Map projection in which meridians and parallels are drawn as straight lines at right angles to each other and in which the scale varies increasingly away from the equator, causing great distortion in area and distances; this projection is useful to navigators because rhumb lines are always straight.

【地】麦卡托投影法(绘制地图的方法，经线及纬线绘成垂直相交，比例尺则以赤道为中心，向外逐渐增加，因而在面积及距离上产生变形，此种绘图适用于航海，可保持航程为直线)。