equal-area projection

7.7

A way of making a flat map that keeps each place's area the same as on the globe

noun
/ˈiːkwəl ˈɛəriə prəˈdʒɛkʃən/

Specialized

: proyección de igual área

The equal-area projection shows countries in their true sizes.

Examples

The equal-area projection ensures that Africa and South America are shown in their true relative sizes.
Many thematic maps use an equal-area projection to accurately represent spatial data.
Choosing the right equal-area projection is important when comparing the area of different countries.
In geography class, we studied the equal-area projections used by cartographers.
The map displayed an equal-area projection, showing countries in true proportion to their sizes on the globe.
In geography class, we learned how an equal-area projection maintains the accurate area of landmasses, unlike many other map types.
Cartographers often choose an equal-area projection for thematic maps because it accurately represents the size of regions.

Synonyms

equal-area map projection

vsequal-area projection

Specialized

7.9

A way of drawing the world on a flat map that keeps areas the correct size

is the same concept but omits the explicit word map in its name

Surface Forms

equal-area projection singular

equal-area projections plural

Morphology

equal-area + projection

This is a straightforward adjective+noun compound: a learner who knows 'equal' and 'area' can infer 'equal-area' as 'having equal areas', and 'projection' as a way of depicting the globe on a plane, so the combined meaning is directly compositional. The construction follows a common, cross-linguistic technical naming pattern (e.g. 'proyección de áreas iguales') and would be comprehensible to a B1 learner familiar with the constituent words.

Etymology

The term equal-area projection comes from map-making: equal means 'same' and area means 'size of a place'. This way of drawing the round Earth on a flat map keeps each region's size correct, so the map shows places in the right relative sizes.