Map Projections Week 6

This map is a type of Conformal map, it is a Mercator Projection.  The distance between Washington, D.C. and Kabul, Afghanistan:
Planar: 10,112.118 mi
Geodesic: 6,934.478 mi
Loxodrome: 8,112.060 mi

This map is also a type of Conformal map, the distance between Washington, D.C. and Kabul, Afghanistan:
Planar: 9,889.297 mi
Geodesic: 6,934.478 mi
Loxodrome: 8,112.061 mi

This map is a type of Equidistant map, it is the Sphere Azimuthal Equidistant Map Projection.  The distance from Washington, D.C. and Kabul, Afghanistan:
Planar: 8,326.155 mi
Geodesic:  6,926.719 mi
Loxodrome: 10,096.752 mi

This type of map is a Equidistant Conic Map, a type of Equidistant Projection.  The distance between Washington, D.C. and Kabul, Afghanistan is:
Planar: 6,932.370 mi
Geodesic: 6,926.719 mi
Loxodrome: 8,093.349 mi

This is an Equal Area Projection map, the distance between Washington, D.C. and Kabul, Afghanistan  is
Planar: 40, 387 mi
Geodesic: 6,936.719 mi
Loxodrome: 10,096. 752 mi

The North Pole Lambert is a type of Equal Area Projection, the distance between Washington, D.C. and  Kabul, Afghanistan is
Planar: 6,932.370 mi
Geodesic: 6,926 . 719 mi
Loxodrome: 8,093.349 mi

Map projections are extremely important.  They not only depict the way that people perceive maps, but they also change the distance between places.  Different types of map projections distort the world differently, however they all create some type of distortion.  This creates the differences in distances, shapes, and size of places that are often seen on maps.  This is because the world is not flat, nor is it perfectly round.  This means places are "projected" onto a map to best display the information the geographer wanted to convey.  The map projections are categorized into three main categories: cylindrical, planar, and conic.  It is based on the ways that you want to display your map.

Map projections are extremely important.  They determine the way that data will be interpreted from the map and they also determine what aspects you are preserving in the map.  For example, equal area maps help to preserve area such as the size of places.  Equidistant maps allow for preservation of distance from a standard point or line.  Conformal maps help to preserve angles.  Understanding the role of map projections allows geographers to focus on the elements of the map that they care to maintain.

The issue with map projections is that  many are unaware between the differences.  This can prove to be confusing to those who are unaware of map projections or do not understand the difference between projections.  For example, the Mercator map is a well used map that is highly used.  It is a map that is taught to elementary school children as the standard for understanding what the world looks like.  Although the map is good for navigation because it upholds angles, it does distort area.  However, many are unaware of this and do not realize that the projections have a lot to do with the distance and size of places on a map.

Map projections clearly have a large affect on distance.  As can be noticed, the distance between Kabul, Afghanistan and Washington, D.C. ranges from roughly 8,000 miles to 10,000 miles when looking at the loxodrome measurement.  I included the distances for the planar, geodesic, and loxodrome measurements. Distance does not only depend on the projection, but the type of measurement you use. The planar measurement is made using a horizontal line between two points, disregarding elevation and earth curvature.  The Geodesic measurement is based on assuming the earth is not a perfect sphere, but an ellipsoid and is a more accurate calculation for large distances.  The Loxodrome measurement is the a line that has a constant bearing.