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Found a map where Alaska is the size of Texas and it broke my brain

I was looking for a hiking trail in Montana and stumbled on this map someone made for a local tourism site. Alaska was drawn almost the same size as Texas on it... I know Mercator projections mess things up but that's just wrong. Then I checked their state outline for Florida and it looked like a deformed shoe. Has anyone else found a map that just straight up lies about geography like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivias8812d ago

Oh man, I totally get what you mean but I actually used to defend those maps. I thought people were just exaggerating the distortion thing. Then I saw a map of Greenland that was literally bigger than South America and it clicked for me. Mercator projections are basically useless for comparing sizes, they're just good for sailing in straight lines. Now I get why Alaska looks huge on every classroom map but it's actually not that crazy massive compared to the lower 48. That Florida example sounds terrible too, like someone just traced a cloud and called it a state. It makes me wonder how many other maps we see daily are just lying to us like that.

michaelrodriguez11d ago

Saw a study that said Africa could fit the US, China, India, and Europe combined with room to spare.