{"id":1844891,"date":"2025-08-25T08:00:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T12:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1844891"},"modified":"2025-08-25T08:00:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T12:00:08","slug":"the-correct-map-does-not-exist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/08\/the-correct-map-does-not-exist\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The Correct Map Does Not Exist’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Miguel Garc\u00eda \u00c1lvarez weighs in<\/a> on the Correct the Map<\/a> campaign to replace the Mercator projection with Equal Earth<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I think the Equal Earth projection is an excellent compromise. But as a cartography enthusiast, it pains me deeply every time someone talks about the \u201ctrue\u201d map, the \u201ccorrect\u201d map, or that the Mercator projection is \u201cwrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will never stop loving\u00a0this scene from the West Wing of the White House<\/a>, but please don’t say that any map is right or wrong simply because of the projection it uses.\u00a0We should just focus on saying that some projections are more or less suitable for different purposes<\/strong>, but we have to avoid sensationalism.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

(This is the English version; it was first posted in Spanish<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously: In Case You Thought the War Against the Mercator Projection Was Over Long Ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Miguel Garc\u00eda \u00c1lvarez weighs in on the Correct the Map campaign to replace the Mercator projection with Equal Earth: I think the Equal Earth projection is an excellent compromise. But as a cartography enthusiast, it… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:hhxrnk4vub7jtlcl3ve26kjo","date":"2025-08-25T12:00:16+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:hhxrnk4vub7jtlcl3ve26kjo\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lx7xacd67b25","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:hhxrnk4vub7jtlcl3ve26kjo\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lx7xacd67b25\",\"cid\":\"bafyreihqbjrd7ybkxqlqhphnv3arbwngde25hioc5dpixqzmi7mofqwiye\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreifieiv3xh7wef7ho7ddujmd5resqfqb743p2w5qjscfcdt5z6tkrm\",\"rev\":\"3lx7xacdc4b25\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1259,571,604],"class_list":["post-1844891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-cartography","tag-equal-earth","tag-map-projections","tag-mercator","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1844848,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/08\/in-case-you-thought-the-war-against-the-mercator-projection-was-over-long-ago\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844891,"position":0},"title":"In Case You Thought the War Against the Mercator Projection Was Over Long Ago","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"15 August 2025","format":"link","excerpt":"A new front has been opened in the never-ending war against the Mercator projection. The African Union endorses Correct the Map\u2019s campaign to replace the Mercator projection (which diminishes the relative size of Africa) with the Equal Earth projection. I think it\u2019s awfully interesting that they\u2019re proposing Equal Earth instead\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cartography"","block_context":{"text":"Cartography","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/cartography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1786810,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2018\/12\/blame-the-mercator-projection\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844891,"position":1},"title":"Blame the Mercator Projection","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"10 December 2018","format":"image","excerpt":"Last Friday's xkcd suggests that the Mercator projection's reputation can be used to convince anyone of any false geographical fact. Not that\u00a0I\u2019d suggest you do that, mind. No.","rel":"","context":"In "Cartography"","block_context":{"text":"Cartography","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/cartography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"xkcd (7 December 2018)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/mercator_projection.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4283,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/04\/the-74-on-boston-schools-and-the-peters-map\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844891,"position":2},"title":"The 74 on Boston Schools and the Peters Map","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"18 April 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"Education news website\u00a0The 74 has its own\u00a0coverage of the Boston schools\/Peters map\u00a0controversy (is it safe to call it a controversy?), with extensive quotes from Matthew Edney, who does not mince words.\u00a0(Comparing both projections to Comic Sans? Ouch.) [Caitlin Dempsey] Previously: More on Boston Schools and the Peters Map;\u00a0The Peters Map\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cartography"","block_context":{"text":"Cartography","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/cartography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4073,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/03\/the-peters-map-is-fighting-the-last-war\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844891,"position":3},"title":"The Peters Map Is Fighting the Last War","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"28 March 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"News of Boston public schools' decision to go with the Peters projection has gone viral over the past week, and my teeth have not stopped itching. Largely because this is very much old news: Arno Peters began promoting \"his\" projection 44 years ago, and the Peters map has been making\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cartography"","block_context":{"text":"Cartography","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/cartography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4051,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/03\/the-peters-projection-comes-to-bostons-public-schools\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844891,"position":4},"title":"The Peters Projection Comes to Boston’s Public Schools","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"20 March 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"In a development that just might\u00a0make academic cartographers pull out their remaining hair in frustration,\u00a0Boston's public schools began using the\u00a0Peters projection in social studies classes last week. The news coverage (see the\u00a0Grauniad\u2019s) is the usual straw man argument about the Mercator and the false dichotomy between it and the Peters,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cartography"","block_context":{"text":"Cartography","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/cartography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/gall-peters-wikimedia-1024x654.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/gall-peters-wikimedia-1024x654.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/gall-peters-wikimedia-1024x654.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/gall-peters-wikimedia-1024x654.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4102,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/03\/more-on-boston-schools-and-the-peters-map\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844891,"position":5},"title":"More on Boston Schools and the Peters Map","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"30 March 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"Atlas Obscura\u2019s Cara Giaimo has an in-depth look at the reaction to the decision by Boston public schools to adopt the Peters projection in teaching materials. It's well worth taking the time to read; the general gist from several cartographers and commentators is that swapping the Mercator for the Peters\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cartography"","block_context":{"text":"Cartography","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/cartography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1844891"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1844893,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844891\/revisions\/1844893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1844891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1844891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1844891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}