Understanding scale is fundamental in various disciplines, from GIS and geography to environmental science. A concept often challenging to grasp, scale becomes tangible and engaging with the right tools. This is where an innovative 3D web mapping application truly shines, offering an effective and visually compelling way to Compare Map Sizes of countries around the world. This application is a fantastic resource for educators and students alike, making the abstract concept of scale both accessible and memorable.
Using this application is remarkably simple. All you need is a web browser and an internet connection – no logins or complicated setups are required. By clicking on a country, you can then use the intuitive controller bars to drag and reposition it anywhere on the globe. Imagine overlaying India onto the USA, as illustrated below. You’ll immediately see that India’s landmass extends well into Canada and Mexico, a powerful visual representation of relative size. This tool encourages exploration and fosters a deeper understanding of the true dimensions of countries, especially those less familiar to students.
To further challenge perceptions, the application allows you to tilt the Earth, shifting the conventional north-up orientation. This encourages critical thinking about map projections and spatial relationships. Comparing this interactive 3D tool with traditional 2D maps in platforms like ArcGIS Online can spark insightful discussions about the inherent distortions present in 2D representations of our 3D world.
One of the most valuable aspects of this application is its ability to demonstrate the age-old problem of size and shape distortions caused by map projections, particularly the widely used Web Mercator projection. For instance, placing Greenland over Brazil reveals a stark contrast to the common perception fostered by many maps. In reality, Brazil is significantly larger than Greenland, a fact clearly visualized with this tool.
The importance of understanding scale extends far beyond simply comparing country sizes. Scale is crucial for analyzing changes across space and time. It’s fundamental to comprehending the interactions between Earth’s systems – the biosphere, anthroposphere, lithosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. The scale of analysis and the resolution of data directly influence any work done in GIS. To delve deeper into this concept, resources like the “scale matters” playlist with 15 videos offer valuable insights. Furthermore, exploring USGS basemaps in ArcGIS Online at different scales (1:250,000, 1:100,000, and 1:24,000) or comparing satellite imagery resolutions (15m Landsat vs. 1m satellite vs. 15cm UAV Drone) provides practical examples of scale in action. Examining demographic variables at different geographic levels (county, zip code, census tract, block groups) further illustrates how scale affects the patterns we observe. This 3D web mapping application provides another powerful method to explore this vital concept.
The comparative mapping doesn’t stop at Earth. You can even use a similar tool to compare map sizes on Mars. Imagine placing France on Olympus Mons or Texas within the Perseverance landing crater. You can overlay familiar buildings or landforms onto Martian features like placing the Grand Canyon over Valles Marineris. These Earth and Mars applications are not just educational tools; they are inherently engaging and even fun. It’s highly likely your students will be captivated and exclaim “cool!” when using them.
This exceptional application was developed by Arno Fiva, a colleague dedicated to creating innovative 3D web applications using the ArcGIS API for JavaScript. Arno’s work exemplifies the exciting possibilities within GIS development. Encourage your students to explore JavaScript, Python, and other GIS-related development tools. Who knows? They might be inspired to follow a similar career path, creating the next generation of impactful geospatial tools. You can follow Arno’s work on Twitter to stay updated with his latest projects.
