How Project Raster works

The Project Raster tool supports coordinate transformations between any two of the projections listed in Supported map projections. Map projections allow areas on the surface of the earth (a spheroid) to be represented on a map (flat surface). A projection more precisely equates locations on a map with their true locations on the earth.

However, expressing a three-dimensional surface in two dimensions involves distortion of some parameter, either shape, area, distance, or direction, and various projections cause different kinds of distortion. The individual characteristics of the projections make each useful for some applications but not useful for others. Refer to Supported map projections for discussion of the distortion characteristics of a particular projection.

Following are definitions and discussion of parameters required by various projections:

Project Raster - Parallels
Project Raster - Meridians
Project Raster - Scale Factors

The scale factor is most commonly used with cylindrical projections to redistribute the scale error over a wider area. A scale factor of 0.9996 is common, for example, in UTM or Great Britain National Grid.

Related Topics

11/18/2013