# Azimuthal map projection

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/azimuthal-map-projection/670440>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 5, 2013, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/azimuthal-map-projection/670440 "2013-10-05T15:43:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/azimuthal-map-projection/670440/1 "2013-10-05T15:43:50Z")

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I’m looking for the name of the map projection that is essentially a picture of a globe- is this Azimuthal, or is this just a general category?

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**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/azimuthal-map-projection/670440/2 "2013-10-05T16:00:43Z")

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Azimuthal is just a general category.

What you are looking for is probably General Perspective projection, which is a type of Azimuthal projection.

Wikipedia article on map projections in general:

> **[Map projection](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection)**
>
> In cartography, a map projection is any of a broad set of transformations employed to represent the curved two-dimensional surface of a globe on a plane. In a map projection, coordinates, often expressed as latitude and longitude, of locations from the surface of the globe are transformed to coordinates on a plane.
> Projection is a necessary step in creating a two-dimensional map and is one of the essential elements of cartography.
> All projections of a sphere on a plane necessarily distort the s...

List of azimuthal projections (and other types as well):

> **[List of map projections](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_map_projections#azimuthal)**
>
> This is a summary of map projections that have articles of their own on Wikipedia or that are otherwise notable. Because there is no limit to the number of possible map projections, there can be no comprehensive list.
> Plate carrée: special case having the equator as the standard parallel.
> Johann Heinrich Louis Krüger

General Perspective projection:

> **[General Perspective projection](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_perspective_projection)**
>
> The General Perspective projection is a map projection. When the Earth is photographed from space, the camera records the view as a perspective projection. When the camera is aimed toward the center of the Earth, the resulting projection is called Vertical Perspective. When aimed in other directions, the resulting projection is called a Tilted Perspective.
> The Vertical Perspective is related to the stereographic projection, gnomonic projection, and orthographic projection. These are all true per...

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**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/azimuthal-map-projection/670440/3 "2013-10-05T18:29:13Z")

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Thanks! Much appreciated.