Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area Projection

 

image\lambertaea.png

World Map

Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area Projection

Central Longitude: -90

Standard Parallel: 45

 

Projection Characteristics

Scale on a Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area projected map is accurate only from the center to any other point on the map. Distortion is minimal near the center and increases with distance from the center. This projection is useful for continents, polar regions (hemispheres), or smaller regions. The Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area projection is not generally used for world maps due to extreme distortion outside the center of the map.

 

Projection Parameters

Parameter

Description

Name

Specifies the units used in the map.

Scale

Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.

False Easting

Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False Northings are added to the underlying "projected" coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason for using these offset values, do not use them. These values do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map, only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the map must also use these same offsets if you want the imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative position to the existing boundaries.

False Northing

Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the projected coordinates, in meters. See above.

Central Longitude

Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees. The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.

Standard Parallel

Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees. The Standard Parallel value typically should be defined as the latitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.

 

 

See Also

Introduction to Map Projections

Geometric Forms of Projection

Characteristics of Projections

Datums

Ellipsoids

Change Projection

Latitude/Longitude Coordinates

Latitude/Longitude in Decimal Degrees

Using Scaling to Minimize Distortion in Latitude/Longitude Projects

Projection References