Visited countries map with different map projections

Question

There are a couple of websites, where you can create a map of the countries you visited, e.g. http://www.amcharts.com/visited_countries. I think, this would be a cool thing to add to my travel blog. However, all pages I could find, use a Mercator projection for the map, which I don't particularly like. I was wondering, if anyone knows of a way to create these kind of maps for different map projections (like Hobo-Dyer or Gall-Peters).

Answer 1

I would suggest using something like python + matplotlib and it's basemap library.

Basemap offers a wide range of projections, (see here), and you can then plot your places that you have been to onto the map. This can then be saved in a variety of formats for posting on your blog or you can use something like plot.ly to produce them online. A good example in an iPython notebook, (but using the global temperatures), is here with nice explanations of how it was done.

An example of the code needed to make a projection, (with a single point):

from mpl_toolkits.basemap import Basemap
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
width = 28000000; lon_0 = -105; lat_0 = 40  # Change the origin lat/long here
m = Basemap(width=width,height=width,projection='aeqd', # Change projection here
            lat_0=lat_0,lon_0=lon_0)
# fill background.
m.drawmapboundary(fill_color='aqua')
# draw coasts and fill continents.
m.drawcoastlines(linewidth=0.5)
m.fillcontinents(color='coral',lake_color='aqua')
# 20 degree graticule.
m.drawparallels(np.arange(-80,81,20))
m.drawmeridians(np.arange(-180,180,20))
# draw a black dot at the center.
xpt, ypt = m(lon_0, lat_0)
m.plot([xpt],[ypt],'ko')
# draw the title.
plt.title('Azimuthal Equidistant Projection')
plt.show()

The results: Once you have the basic process set up you can change the projection or the projection center in seconds.

Available projections:

Azimuthal Equidistant Projection, Gnomonic Projection, Orthographic Projection, Geostationary Projection, Near-Sided Perspective Projection, Mollweide Projection, Hammer Projection, Robinson Projection, Eckert IV Projection, Kavrayskiy VII Projection, McBryde-Thomas Flat Polar Quartic, Sinusoidal Projection, Equidistant Cylindrical Projection, Cassini Projection, Mercator Projection, Transverse Mercator Projection, Oblique Mercator Projection, Polyconic Projection, Miller Cylindrical Projection, Gall Stereographic Projection, Cylindrial Equal-Area Projection, Lambert Conformal Projection, Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area Projection, Stereographic Projection, Equidistant Conic Projection, Albers Equal Area Projection, Polar Stereographic Projection, Polar Lambert Azimuthal Projection, Polar Azimuthal Equidistant Projection, van der Grinten Projection

All the above tools are all completely free both as in no charge and as in unconstrained open source tools.