Why are some countries bigger than others on maps?

In reality, lines of longitude converge at the poles; on the map, they’re parallel. As a result, the closer you get to the poles, the more distorted the map becomes, and the bigger things look relative to their actual size.

Why are European countries bigger on maps?

That European and North American countries are enlarged is no accident. This system provided more space for Western cartographers to mark towns, cities, roads etc in their part of the world, Kraak says.

Why is England bigger on maps?

If you have a flat map on the desk or on a wall then the size of the UK is bigger, because the lines of longitude are straight up and down, rather than curved., so it creates a distortion.

Why is Antarctica so big on maps?

This was great for navigation but not so useful for representing size and distance because the scale increases from the equator and becomes infinite at the poles. This explains why Antarctica is so enormous and Africa so comparatively small in online maps such as Google and Bing, which use the Mercator projection.

Why is it bad for the sizes of countries to be displayed incorrectly on a map?

Mercator maps distort the shape and relative size of continents, particularly near the poles. The popular Mercator projection distorts the relative size of landmasses, exaggerating the size of land near the poles as compared to areas near the equator.

Are most maps of the world wrong?

Every map ever printed is wrong, by definition. A completely accurate map would need to be life-size. Worse, the Earth is round and paper is flat. Over small areas, the curvature isn’t noticeable, but to unwrap the entire globe, you either have to stretch it or cut it to make it fit on a flat sheet.

Why is Africa shown smaller on maps?

The world map you are probably familiar with is called the Mercator projection (below), which was developed all the way back in 1569 and greatly distorts the relative areas of land masses. It makes Africa look tiny, and Greenland and Russia appear huge.

How do maps distort reality?

Projection and Scale There are also many ways in which geographic features (areas, lines, and points) are distorted. These distortions reflect a map’s function and also its scale. Maps covering small areas can include more realistic details, but maps that cover larger geographic areas include less detail by necessity.