Table of contents:
- The true size of Greenland
- But what would have happened if Australia were at the latitude of Russia and Europe
- But the USA (excluding Alaska) in comparison with Australia. As it turned out, they are almost the same size
- Mexico turns out to be a pretty big country
- But the real size of the most mysterious continent - Antarctica
- How about Russia's true size?
- And this is how the size of Alaska gradually changes as it moves to the equator
- This is what China would look like if it were a northern country like Canada
- India is not as small as it seems compared to Russia and the United States
- If the Democratic Republic of the Congo were in Europe, there would be almost no room for other countries
- The largest African countries at the latitude of Russia
- Let's locate the six largest countries along the equator. Now they are on an equal footing
Video: 16 maps reversing the old idea of the size of countries and continents
2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55
We all use the projection of Gerard Mercator, but it has a drawback: the closer the islands and countries are to the poles, the more they seem
The true size of Greenland
First, look at Greenland. Big island, isn't it? Almost like South America.
But when you move Greenland to the latitude of the United States, you can see that it is not that big at all. And when transferring to the equator, it is completely clear that this is just an island, and not a giant island.
But what would have happened if Australia were at the latitude of Russia and Europe
Australia seems to be small. Firstly, it is close to the equator, and secondly, it is remote from other continents and there is nothing to compare it with. But look at these cards.
Notice how Australia's shape changed as we moved north. This is because part of it is located beyond the Arctic Circle, that is, very close to the pole, and is strongly stretched in projection.
But the USA (excluding Alaska) in comparison with Australia. As it turned out, they are almost the same size
Mexico turns out to be a pretty big country
But the real size of the most mysterious continent - Antarctica
How about Russia's true size?
Russia is not only the largest country, but also the northernmost one. That is why on the map it looks like a giant, which is even larger than many continents.
But moving Russia to the equator, we will see that it has decreased by two or three times.
And this is how the size of Alaska gradually changes as it moves to the equator
This is what China would look like if it were a northern country like Canada
India is not as small as it seems compared to Russia and the United States
If the Democratic Republic of the Congo were in Europe, there would be almost no room for other countries
All countries on the African continent look small. This is all due to the fact that they are located at the equator. See how the Republic of the Congo has covered nearly half of the US and most of Europe.
The largest African countries at the latitude of Russia
Algeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Libya and Chad are quite large countries, but usually this is not visible due to their position. But in fact, if these five countries are "stitched" together, they will be almost like Russia in area.
Let's locate the six largest countries along the equator. Now they are on an equal footing
Russia, of course, is still huge, but not as supergiant as it seems from its latitudes. And here you can clearly see how big Australia is.
Other existing cartographic projections, with the help of which scientists are trying to solve the problem of a plausible image of the Earth's relief:
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