Have a look at Manifold Help at: Guide to Selecting Map Projections ........ Addendum: Suggestions from the Manifold Team Mapping experts will choose from a wide array of projections to meet specific objectives as discussed above. For general use, most people will usually develop a favorite projection for a particular situation and then use that projection over and over. For most situations either Orthographic or Lambert Conformal Conic are good choices. The Manifold team recommends the following: Region to be Mapped Suggested Projections Whole Earth Robinson (pseudocylindrical) or Miller Cylindrical . Robinson seems to be fashionable for thematic maps. Any of the pseudocylindrical projections will be fine if you like their appearance better. Hemispheres Orthographic (azimuthal) for a "view from space" look, and Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area for thematic maps where the relative size of countries near the edge of the projection is to be preserved. Continents Use Lambert Conformal Conic for North America and Eurasia. Use Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area or Orthographic for South America and Africa. Use Orthographic for Australia, and Antarctica. E-W Countries or Regions Use Lambert Conformal Conic for US, Canada, Russia, and China. Use either Lambert Conformal Conic or Orthographic for Europe. Use Orthographic or Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area otherwise. Polar Regions Orthographic or Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area. Oceans Orthographic or Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area. Smaller Countries or Regions Orthographic. N-S Countries, Oblique Regions Long, thin countries aligned North-South such as Chile are one of the few times we would use Transverse Mercator . Oblique regions like the Alaska panhandle are mercifully rare: Use the Oblique Mercator in such cases. Other than personal taste in visual appearance there are only two reasons not to use one of the above projections: A specific projection is required to match other data available or to exchange data with other users. The technical characteristics of a particular projection such as preservation of scale or relative area are required for creating a paper map or other presentation.
Manifold provides a very wide array of projections in addition to the standard projections mentioned above
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