projections used. A certain kind of projection may be useful in one situation, but in another it may be rendered completely useless. You must know the right kind of projection that you need otherwise your measurements may be incorrect.