Cartographers have created various types of maps that preserve attributes such as direction, area, or shape, but ultimately there is no way to preserve all aspects of Earth’s surface on a flat map.

Students will learn about different types of maps, how to read them, and how they help us. In this lesson, students will learn about different types of maps, how to read them, and how they help us.

Ever wondered why Greenland looks as big as Africa on the map? It’s because of something called the Mercator projection. Putting a 3-D planet on a two-dimensional world map was challenging for early ...