PLEN

Interrupted Goode homolosine projection

Equal-areaInterrupted pseudocylindricalCreator: John Paul GoodeYear: 1923

Goode does not hide the price of flattening a globe. It cuts oceans to preserve area and reduce continental deformation.

Projection guide

Less deformation through cuts

Sinusoidal geometry is used at lower latitudes and Mollweide at higher latitudes. Both parts are equal-area and meet while preserving areal scale.

The seams matter most. Each lobe gets its own central meridian, so deformation cannot keep accumulating across one wide sheet.

Global Cartographic Grid

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Distortion Properties

PropertyCharacteristic
Area
PreservedPreserved throughout the map
Shape
DistortedDistorted, but splitting the map into lobes limits continental deformation; the central meridians of the lobes and the equator are distortion-free
Distances
PartiallyPartially preserved: true along every parallel between 40°44′ N and S and along the central meridians of the lobes
Angles and directions
DistortedDistorted (not conformal)
Continuity
InterruptedDeliberately interrupted, by default mostly through oceans

History & Origin

John Paul Goode combined the Sinusoidal projection at lower latitudes with Mollweide at higher latitudes, then divided the map into lobes. The result is an equal-area world map that sacrifices ocean continuity to reduce land distortion.

Applications

Thematic atlases and global environmental data such as biomes, population, crops, and other phenomena where comparing area matters more than continuous routes.

How to read this map

An orange peel slit in several places before being pressed onto a table.

  • Compare areas: they are preserved.
  • Do not visually join the two edges of a seam.
  • Shapes are improved, not perfect.

What you gain and lose

It sacrifices ocean and route continuity to preserve area and reduce land deformation.

Best for

Thematic atlases, biomes, population, climate, and global areal data.

Avoid for

Navigation, ocean currents, and relationships crossing seams.

Not sure this projection fits your map? Answer three questions in the finder →

Want to see it next to another projection? Compare: Interrupted Goode Homolosine vs Mercator →

TEST THIS PROJECTIONOpen the interactive map: Interrupted Goode homolosine projection →GREAT CIRCLE VS RHUMB LINESee routes in Interrupted Goode homolosine projection →
Take the challenge

Can you recognize this projection without the label?

The projection quiz uses graticules and world outlines, so it is a natural next step from this page.

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Daily challenge

One attempt, the same set for everyone

Size illusion · Build a streak and come back tomorrow for another map.

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✦ How do different countries look in this projection?

Analyze shape distortions of 5 countries in this cartographic projection and test them in the sandbox.

Brazil
...

It stays compact and keeps its correct areal weight.

Test on map →
Russia
...

Eurasia's span tests the limits of the northern lobes.

Test on map →
United States
...

Alaska and the Aleutians reveal the consequences of seam placement.

Test on map →

Facts worth remembering

  • It combines Sinusoidal and Mollweide projections.
  • It preserves area despite its distinctive interruptions.
  • The default layout has six principal lobes.

Compare with other projections

The best internal links are the ones that help you think. These projections show different answers to the same problem: how to flatten a sphere.

Equal-area, pseudocylindricalMollweide projectionEqual-area, pseudocylindrical. Compare how shapes, area, and readability change.Equal-area, pseudocylindricalEqual Earth projectionEqual-area, pseudocylindrical. Compare how shapes, area, and readability change.Compromise, interrupted polyhedralWaterman butterfly projectionCompromise, interrupted polyhedral. Compare how shapes, area, and readability change.

Keep reading about maps that reshape intuition

Why do cartographers cut the world like an orange peel?The Interrupted Goode Homolosine shows why a visible seam can be more honest than stretching.The Orange Peel Dilemma: Why flat maps are always a compromiseA simple, intuitive explanation of Gauss's theorem. Why you cannot flatten a 3D sphere without tearing it, and what it means for global mapping.Atlas of error: how to read map distortionA practical guide to Tissot's indicatrices, area and angular isocoles, the true-north field, major parallels, and ocean currents.

Frequently Asked Questions

Interruptions move the largest discontinuities into selected seams, allowing continents to stay closer to their true proportions and shapes.

No. It preserves area; the interruptions merely reduce visible shape deformation within selected lobes.

Only for local routes contained in one lobe. A route crossing a seam is visually split and should not be read as a continuous navigation line.