Map Projection

Manage distortions with map displays

A map projection manages distortions introduced when representing the 3-D surface of the Earth on a 2-D display. Distortions manifest themselves in the display of areas, distances, directions, and shapes. To address this problem, mapping software uses these projections to create accurate map displays.

Map Projection – Conic
Map Projection – Cylindrical
Map Projection – Azimuthal

Map projections can be divided into three main classes: cylindrical, conic, and azimuthal. For example, the popular Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate system covers the Earth’s surface in 60 zones, each using a secant transverse Mercator (cylindrical) projection with an ellipsoidal model of Earth.

For more information, see Mapping Toolbox™.

See also: Mapping Toolbox, Steve on Image Processing, geodesy, image analysis, geometric transformations and image registration, image processing and computer vision, Teaching computing in geoscience resources