Ortelius oval

Classifications

archaic
compromise

Graticule

Meridians: Central meridian is straight. Other meridians are circular arcs, becoming semicircles between the meridians 90° and 180° from the central meridian. Equally spaced along the equator but not along other parallels.
Parallels: Straight lines, equally spaced on the central meridian.
Poles: Lines half the length of the equator.
Symmetry: Along the central meridian or the equator.

Scale

True along the central meridian and the equator.

Distortion

Moderate

Usage

16th-century whole-world maps.

Similar projections

Often confused with Eckert III, which has elliptic arcs for meridians.
Apian globular I is the same for one hemisphere.
Bordone oval projection of 1528 has points for poles and near-ellipses or ovals for meridians but is otherwise very similar.

Origin

Battista Agnese (1514-64) used the projection in 1544, but the name comes from Abraham Ortelius (1527-98) of Flanders, who used it in 1570.

Description adapted from J.P. Snyder and P.M. Voxland, An Album of Map Projections, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1453. United States Government Printing Office: 1989.