Meridians converge at the poles. At a given latitude, meridians are equally spaced. Latitude and longitude meet at right angles. Note how areas are increasingly enlarged towards higher lattitudes. Map projections that do not fit within these three classes are described as Pseudo or Miscellaneous projections.
Distortion increases with increasing distance from the standard point or lines.
Because meridians on these projections do not meet at the poles, as they do on the globe, these maps are increasingly stretched and distorted toward the poles. The Robinson Projection is a popular example. This projection is a good choice for maps with circular or square shapes. When the point of tangency is one of the poles, meridians are shown as straight lines radiating from the pole. A cone that sliced through the globe would intersect it twice, creating two standard parallels.