2. Geographers Tools Geography “geo” Earth and “graphy” to write
From the Greek ‘geographia’
Maps – a 2-dimensional (flat) model of the 3-dimensional Earth
reference
communication
Cartography – the science of map making
Spatial Organization – the location and patterns of people, places, and events that connect us to our landscapes (physical and human)

3. Ancient Guys to Know Eratosthenes (276? – 194?BCE) Ptolemy
Calculated the circumference of the Earth within 15%
Combination of geography and geometry!
Ptolemy
Calculated the circumference of the Earth as 9,000 miles smaller and regarded as truth
Developed a grid system that became a forerunner for latitude and longitude

4. Eratosthenes’ Map

6. Critical Looking

7. 2-D Distorts Globe is accurate, but limited
Projections (Map) – the scientific method of transferring locations on Earth’s surface to a flat map
Shape
Distance
Size
Direction

8. Mercator

9. Mercator

10. Mercator Projection
Gerardus Mercator (1512 – 1594); Flemish cartographer, philosopher, and mathematician
Created the Mercator Projection in 1569
1569: Historical Context: Age of Exploration
Fast Fact: first used the word atlas to describe a collection of maps

11. Loxodromes/Rhumb Lines – straight lines of constant compass bearing; produced by Mercator’s projection
Meridians and parallels cross at 90 degrees
Excellent for navigation
Beloved by explorers

12. So What’s the Problem with Mercator?
DIRECTION is true (thanks loxodromes!)
SIZE is distorted (especially at the poles)
Greenland and Antarctica

13. Robinson Projection

14. Robinson Projection
Arthur H. Robinson (1915 – 2004); American geographer and cartographer
Created in in response to Rand McNally
Adopted by National Geographic in 1988, later abandoned in favor of Van der Grinten
Specifically intended to solve the problems of other flat projections (neither equal area, or preserving land mass, nor conformal, or preserving angles)

15. So What’s the Problem with Robinson?
EVERYTHING is a little bit distorted
Shape
Size
Distance
Direction
Helpful for general reference; often used in classrooms

16. Peters Projection

17. Peters Projection
Dr. Arno Peters (1916 – 2002); German historian and cartographer
Introduced his version in Germany at a conference in 1974
English version published in 1983
Generated firestorm of debate immediately
Eurocentric ideas vs. misleading maps for 500+ years (interested in political propaganda)
Based on Rev. James Gall’s projection, one of the first equal area maps – now commonly the Gall-Peters projection

18. So What’s the Problem with Peters?
SIZE is true (land masses are equal and not Eurocentric)
SHAPE is distorted (looks unfamiliar!)

19. Goode-Homolosine Projection

20. Goode-Homolosine Projection
John Paul Goode (1862 – 1932) ; American geographer and cartographer
Introduced in 1923 as the “Evil Mercator”
Attempt to offer an alternative to Mercator when representing global relationships
Equated map projections to an orange peel
Interruptions and lobes
In its most common form, the map interrupts the North Atlantic, the South Atlantic, the South Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the entire east/west meridian of the map.

21. So What’s the Problem with Goode-Homolosine?
INTERRUPTED – points on the map are not continuous and therefore distorts distance; however, continents and regions are mostly intact rather than separated (sometimes regions are repeated in order to avoid interruption)
SIZE– preserved to insure accurate representation of the continents

23. Cartography is Concurrent
Waterman Butterfly (1996)
Steve Waterman (d. 2015)
Modeled after Bernard J.S. Cahill’s (1866 – 1944) rubber ball/butterfly map
Life long pursuit to eliminate distortion in 2-Dimensional maps
All continents are uninterrupted

25. Map Projection Humor
What does your favorite map projection say about you? Waterman Butterfly (1996)