News Update

The World Map We Look At Is Not Exactly Accurate, Here Is The Secret Behind It

• ByStartupStory     |    June 21, 2021

There are lots of possible reasons for geographical misconceptions rooted in the minds of people due to the inaccuracy of the world map; some of them have to do with the size of the countries, while others with the misplacement of the continents. The reported article by National Geographic reveals that the Mercator map which was actually designed for navigation purposes and is viewed today is not the accurate representation of the world and the countries. Cartographer John Nelson, through his findings disclosed some of these inaccuracies were based on reasons like the nature of two-dimensional maps. Flattening a three-dimensional globe onto a flat surface creates some distortion.

According to the Mercator map the size of Africa is compromised, while Africa is fourteen times bigger than Greenland, there is also a problem with the correct placement of the continent as Africa appears to be in the southern hemisphere, although two-thirds of Africa is north of the equator. Europe on the other hand is placed much farther south.  Similarly, the size of Brazil in reality is bigger than the United States and almost as large as Canada when it only looks very small on the map. Whereas, Alaska, which is a giant on Mercator maps, is actually a little smaller than Libya.

As the World map can be responsible to change the perception of an individual regarding a country and it’s sizes and there have been questions regarding the correctness of these maps, The Gall-Peters map is designed to depict the correct size of the nations. An attempt has been made in many public schools in Boston to introduce the fresh version of maps to avoid any further misconceptions for young students.

 

 

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