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The Mercator projection exaggerates areas far from the equator because it is not suited to general reference world maps due to its distortion of land area. The Mercator projection is still commonly used for areas near the equator.

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Q: Why does a mercator projection exaggerate the areas of landmasses near the poles?
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What is a disadvantage of the Mercator projection?

it distorts areas near the poles.


What is the main features of the Mercator projection?

Mercator projection represents rhumb lines, which are useful for navigation. It makes the areas near the poles appear very large.


What is the main feature of the mercator projection?

Mercator projection represents rhumb lines, which are useful for navigation. It makes the areas near the poles appear very large.


What map has very little distortion in the areas or shapes of landmasses that fall along a certain line of latitude?

A Mercator map has very little distortion in the areas or shapes of landmasses that fall along the equator. However, the distortion increases as you move towards the poles.


If the continents were drawn using a Mercator projection are the chances improved of finding a fit?

Using a Mercator projection distorts the size of landmasses, making them appear larger near the poles. This distortion can make it more challenging to accurately fit continents together, as the true size and shape of the landmasses are not represented correctly. As a result, the chances of finding a good fit are not improved when using a Mercator projection for continents.


What type of map is a Mercator map?

A Mercator map is a cylindrical map projection that distorts the size of objects as the latitude increases from the equator towards the poles. This means that areas near the poles appear larger than they actually are.


Landmasses near the poles are distorted on this type of map?

Polar azimuthal maps or polar projections distort landmasses near the poles due to the nature of projecting a spherical surface onto a flat one. The distortion increases as you move towards the poles, making areas like Greenland and Antarctica appear larger than they actually are.


What is the Mercator projection map?

The Mercator projection is a cylindrical map projection that distorts the size of land masses as they get closer to the poles, making areas near the poles appear larger than they actually are. This projection is commonly used in marine navigation due to its ability to maintain straight lines of constant bearing.


Which Projection was better Mercator or Lambert?

The choice between Mercator and Lambert projections depends on the purpose of the map. Mercator is better for navigation and preserving angles, while Lambert is better for areas near the poles and preserving areas and distances accurately. Choose Mercator for navigation, Lambert for area accuracy.


Does the mercator projection more accurately show the size shape or the location of the continents on a map?

Mercator projection is used on ships. It shows the correct shapes of continents but the areas are distorted. The longitude lines are parallel which makes the areas at the poles seem larger than they actually are. Hope this helps.


What is a disavantige of a Mercator projection?

One disadvantage of the Mercator projection is that it distorts the size of land masses towards the poles, making countries near the equator appear smaller than they actually are. This can lead to misrepresentations of true land sizes and distances on the map.


Are the shapes and sizes of the continents or the waterways shown more accurately on the Robinson projection map?

The Robinson projection map shows the shapes of the continents more accurately than the Mercator projection map, but both distort the sizes of landmasses, making areas near the poles appear larger than they are. Waterways and continents are more accurately depicted in size and shape on specialized maps like the Winkel Tripel projection, which aims to balance size and shape distortions.