Map Projection
A.K.P. Ishani Buddhika (BSc/MSc)
Institute of Surveying & Mapping
Diyatalawa
Map Projections
Displaying the earth on 2 dimensional maps
Map projections …
Define the spatial relationship
between locations on earth and their
relative locations on a flat map
Are mathematical expressions
Cause the distortion of one or more
map properties (scale, distance,
direction, shape)
Classifications of Map
Projections
Conformal – local shapes are
preserved
Equal-Area – areas are preserved
Equidistant – distance from a single
location to all other locations are
preserved
Azimuthal – directions from a single
location to all other locations are
preserved
Developable Surface
By the geometric surface that the
sphere is projected on
Planar
Cylindrical
Conic
Planar surface
Earth intersects
the plane on a small
circle. All points on
circle have no scale
distortion.
Cylindrical surface
Earth intersects the
cylinder on two small
circles. All points along
both circles have no
scale distortion.
Conic surface
Earth intersects the
cone at two circles.
all points along both
circles have no scale
distortion.
Why project data?
Data often comes in geographic, or
spherical coordinates (latitude and
longitude) and can’t be used for
area calculations
Some projections work better for
different parts of the globe giving
more accurate calculations
Datums
Define the shape of the earth
including:
Ellipsoid (size and shape)
Origin and Orientation
• Aligns the ellipsoid so that it fits best in the
region you are working
Datum shifts
How to choose projections
Generally, follow the lead of people
who make maps of the area you are
interested in. Look at maps!
State plane is a common projection
for all states in the country
UTM is commonly used and is a
good choice when the east-west
width of area does not cross zone
boundaries
UTM projection
Universe Transverse Mercator
Conformal projection (shapes are
preserved)
Cylindrical surface
Two standard meridians
Zones are 6 degrees of longitude
wide
UTM projection
Scale distortion is 0.9996 along the
central meridian of a zone
There is no scale distortion along the
the standard meridians
Scale distortion is 1.00158 at the
edge of the zone at the equator (1.6
meters in 1000 meters)
Scale distortion gets to unacceptable
levels beyond the edges of the
zones
UTM zones
sri lanka belong to 44N, and
44P what can u say about
that
sri lanka belong to 44N, and 44P what can u
say about that
UTM Zones for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka lies roughly between:
•Longitude: 79°E to 82°E
•Latitude: 5°N to 10°N
UTM Zone Number
Each UTM zone is 6° of longitude wide.
•Zone 43 covers 72°E–78°E
•Zone 44 covers 78°E–84°E
Therefore, all of Sri Lanka falls entirely within
UTM Zone 44.
There’s no need to split between 43 and 44.
Latitude Bands (N and P)
The letters (like N, P, Q, etc.) are latitude bands,
each 8° tall, and are mainly used for location
referencing — not projection.
• Band N: 0°–8°N
• Band P: 8°–16°N
So:
•Southern Sri Lanka → 44N
•Northern Sri Lanka → 44P
Sri Lanka belongs to UTM Zone 44, and the band changes
from N to P across the island — but for mapping or GIS
purposes, the entire country is usually treated as UTM Zone
44N (the southern band).
State Plane Coordinate
System
System of map projections designed
for the US
It is a coordinate system vs a map
projection (such as UTM, which is a
set of map projections)
Designed to minimize distortions to
1 in 10000
Projecting Grids from
spherical coordinates
Cells are square in a raster GIS but:
Size of cell changes with latitude – for
example, 1 minute (of arc) 1854
meters by 1700 meters in Florida and
1854 meters by 1200 meters in
Montana.
Problems:
Impossible to match cells one to one in
two different projections – resampling
(CUBIC for elevatoin data) or nearest
neighbor
In ArcGIS …
Arctoolbox contains the projection
tools
Define a projection
Project a shapefile or grid to a new
projection
Arcmap
Change the projection for display and
calculation