Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The Goode's Interrupted Homolosine projection
Noted American cartographer Dr. J. Paul Goode (1862-1932) developed this cylindrical projection
(see Figure 4-6). It's an equal area projection, which means that the land areas are shown in their
true sizes relative to each other. In that respect, Goode's projection is far superior to Mercator's. In-
terrupted refers to the map's outline. Earth is cut into once above the Equator and three times below
it. Therefore, the Northern Hemisphere appears as two lobes and the Southern Hemisphere as four
lobes.
Figure 4-6:
Goode's Inter-
rupted Homo-
losine projection.
Asaresult,themap'soutlineisnotarectangleorsomeothercompactform,butinsteadis interrupted.
The word homolosine reflects the fact that Goode's map is a combination of two other projections:
the Mollweide homolographic and the Sinusoidal. (Whether or not you ever learn what that means, I
will be happy to give you extra-credit for correct spellings.) Although Goode's projection appears in
various atlases and despite its desirable equal-area attribute, many people are visually uncomfortable
with its interrupted format.
Why is an atlas called an atlas?
An atlas is a topic of maps. For the longest time, maps were published singly and tended
to be stored as rolled-up scrolls standing in a corner or stuck into honeycombed shelves.
Gerardus Mercator was apparently the first person to compile a topic of maps. Whatever
the reason, his publisher decided to decorate the cover with a likeness of Atlas, the le-
gendary Greek giant who supported the heavens on his shoulders. But in this render-
ing, a big globe replaced the heavens giving us the familiar image of a bent-over Atlas
bearing his Earthly burden. Other topics of maps copied Mercator's idea and the image
of Atlas on the cover or title page became standard — which is why such volumes are
called atlases. But this short history leads to speculation about what we would now call a
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