Leveyspiireillemuotoa

Leveyspiireillemuotoa is a theoretical concept in geography and cartography that describes the ideal distortion pattern of a map projection. It is not a specific map projection itself but rather a characteristic that cartographers strive for when designing projections. The term "leveyspiireillemuotoa" can be translated from Finnish as "shape for latitudes" or "shape onto latitudes."

The fundamental challenge in mapmaking is representing a curved surface (the Earth) on a flat surface (a map). This inevitably leads to distortions in area, shape, distance, and direction. Different map projections are designed to minimize certain types of distortion at the expense of others.

A projection exhibiting "leveyspiireillemuotoa" would aim to preserve the shapes of small areas accurately, particularly along the lines of latitude. This means that the angles between features on the map would closely resemble the angles on the Earth's surface. Projections that prioritize shape preservation are known as conformal projections.

However, achieving perfect shape preservation across the entire map is impossible for any projection that covers a significant portion of the globe. Therefore, "leveyspiireillemuotoa" represents an ideal, a goal to be approached rather than a fully attainable state. Cartographers evaluate projections based on how well they approximate this ideal, considering where on the map the shape distortion is least severe. For example, a projection might have good "leveyspiireillemuotoa" near the equator or along specific standard parallels, while distortions increase towards the poles. Understanding this concept helps in selecting the most appropriate map projection for a given purpose.