Earth
Why Greenland Looks So Big: The Map Is Stretching It
On many world maps Greenland looks about as big as Africa, but that's a side effect of flattening a round planet. The Short explains that Mercator's 1569 sailing map keeps compass directions straight at the cost of inflating areas toward the poles. It then compares true sizes to show how much Greenland, Alaska and Russia are exaggerated.
The numbers
- Africa is about 14 times the size of Greenland.
- Greenland (2.17 million km²) is smaller than DR Congo (2.34 million km²).
- Mercator drew his map in 1569 as a navigation tool for sailors.
- The projection inflates area about 4× at 60°N and about 15× at 75°N.
- Alaska is only about one-fifth the size of the contiguous US.
Sources cited in the video: CIA World Factbook · Britannica · US Census · Snyder, Map Projections – A Working Manual (USGS) · Natural Earth
