Central cylindrical projection

The cylinder is then cut along one of the projected meridians and unrolled into a flat map.

Distortion increases so rapidly away from the equator that the central cylindrical is only used as an easily understood illustration of projection, rather than for practical maps.

[1] Its vertical stretching is even greater than that of the Mercator projection, whose construction method is sometimes erroneously described equivalently to the central cylindrical's.

[1] As with any cylindrical projection, the construction can be generalized by positioning the cylinder to be tangent to a great circle of the globe that is not the equator.

Unlike other cylindrical projections, it gives correct perspective for tall objects,[citation needed] an important trait for architectural scenes.