Why did you select the country you chose? I selected Spain as my country because I could recognize it on a map, and knew its general shape. This knowledge helped me recognize which projections gave an accurate and inaccurate depiction of Spain. I also chose Spain because it’s on a peninsula, so it is easy to see the border of Spain, unlike a country surrounded by land of the same color, where the border is more difficult to recognize.
How did you create these projections?I used http://projections.mgis.psu.edu/ and zoomed in on Spain. Then I changed the projections to Robinson, Mercator, and Cylindrical Equator Area Projection. For each projection I snipped a picture of it.
What were the differences between the projections?The Robinson and Mercator projections were very similar. The only difference is that Spain is slightly larger is Mercator, and Portugal is slightly smaller. The Cylindrical Equator Area was very different because Spain is both shorter and longer compared to Mercator and Robinson projections.
Under what circumstances would you use one projection over another?If one wanted to have accurate area on their map, they should use mercator or cylindrical equator. If they wanted proper shape and form on their map, they should use lambert conformal conic or any conformal projection. If they wanted proper distance, they should use azimuthal equidistant or equidistant map. Once a map preserves shape or area in one place, it must preserve it for the entire map. However, if a map has accurate distance in one area, the rest of the map will have inaccurate distance.
How are the terms site and situation used in geography?Site refers to the physical location of a place and situation refers to its location in relation to other place. Therefore, the site of Spain is on a peninsula at 40 degrees longitude and between 0 and 10 degrees latitude. The Situation of Spain would be west of France and east of Portugal.
How do site and situation affect your country's economic activities? The site of Spain allow it easy trading, since it is near water. The fact that it is western Europe and surrounded by water made it prime for exploration during the Age of Exploration and Navigation. Nowadays, Spain's warm weather make it good for tourism and farming. Also, since Spain is in Europe, it is a member of the European Union. This equates to more economic regulations for Spain, but also more allies nearby.