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On the Mercator Projection globe map used by most people, Greenland and Africa are almost of the same sizes, while in reality, Africa is nearly 14 times bigger than we think.
The biggest country by true size is Russia, with a size of 17,098,242 square kilometres. Australia, on the other, is the sixth-largest nation on the earth by area and is constant throughout the animated sequence. This article gives you a brief about the true size of countries and many more in detail.
The Mercator Map Projection
Proving to be an invaluable tool for sailors for centuries, the Mercator Map Projection displays lines of constant true direction, implying that a straight line connecting any two places on the map would travel as a compass would indicate. When seen from the equator, everything seems to be of equal size, but when viewed from the poles, things appear to be far bigger than they are. When it was first introduced in the 1980s, it showed the true size of countries’ maps and was extensively used in schools to teach geography. Although its distortion of relative nation landmass size has received significant attention recently, Kaye’s animation demonstrates that it was created for nautical rather than instructional objectives.
The Actual Country Sizes
This ingenious map displays the actual country size but not the true size of the country’s map. Aside from the fact that they help us navigate the world, true maps impact our understanding of geopolitics and the environment.
The size of the United States and Russia suddenly decreased, while the continents of Africa and South America looked more distinct. Such that oceans arise where there are none.
The Mercator projection originally was designed for use in maritime navigation but has become the world’s most widely used map. This has influenced how many people think about the Earth.
Users often utilise maps for navigation when zoomed in, which is one of the primary reasons the Mercator projection was developed. This prevents map projection problems while portraying the planet’s true spherical form. The end product represents countries and landmasses that are more true to life.
A geographically literate person is more valuable than ever in today’s increasingly interconnected society. Misconceptions regarding the size of the continents may become a thing of the past as people grow increasingly acclimated to equal-area maps and viewing the Earth in its spherical shape.
The calculations are based on the WGS84 reference ellipsoid, and the measurements were derived from Google Maps 2016 and OpenStreetMaps.
The Ascendance of Mercator
The biggest issue with any true maps of the world projection approach is portraying a spherical object as a 2D picture. Any map style has trade-offs, which might change based on the intended usage of the map.
In 1569, the Dutch mapper Gerardus Mercator produced a revolutionary new map that he had developed using a cylindrical projection. The renowned Dutch cartographer used this projection. The new map was excellent for nautical navigation since each line on the sphere symbolises a continuous path, often known as a loxodrome.
Conclusion
Most of the accessible territory has been taken by political boundaries, and true world maps are never disclosed. Despite this, only 20% of the planet’s land has been damaged by human activities, and only 15% of the Earth’s land area is officially protected. Natural ecosystems help filter air and water, recycle nutrients, boost soil fertility and pollinate plants on the remaining 80%of the land. Each year, these services contribute billions of dollars to the human economy. Even though some countries may not seem large enough on the map, every square mile matters.
