Читать книгу Geography For Dummies - Jerry T. Mitchell - Страница 74

Shape refers to the outline of objects on Earth’s surface. In the process of projection, you can transfer a continent or island from a globe to a flat surface while keeping its shape pretty intact. Then again, you can make a complete mess of things because stretching here and pulling there is part and parcel to the projection process and may play havoc with shape.

For example, compare Greenland in Figures 4-2 and 4-3. Notice that the island appears very differently in the two maps. Greenland’s shape is virtually correct in Figure 4-3 because the lines of longitude meet at the North Pole, just as in reality. In Figure 4-2, however, Greenland is seriously misshapen because the lines of longitude do not meet at the North Pole but are instead spread apart in the polar area. The result is a greatly distorted Greenland.

But before we sing the praises of Figure 4-3, compare the shape of Northern Africa on both maps. Africa appears much more accurately in Figure 4-2 because in that map, the spacing of North Africa’s lines of latitude and longitude are pretty much true to life. In Figure 4-3, however, North Africa appears to have become an accordion. It has been stretched laterally out of proportion to its true shape. That happens because as the lines of longitude extend outward from the center point — the North Pole — the projection excessively stretches the distance between them. As a result, North Africa has a flattened appearance.