RUAHA CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

P.O BOX 774, IRINGA-TANZANIA

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE.

COURSE NAME : GIS

COURSE CODE : RCS 221
LECTURER NAME : MR.John.
TYPE OF WORK : GROUP ASSIGNMENT.
DATE OF SUBMISSION : 10/05/2024

NAME REGISTRATION NO. SIGNATURE

FARID SALEH MWENDA RU/BSCSE/2022/114
DANIEL RICHARD CHARLES RU/BSCSE/2022/043
SEKELA OBODE MWANDIGA RU/BSCSE/2022/098
Map projection properties
Map projection is the method of transferring the graticule of latitude and longitude on a plane
surface. It can also be defined as the transformation of spherical network of parallels and
meridians on a plane surface.
The three-dimensional spherical surface is torn, sheared, or compressed to flatten it onto a flat
developable surface. Four Map Projection Properties: These map projection properties are:-
area, shape, distance, and direction.
 Shape

Map projections that preserve shape locally (within "small" areas) are conformal. A
projection is conformal when, at any point, the scale of the map is the same in all directions.
When a projection preserves shape, the meridians (lines of longitude) and parallels (lines of
latitude) intersect at right angles. An older term for conformal is orthomorphic.
Example
The Lee conformal world in a tetrahedron is a polyhedral, conformal map projection that
projects the globe onto a tetrahedron using Dixon elliptic functions. It is conformal
everywhere except for the four singularities at the vertices of the polyhedron. Because of the
nature of polyhedra, this map projection can be tessellated infinitely in the plane. It was
developed by L. P. Lee in 1965.
  Area

Map projections that preserve area are equal-area or equivalent. Equal-area projections is
when the area of any given part of the map is preserved. Older terms for equal-area are
homolographic, homalographic, authalic, and equireal. No map can be both equal-area and
conformal.(Shape and Area)
Example
The Equal Earth map projection is an equal-area pseudocylindrical projection for world
maps, invented by Bojan Šavrič, Bernhard Jenny, and Tom Patterson in 2018. It is inspired
by the widely used Robinson projection, but unlike the Robinson projection, retains the
relative size of areas. The projection equations are simple to implement and fast to evaluate.
The features of the Equal Earth projection include:
 The curved sides of the projection suggest the spherical form of Earth.
 Straight parallels make it easy to compare how far north or south places are from the
equator.
 Meridians are evenly spaced along any line of latitude.
 Software for implementing the projection is easy to write and executes efficiently.
  Distance

Map projections that preserve distance are equidistant. A projection is equidistant when it
preserves distances from the center of the projection to all other points on the map. Maps are
also described as equidistant when the separation between the parallels is uniform (as in, the
projection maintains distances along meridians). No map projection maintains distance in all
directions from any arbitrary point.
Example
The two-point equidistant projection or doubly equidistant projection is a map projection first
described by Hans Maurer in 1919 and Charles Close in 1921. It is a generalization of the
much simpler azimuthal equidistant projection. In this two-point form, two locus points are
chosen by the mapmaker to configure the projection. Distances from the two loci to any other
point on the map are correct: that is, they scale to the distances of the same points on the
sphere.
  Direction

A map projection preserves direction when the projection portrays azimuths (angles from the
central point or from a point on a line to another point) correctly in all directions. Many
azimuthal projections preserve direction
Azimuthal
Azimuthal projections are planar projections on which correct directions from the center of
the map to any other point location are maintained. The stereographic projection is another
example of an azimuthal projection. Though only on the gnomonic projection is every
straight line a great circle route, a straight line drawn directly from the map’s center is a great
circle on any azimuthal projection.
 REFERENCE
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_map_projections
2. https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog486/node/676
3. https://alg.manifoldapp.org/read/introduction-to-cartography/section/dd919279-3308-
46c3-9acc-ea564da3b90d#:~:text=The%20three%2Ddimensional%20spherical
%20surface,shape%2C%20distance%2C%20and%20direction.