Salonga National Park, to scale

Salonga National Park covers 36,001 km². On the equator the map draws it honestly — which is exactly why it looks so small. Drag it north and watch its real scale appear.

By W. Viljoen · Published 21 June 2026

Salonga National ParkvsBelgium

On the Mercator map

True size

Salonga National Park36,001 km²
Belgium30,629 km² · 2.5× on the map

Both panels are drawn to the same scale. On the left, each country is the size the Mercator map gives it; on the right, its true size with the latitude distortion removed.

The numbers

Salonga National Park covers 36,001 km².

That makes it about 18% bigger than Belgium (30,629 km²) — a whole country, outsized by a single park.

Its outline here is a simplified approximation — the area is what carries the lesson, not vertex-perfect borders.

Why the map looks honest here

Mercator inflates area by sec²(latitude): nothing on the equator, about double at 45°, and more than triple past 55°.

Because Salonga National Park sits at 2°S, the map draws it at very nearly its true size. Belgium, far higher in latitude, is inflated much more — which is exactly why, on screen, it can look the equal or the larger of the two even though the true areas above say otherwise.

Try it

Grab Salonga National Park on the map and drag it north — over Europe or Canada. As it climbs, the readout's multiplier rises from near 1× toward 2×, 4× and beyond, and the footprint balloons to match. Drag it back to the equator and the inflation drains away.

Next in National ParksSanjiangyuan National Park, to scaleSanjiangyuan National Park covers 153,272 km². On the equator the map draws it honestly — which is exactly why it looks so small. Drag it north and watch its real scale appear.

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