Exactly how big is...

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I always knew of the Mercator Projection and how it makes things (errm land) at high latitudes appear larger than they are, so I decided today to give it a shot and try some comparisons using essential tools like Google Earth, Google Maps, Alt-PrtSc and... Photoshop.

Comparisons always need to be made against a known measure (to me) which of course had to be my native Greece, therefore I decided to bring some northern countries to the... Mediterranean Sea.

Britain

I've been living in ye olde Albion for quite some time now, so first things first; Great Britain to the Med:

Mercator Projection:
Great Britain in the Med
Actual Size:
Great Britain in the Med

Denmark

I've got something with Denmark, maybe because I have a few friends living there, maybe because my wife has a vein of Danish blood. Whatever, Denmark is up North so it's a good test! :-)

Mercator Projection:
Denmark in the Med
Actual Size:
Denmark in the Med

Further North - Iceland

Well Iceland is bloody North and its an island too, therefore it should really prove my point. Copy and paste from the Mercator projection and it can hardly fit on your screen, look at it from the same altitude in Google Earth and it's tiny! Ok, not that tiny but smaller!

Mercator Projection:
Iceland in the Med
Actual Size:
Iceland in the Med

And, that's all I managed to do tonight! Coming up next... California!

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