A projection which maps a sphere (or spheroid) onto a plane. Map projections are generally classified into groups according to common properties (cylindrical vs. conical, conformal vs. area-preserving, , etc.), although such schemes are generally not mutually exclusive. Early compilers of classification schemes include Tissot (1881), Close (1913), and Lee (1944). However, the categories given in Snyder (1987) remain the most commonly used today, and Lee's terms authalic and aphylactic are not commonly encountered.

No projection can be simultaneously conformal and area-preserving.

Close, C. F. Text-Book of Topographical and Geographical Surveying, 2nd ed. London: H. M. Stationary Office, 1913.

Craig, T. A Treatise on Projections. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1882.

Dana, P. H. "Map Projections." http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/mapproj/mapproj_f.html.

Hinks, A. R. Map Projections, 2nd rev. ed. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1921.

Lee, L. P. "The Nomenclature and Classification of Map Projections." Empire Survey Review 7, 190-200, 1944.

Mulcahy, K. "The Map Projection Home Page." http://www.geography.hunter.cuny.edu/mp/.

Maling, D. H. Coordinate Systems and Map Projections, 2nd ed, rev. Woburn, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1993.

Snyder, J. P. Map Projections--A Working Manual. U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1395. Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1987.

Snyder, J. P. Flattening the Earth: Two Thousand Years of Map Projections. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1993.

Tissot, A. Mémoir sur la représentation des surfaces et les projections des cartes géographiques. Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1881.

Weisstein, E. W. "Books about Cartography." http://www.ericweisstein.com/encyclopedias/books/Cartography.html.

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Weisstein, Eric W. "Map Projection." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/MapProjection.html