How Do Maps Lie About the Size of Countries?

When you look at a world map, Greenland seems as big as Africa. But that is a trick! The Earth is round like an orange, but maps are flat like the peel.

Imagine peeling an orange and trying to lay the skin flat on a table. It will tear or stretch. Maps do this too. To keep the shapes of countries looking right, mapmakers stretch the land near the North and South Poles.

Greenland is high up near the top. On many maps, it looks huge because the stretching makes it wider. Africa is down near the middle where the map is less stretched. In real life, you could fit Greenland inside Africa about fourteen times! So next time you see a map, remember: the poles are wearing giant shoes.