A term rarely used to qualify a projection as having neither the equal area or conformal characteristics. The direction of one object from another, usually expressed as an angle in degrees relative to true north. Azimuths are usually measured in the clockwise direction, thus an azimuth of 90 degrees indicates that the second object is due east of the first. An adjective which has the same connotation as Equal Area. A projection that accurately preserves the azimuth between certain objects.
All projections introduce some distortion into the Cartesian results.
To a certain degree, the mathematics chosen can eliminate certain types of distortion while introducing other types of distortion. An azimuthal projection preserves the azimuth between certain objects. Typically, such projections preserve only the azimuth of all points to a specific point, such as the origin of the coordinate system. The direction of one object from another, usually expressed as an angle in degrees relative to a specific primary direction. Bearings differ from azimuths in that bearing values do not exceed 90 degrees.