PETERS PROJECTION: HISTORY, FEATURES AND BENEFITS - GEOGRAPHY - 2025

The Peters projection, also known as the Gall-Peters projection, is a rectangular map of planet Earth whose proportions of territory are not altered by the spherical shape of planet Earth. It was created in the mid-19th century by James Gall and independently published to the masses in the 1970's by Arno Peters.

Its rectangular shape and the presence of parallel grids make the apparent map a little more disproportionate at the poles and at the equator, but the sizes of the land masses and the countries are correct and comparable with each other.

Peters projection

Although the map does not represent the globe correctly, it is used as a study medium in research that requires that all countries have a real size. In addition, the Peters projection is recognized as the iconic terrestrial cartography of the modern concept of equality, for correctly denoting the size of all countries.

The most commonly used map is known as the Mercator projection; Although this takes more care of the visual harmony of the map, it represents the countries near the Earth's poles that are larger than they really are.

Most schools and educational centers worldwide work with this model and in many cases it is the only mapped version of the planet that the general public is usually aware of.

History

In 1855, the British clergyman James Gall first described this projection of the Earth at a convention for scientific advances. However, his ad was overlooked and received little attention.

At the time, Gall described the new map as an "orthographic projection of the planet" and published his innovation in the Journal of Scottish Geography.

The map is commonly known as the Peters projection because it was not until 1973 that the map gained relevance, when the German Arno Peters published the same project and cataloged it as a new invention, without giving credit to Gall.

However, it is said that Peters had the idea of ​​the project for at least 5 years and that he probably had no knowledge of the previous realization of the project by James Gall.

Previously, the standard projection used was Mercator's. The use of this cartographic projection was erroneously adopted by the general public after its creation in the 16th century, as the map did not correctly represent the size of the continental masses, but rather served as a guide for navigators of the time.

The Mercator projection, however, is still the most widely used map of the Earth in the world.

Characteristics of the Gall-Peters projection

The Gall-Peters projection has a number of particular characteristics that have caused its popularity to rise since its re-publication in 1973.

Equal areas

Both oceans and land masses are proportionally reflected in the projection. This means that the size of each continent and country can be comparable to each other.

You can see how South America has more land area than Europe, unlike what is reflected in the Mercator projection.

Equal axes

All the lines that cross the map align perfectly, both in the north and in the south. This makes the geographical points true to reality and correctly represent the cardinal points of the planet.

Accurate positions

In addition to the precision of the north-south axes, the horizontal lines are faithful to the actual location of each grid in the real world. This allows to calculate the exact location of each country with respect to the equator.

Map projections and their importance

Map projections are often more popular than portable globes because of their ease of adapting to a wide variety of compasses, squares, and other measurement tools.

When drawing lines and calculating coordinates, projection maps are usually the first option selected by cartographers.

There are a large number of projection models and each has its own benefits. Not all are governed by the correct proportions and land extensions tend to have different measurements depending on where the axes are drawn.

The Mercator and Peters projections are the most widely used worldwide; Mercator's, in effect, has been in use for more than 450 years.

Advantages and disadvantages

The characteristics of the Peters projection could be called mostly positive. Compared to the Mercator projection, the Peters representation gives a different and more accurate perception of the world.

In fact, one of Peters's arguments for popularizing his projection was that Mercator's map favored North America and Europe more. This leaves developing countries located in South America and Africa in the background.

The wrong perception of the size of the areas closest to the poles are widely used arguments when criticizing the popularity of Mercator mapping.

In turn, it serves as a positive argument for using Peters's work. This is the primary difference between the two models.

Advantage

• The Peters projection gives the exact location of each country in the world. The extension of its area is also on a real scale, therefore it is ideal to compare one country with another.
• The correct location of axes and areas serves as a guide in developing coordinates on both maps, but geographic precision favors Peters' work.
• Peters' map avoids giving territorial favoritism to any specific area. As countries stick to their real size, the problem of Eurocentrism present in Mercator's version is avoided.

Disadvantages

• The shape of the map is not pleasant to the eye, especially compared to the Mercator model. The north of the American continent and Europe are perceived quite flattened.
• Although considered one of the most appropriate representations of the Earth, Peters' model has not established itself in popular culture and its use can generate confusion in the masses.

References

1. Peters Projection Map, Oxford Cartographers' Data, (nd). Taken from oxfordcartographers.com
2. The most popular map of the world is highly misleading, Christina Sterbenz, December 12, 2013. Taken from businessinsider.com
3. Cartography's defining moment, Jeremy Crampton, 1994. Taken from utpjournals.press
4. Galls-Peters Projection, (nd), November 22, 2017. Taken from wikipedia.org
5. Mercator Projection, (nd), January 25, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org
6. Orthographic Projection in Cartohraphy, (nd), June 25, 2017. Taken from wikipedia.org
7. Map Projection, (nd), January 24, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org