For K-12 Students · Map Projection
Map Projection for a viewshed
Built for k-12 students learning it in middle or high school. Watch the idea come alive with plain-language steps and everyday examples — perfect for projects and homework. Simulate a viewshed live below — adjust the inputs and watch it respond, right in your browser.
Map Projection DistortionLive
why Greenland looks huge
Controls
Presets
You cannot flatten a sphere without distortion. The Mercator projection preserves angles for navigation but inflates area toward the poles by 1/cos²(latitude) — so Greenland appears as big as Africa though it is 14 times smaller. The Tissot circles are all the same true size on the globe; watch them balloon at high latitudes.
Data Inspector
Area distortion4.0×
Length distortion2.00×
Latitude60°
Governing equation
Reading this result: At 60° each Tissot circle covers about 4.0× its true area, because Mercator stretches by 1/cos²(latitude) as you move poleward.
Runs locally in your browser — free forever. Scale to the cloud when reality gets heavy.
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Frequently asked questions
- Is this good for k-12 students?
- Yes — this version of "Map Projection for a viewshed" is framed for k-12 students learning it in middle or high school. Watch the idea come alive with plain-language steps and everyday examples — perfect for projects and homework.
- Do I need to install anything?
- No. It runs in any modern browser, free, with no account required.