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maps

visual statistics

 

 

The True Size of Africa

true size of Africa

 

Ever wonder what is on the other side of the world? In geography, the antipodes is the region on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it. Two points which are antipodal to one another are connected by a straight line through the center of the Earth.

An Equal 50: What would the United States look like if we redrew state lines to make the population of each state roughly equal, and gave the new states charming names?

 

Fun Designer Stuff

 

Subway maps
Berlin
London
New York City
other cities

cartograms

world maps

webcams

 

Van Wijk's Myriahedral projections: video (2 minutes, no audio)
Even more info

Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxiondymaxion

Cut-and-fold pdf

foldable maps

Maps to fold:
PDFs to download and fold:
tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, icosahedron, dodecahedron
More info here.

More links about map projections:
Radical cartography and Wikipedia
WorldMapper article on projections

19 more maps that put the United States in a global perspective.
Make your own comparisons.

 

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World maps



Projections
The world is round, but the map maker challenge is to put the round ball onto a flat map — that is, to render the three-dimensional object on a flat plane. For a visual illustration of the challenge see this video.

Mercatur is the most familiar projection, but the size of land masses near the poles, like Greenland and Antarctica, look proportionally much larger than they really are. Usually the map is shown with much of Antarctica cut off, which moves the equator below the middle of the map.

Several other projections attempt to solve some of these issues.

Equirectangular Projection is a conformal projection and maps meridians to vertical, evenly spaced, straight lines, and latitudes to horizontal, evenly spaced, straight lines.
equirectangular

Gall-Peters Projection is an equal-area cylindrical projection. Though shapes of continents are distorted, the area of continents is proportional.
Peters

Robinson Projection is a compromise, neither equal-area nor conformal (straight lines). This was the map of choice for the National Geographic Society between 1988 and 1998.
robinson

The Winkel-Tripel Projection is now the National Geographic Society's map of choice, a compromise between equirectangular and azimuthal projections.

Goode's Projection is a pseudocylindrical, equal-area, composite map projection, making size and shape relationships of continents true, though the oceans are interrupted.
goode's

Hobo-Dyer puts Australia at the top and center.
hobo-dyer

These projections are centered on Antarctica and the North Pole:AntarcticaNorth Pole

For more detailed info on mapping the globe:
Progonos

More Maps
Weather

Lightning: Americas, Europe/Africa, Indian Ocean, Pacific
Earthquakes in the last week
PangaeaPlate tectonics (interactive)
Pangaea reconstruction movie

Satellite images
Most of U.S
Hurricane areas
World sunlight map
Other choices

Wildlife:
Monarch butterfly migration