Sanjiangyuan National Park, to scale

Sanjiangyuan 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.

By W. Viljoen · Published 21 June 2026

Sanjiangyuan National ParkvsNorway

On the Mercator map

True size

Sanjiangyuan National Park153,272 km² · 1.4× on the map
Norway380,391 km² · 7.9× 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

Sanjiangyuan National Park covers 153,272 km².

For scale, Norway covers 380,391 km².

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 Sanjiangyuan National Park sits at 34°N, the map draws it about 1.4× its true size. Norway, 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 Sanjiangyuan 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 ParksWood Buffalo National Park, to scaleWood Buffalo National Park covers 45,423 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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