The internet loves a good size comparison, and a recent map circulating on social media claimed to show just how massive Texas truly is by overlaying it onto Europe. The image quickly gained traction, leaving many to wonder: Is Texas really that big? As content experts at compare.edu.vn, we delve into this intriguing geographical question to separate fact from viral fiction.
The viral image, widely shared across platforms like Facebook, depicted the outline of Texas stretching across Western Europe, encompassing significant portions of countries like Spain, France, Italy, and Germany. Captioned with phrases emphasizing the mind-blowing scale of the world when visualized differently, these posts sparked considerable online discussion about the sheer size of the Lone Star State.
But does this map accurately represent reality? To get to the truth, we consulted Hayley Drennon, a senior research assistant at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Drennon confirmed via email that “Texas really is THAT big,” validating the general premise of the viral comparison. However, she also pointed out a crucial detail: the viral map moderately exaggerates Texas’s borders, making it a “mostly true” representation rather than completely accurate.
Image courtesy of Facebook page My America
To understand the subtle inaccuracies and the science behind such comparisons, Drennon recreated a similar map using official geographic data. She utilized the Texas State Boundary shapefile from the Texas Department of Transportation (TDT) and reprojected it using ESRI’s ArcPro Software, a standard tool for geographic information systems. This process allowed her to generate a more precise overlay of Texas on Europe.
Her meticulously created map, when placed side-by-side with the viral image, reveals the subtle exaggerations present in the social media version. For instance, in the viral map, the westernmost point of Texas, El Paso County, appears to extend close to the border between Spain and France. In Drennon’s more accurate rendition, El Paso County sits further north. Similarly, the southern tip of Texas, Cameron County, is depicted reaching nearly to Rome in the viral image, while in the scientifically generated map, it also lies noticeably further north.
(Snopes compilation Facebook/@myamericatravel, Drennon)
This size discrepancy, as Drennon explains, likely arises from map projections. Representing the spherical Earth on a flat map inevitably introduces distortions. Think of it like wrapping a basketball with a piece of paper – there’s no way to flatten it perfectly without stretching or warping some areas. Different map projections employ different methods, each with its own set of distortions.
The commonly used Mercator projection, for example, is known to exaggerate the size of landmasses at higher latitudes, such as Europe and North America, while underrepresenting the size of regions closer to the equator. This is why Greenland often appears as large as Africa on Mercator maps, despite Africa being actually about 14.5 times larger.
The viral Texas-Europe map seems to have been created using “The True Size” website, a tool designed to combat these projection-related size distortions. According to the website’s “About” page, it aims to help users visualize the true relative sizes of countries and regions by allowing them to drag and drop areas onto different parts of the map, adjusting for projection distortions.
So, how big is Texas in real numbers? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Texas boasts a land area of 261,193.9 square miles and a water area of 7,330.9 square miles, totaling a massive 268,524.8 square miles. To put this into a European context, Texas is larger than countries like France and Spain individually, and roughly comparable in landmass to Germany and Poland combined.
While the viral map might not be perfectly accurate in its depiction of Texas’s size relative to Europe due to projection nuances and slight exaggerations, it successfully conveys a fundamental truth: Texas is indeed a vast state. Understanding these size comparisons, and the distortions inherent in map projections, helps us better grasp the true scale of our world and avoid being misled by potentially inaccurate visual representations online. So, next time you see a viral map, remember to look beyond the initial visual impact and consider the underlying geographical facts.
Sources:
An Introduction to ArcGIS Online—ArcGIS Online Help | Documentation. https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/get-started/what-is-agol.htm. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
‘Compare Countries With This Simple Tool’. The True Size, https://www.thetruesize.com/#?borders=1~!MTQ3MTM5NTk.MTI2NTMyMjU*MjEwNzQ2NjM(MTUyMjExNDc~!US-TX*ODcyMDI1NQ.MjIyNjA0NzQ(MTQ3)NA. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
‘—‘. The True Size, https://www.thetruesize.com/#/aboutModal. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
Explore Census Data. https://data.census.gov/profile/Texas?g=040XX00US48. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
Map of Four Regions – North, South, East, West. Texas Department of Transportation, https://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/fin/sib/regions-map.pdf. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
Texas State Boundary Detailed. https://gis-txdot.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/texas-state-boundary-detailed/explore?location=30.807276,-98.916283,5.61. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
