Mercator Vs Peters Projection Map

In class today we began with researching the difference between Mercator Maps and Peters Projection Maps. Here are some of my findings for Mercator Maps;

• Mercator maps are preferred by many sailors because it shows constant compass direction which helps prevent navigational error when sailing
• The distance in between each longitude and latitude lines are all constant and the same distance apart
• Since the lines of latitude and longitude are all an equal distance away which is inaccurate compared to the actual earth, the Mercator maps are less accurate when it comes to the size or proportion of the continents 
• Places farther from the equator become much larger and the places closer to the equator become smaller in size on these maps
• These maps are better when they are focused on one specific place or country
• These are the maps that are commonly seen and used in schools and around the world
• Some people are offended by this map saying that the countries that have been distorted and shrunk are being put down or disrespected for being inaccurately represented
• Gerardus Mercator developed this map in 1569

Here are my findings on Peters Projection Maps;

• The lines of longitude and latitude on this map are not equivalent distances apart throughout. This helps represent the curve and sphere shape of the earth
• This map is said to be more accurate because it shows the actual size of every content and looks like how the earth would on a two dimensional plane
• This map is far less common than a Mercator Map
• Land masses can be seen as there actual size in comparison to the Mercator maps that distort country sizes
• The higher up on the map, the shorter the distance between lines of latitude and the closer to the edge, the shorter distance there is between lines of longitude
• Arno Peters was the man who founded this map in 1973

I would like to start using the Peters Projection Map. Although I am not used to that map yet, I feel that it would be better to use the Peters Projection Map. This map is the more accurate out of the two styles and I would like to be able to see what the world truly looks like. I never knew how large Africa truly is or how small the United States is until I looked at Peters Projection Map. After looking at this map once I already learned so much more about the world than I knew before. I had not noticed this difference between style of maps and country sizes until I looked at this map. This is why I would prefer to use the Peters Projection Map.