What Is Map Projection?
A map projection manages distortions introduced when representing the 3-D surface of the Earth on a 2-D display. Distortions manifest themselves in the display of areas, distances, directions, and shapes. To address this problem, mapping software uses these projections to create accurate map displays.
![Map Projection – Conic Map Projection – Conic](https://au.mathworks.com/discovery/map-projection/_jcr_content/mainParsys/image_0.adapt.full.medium.jpg/1469940840600.jpg)
![Map Projection – Cylindrical Map Projection – Cylindrical](https://au.mathworks.com/discovery/map-projection/_jcr_content/mainParsys/image_1.adapt.full.medium.jpg/1469940840325.jpg)
![Map Projection – Azimuthal Map Projection – Azimuthal](https://au.mathworks.com/discovery/map-projection/_jcr_content/mainParsys/image_2.adapt.full.medium.jpg/1469940838756.jpg)
Map projections can be divided into three main classes: cylindrical, conic, and azimuthal. For example, the popular Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate system covers the Earth’s surface in 60 zones, each using a secant transverse Mercator (cylindrical) projection with an ellipsoidal model of Earth.
For more information, see Mapping Toolbox™.
Examples and How To
Software Reference
See also: Mapping Toolbox, Steve on Image Processing, geodesy, image analysis, geometric transformations and image registration, image processing and computer vision, Teaching computing in geoscience resources