GIS UNM CE547 Spring 2006

Assignment 3

Here we provide two views of the same projection of the earth. The projection is "The Earth Seen From Space", which gives true shape and distance. The whole globe cannot be seen simultaneously, however.

In the first view, the longitude of center is -72.6 and the latitude of center is 42.5, centering us on North America as seen from "above".

In the second view, the longitude of center is 72.6 and the latitude of center is -42.5, centering us on the Indian Ocean as seen from "below".

The unprojected distance from from Augusta to Olympia is 2530 miles. This distance equals approximately 4150 kilometers. The projected distance is approximately 4100 kilometers, and is 2550 miles. The projection here is Albers, an equal area projection. Thus, both distance and shape are not truly shown. The parameters of the projection are as such:

Central_Meridian: -96.000000
Standard_Parallel_1: 29.500000
Standard_Parallel_2: 45.500000
Latitude_Of_Origin: 37.500000

The least populous capital is Montpelier, Vt; the most populous is Pheonix, AZ. Santa Fe, NM has the capital with the highest elevation.

Here we are using the same Albers equal area projection. All the projection parameters are the same, save that we've changed the Central Meridian to -106.0, which "rotates" New Mexico to the front and center.