GIS: Projections and their distortions

• Map Projections

In GIS, projections are helpful to take something plotted on a globe and convert it to a flat map that we can print or show on a screen. Unfortunately it also introduces distortions to the objects and features on the map. This not only distorts the objects visually, but the results for any spatial attribute calculations will also reflect this distortion (such as distance and area ). Below is a link to a quick primer on projections, types of distortions that can occur, and suggestions on how to choose a correct projection for your work.