December 2, 2020
The true size of Australia compared to the United States
There's an awesome website called The True Size Of… that lets you drag and drop countries around the map to compare their relative size.
How big is the country you live in compared to other countries? If you use a standard map to answer that question, you may get some misleading input. A globe would give you a much better idea of relative country size, but why is that?
When you try to take an image that’s stretched over a sphere and flatten it out, the image becomes distorted. Even the most widely used map projection, the Mercator, created in 1569 by a Flemish cartographer and geographer, Geradus Mercator distorts the poles greatly, and every feature away from the equator is not represented at its true size.
What does allow you to see the true size of a country is the website, The True Size Of….
This site makes it easy to compare the size of one country to another with simple drag-and-drop operations. You're able to see the transformation that occurs as you drag a country away from its normal latitude, leaving little doubt about the size distortion that's caused by map projections. Plus, it reports the total area data you need to get a complete picture of the landmass you're examining.
If you've ever wondered whether your country fits inside of a neighboring country or is bigger than one located across the globe, this fun tool will give you the answer. Reportedly, Seterra users love The True Size Of… website—it provides a fresh perspective on the true size of countries!
>> https://thetruesize.com
The true size of Japan compared to Europe
The true size of Greenland compared to India