Best map projection for an ocean map
For a map of the oceans, use the Spilhaus projection. It arranges the map so that all the oceans form one continuous body of water while the edges of the square cut through land, which makes it good for ocean currents, sea temperature and marine migration.
Best choice: Spilhaus Projection
Conformal, square
The Spilhaus projection arranges the map so that all the oceans form one continuous body of water, while the edges of the square cut through land. It is used for ocean currents, sea temperature and marine migration.
- Area: distorted
- Shape: preserved
- Distances: distorted
- Angles and directions: preserved
- Continuity: interrupted
Also good
- Interrupted Goode HomolosineEqual-area
The ocean variant of the homolosine: equal-area, with the cuts through land.
Open in the map labProjection guide
What to avoid
It cuts the oceans to keep the land whole, the opposite of what you need.
See the problem on the map →A different goal or map shape? Change the answers in the finder →
Why ordinary maps cut the ocean apart
A typical world map puts land in the middle, and its edges run through the Pacific. An ocean that is really one connected body of water falls apart into pieces on both sides of the map. For marine data such as currents, that is a serious flaw.
What the Spilhaus projection does
The oceanographer Athelstan Spilhaus published his world ocean map in 1979, building on Adams' 1925 square projection. The edges of the square split Asia and both Americas, but all the oceans join into one body of water.
The projection is conformal, so the shapes of eddies and currents are preserved at a small scale. Areas are distorted instead, most strongly in the polar regions.
An alternative: the ocean variant of Goode's homolosine
Goode's interrupted homolosine has a variant in which the lobes are arranged around the oceans and the cuts run through land. It is equal-area, so it suits comparing the areas of seas and oceans. In the lab you switch to it with one button.
Frequently asked questions
Because the edges of the square cut through land, splitting Asia and both Americas. The map gives up the continuity of land to keep the oceans whole.
No. It is a conformal projection: it keeps shapes at a small scale but distorts areas. To compare the areas of seas and oceans, the equal-area ocean variant of Goode's homolosine is better.
The Pacific. It is larger than all of Earth's land put together, as the Pacific topic in the Water section shows.
The best projection for other jobs
- Comparing country sizesEqual Earth
- Thematic and data mapsEqual Earth
- Wall maps and postersWinkel Tripel
- Flight routesGnomonic
- Navigation and compass coursesMercator
- Web maps and appsMercator
- Distances from one placeAzimuthal Equidistant
- The Arctic and AntarcticaAzimuthal Equidistant
- Teaching geographyEqual Earth