Is Greenland Truly That Large? Your Map May Be Misleading You

Cartography presents various methods for portraying Greenland's size. On the left, an orthographic projection resembles the view from a globe. Conversely, the right exhibits a Mercator projection, which inflates the dimensions of landforms near the poles, Greenland included.

President Trump has once again expressed interest in acquiring the semi-autonomous Arctic isle, owned by Denmark.

Greenland's position, nestled between North America and Russia, holds strategic importance for the United States, which already maintains a military presence there. "Greenland is essential for our defense," Trump commented on Sunday.

Curious about Greenland's portrayal on maps? The island appears vast, recognized as the globe's largest island, stretching over extensive terrain.

The Reality Behind Greenland's Size

How accurately do maps reflect Greenland's true size? The answer varies depending on the map's type.

Globes tend to present a relatively true depiction of Earth's geography, but translating a spherical form to a flat surface poses challenges. Shapes, dimensions, and distances may become skewed, and directional integrity can falter. Numerous mapping methods exist, each with its own merits and detriments.

The Impact of the Mercator Projection

Widely recognized map types include the Mercator projection, created by a 16th-century cartographer from Flanders. It was a staple in school atlases and continues to influence online mapping services like Google Maps.

The Mercator method takes the globe's latitudes and longitudes and represents them as straight, linear paths.

While this benefits navigators in plotting direct courses, it introduces distortions beyond the equatorial region. For instance, Greenland seems comparable to Africa in size on a Mercator map, despite Africa being about 14 times larger.

Efforts to Correct Misrepresentations

Fritz Kessler, a geography professor at Penn State, explains that stretching lines differentially away from the equator towards the poles results in magnified sizes at higher latitudes, misleading viewers about landmass proportions.

There have been deliberate campaigns to move away from the Mercator view in favor of maps that display land sizes more truthfully. Alternatives like the one addressing the 'Greenland problem' or the Equal Earth map emerged with goals for better proportionality.

Choosing the most suitable map projection depends greatly on its intended use, suggests Kessler. Is the map's purpose to calculate distances, directions, or display thematic data like population? With hundreds of map projections, focusing on a narrow range can be problematic and warrants broader consideration.