Robinson projection
Topic: Map Projections · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Robinson projection is a compromise world projection made by Arthur Robinson in 1963. It is pseudo-cylindrical: the parallels are straight lines, but the meridians curve towards the poles. It is neither equal area nor true shape. Instead, it balances all the errors so that overall distortion stays low and the world "looks right". The National Geographic Society used it for its world maps from 1988 to 1998, then switched to the Winkel Tripel.
Example
On a Robinson world map, India, Africa and Greenland appear in sizes much closer to reality than on Mercator, but none of their areas is exactly true. This makes it popular for wall maps and general atlases.
Don't confuse with
- Goode's homolosine projection: this is equal area and split over the oceans. Robinson is unbroken and keeps no property exactly.