Wrangell–St. Elias National Park, to scale

Wrangell–St. Elias National Park covers 42,529 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

Wrangell–St. Elias National ParkvsBhutan

On the Mercator map

True size

Wrangell–St. Elias National Park42,529 km² · 4.3× on the map
Bhutan40,578 km² · 1.3× 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

Wrangell–St. Elias National Park covers 42,529 km².

That is almost exactly the size of Bhutan (40,578 km²) — a whole country, matched by a single park.

Why the map oversells it

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

Because Wrangell–St. Elias National Park sits up at 61°N, the map is anything but honest here — it blows the park up to about 4.3× its true area, roughly 334% more than it really covers. That inflation is the whole reason it can look a giant beside Bhutan, which lies far closer to the equator and is drawn much nearer its real size. Drag it back toward the equator and the bloat drains away.

Try it

Wrangell–St. Elias National Park starts the game already swollen — the readout shows it about 4.3× too big where it really sits. Drag it down to the equator and watch the multiplier fall to 1× as the footprint shrinks to its true size; haul it back north and the inflation returns.

Next in National ParksChiribiquete National Park, to scaleChiribiquete National Park covers 42,956 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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