-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Varying centers for map projections
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2013 21:44:42 -0800
From: Virginia R Hetrick PhD <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship <[log in to unmask]>


Hi, Bojana -

Absolutely possible.

First, let me give you a couple of commonly used examples:

a.  For world maps focusing on hydrographic information, the break
between the oceans means the projection is commonly split in a line of
longitude that is somewhere in the eastern hemisphere (more often) or
western hemisphere (less often).

b.  A polar projection centered on the North Pole (90 degrees N) or
South Pole (90 degrees S) are often used.  Especially during the Cold
War, the one centered on the North Pole was often used with the
southern hemisphere represented by four gores which were connected to
the northern hemisphere only along the line of the Equator.

Both of these are commonly shown in introductory textbooks for
cartography which was usually a junior level course when I was in
University.  I'd think MSU should have a library copy or the professor
teaching cartography of Arthur Robinson's Elements of Cartography (My
class notes indicate that we used the 2nd edition, beginning in Fall,
1962, when I took the course and I know fersure that's where I first
learned about the oddwad projections.)

I learned more about strange projections when I started working as a
student assistant at LC in November that year.  I also came on a
reference paperbound book published by what was then called the Coast
and Geodetic Survey which was surely incorporated into one of the
current set of Federal mapping agencies.  I believe it was called Map
Projections and the pages were slightly larger than 1/2 a piece of US
letter-size paper.

With any luck on your part, the instructor for MSU's Geography 423
should be able to show you some examples because that course is
concerned with cartographic design and production.

Good luck.

virginia
--
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Virginia R. Hetrick, here in chilly but sunny California
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