Sinusoidal Projection

 

A pseudocylindrical, equal area projection with equally spaced parallels. Also known as Sanson-Flamsteed and Mercator Equal-Area.

Scale

True along every parallel and along the central meridian.

Distortion

Free of distortion along the Equator and along the central meridian. Severe distortion near outer meridians at high latitudes.

Usage

Atlas maps of South America and Africa. Good for countries with great north-south extent. Occasionally used for world maps. Formerly used for other continental maps and star maps. Combined with Mollweide projection to develop other projections such as the Homolosine and the Boggs.

Origin

Developed in the 16th century. Used by J. Cossin in 1570 and by J. Hondius in Mercator atlases of the early 17th century. Often called Sanson-Flamsteed projection after later users. Oldest current pseudocylindrical projection.   The Equatorial limiting form of the Bonne projection.

Options

Specify the center longitude to center the map projection.