Oblique Mercator Projection

 

State of Alaska

Oblique Mercator Projection

Scale = 1

Central Scale Factor (KO) = 1

1st Meridian = -132.27

Standard Parallel = 55.95

2nd Meridian = -177.22

2nd Standard Parallel = 52.45

 

Projection Characteristics

The Oblique Mercator projection is a cylindrical, conformal projection. The scale is accurate along the chosen central line by the longitude and latitude settings below (1st Point and 2nd Point). This projection is used for oblique areas which are areas that do not follow lines of latitude and longitude, such as the Alaska panhandle. This projection is usually used with areas that are state or province sized. This projection is not suitable for maps of the world.

 

Projection Parameters

Parameter

Description

Name

Specifies the units used in the map.

Scale

Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.

False Easting

Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False Northings are added to the underlying "projected" coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason for using these offset values, do not use them. These values do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map, only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the map must also use these same offsets if you want the imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative position to the existing boundaries.

False Northing

Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the projected coordinates, in meters. See above.

1st Meridian

Defines one end of the X extent for the central line.

Standard Parallel

Defines one end of the Y extent for the central line.

2nd Meridian

Defines the other end of the X extent for the central line.

2nd Standard Parallel

Defines the other end of the Y extent for the central line.

Central Scale Factor (KO)

Specifies the central scaling factor for the projection. This value is often set to 1.0, but may be set to another value for specific applications.

 

 

See Also

Map Coordinate Systems Overview

Introduction to Map Projections

Source Coordinate System - Map Layer

Target Coordinate System - Map

Types of Projection

Characteristics of Projections

Datums

Ellipsoids

Projection References