How big is Arizona?
- Updated
Two-dimensional maps don't always tell the most accurate story. We always knew our state was impressive, but Arizona is bigger than many of us thought.
- Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
At 113,998 square miles of land area, Arizona is the sixth-largest state by land area, coming in right behind New Mexico and just in front of Nevada. But how big is it really?
Many people have a hard time visualizing 113 square miles, let alone 113,998. You might be tempted to look at a map to get a visual sense of Arizona’s size, but be careful: most 2D maps massively distort area in favor of shape and presentation. This includes trusty Google Maps, which uses the popular Mercator Projection, a map projection which sacrifices the accurate display of size in favor of shape and presentation. With the Mercator Projection, geographic bodies become larger as you move further from the equator and towards the poles.
In order to compensate for these distorted 2D maps, we used special mapping software to create an outline of Arizona. As we move the outline around the map, it changes its shape to account for the projection’s distorting effects. This allowed us to create the following maps which accurately compare Arizona’s size to bodies of land around the world. For Arizonans more familiar with Arizona’s size, these maps should help put the size of other places in perspective and show how much these map distortions affect our perception. For those less familiar with Arizona, these maps will help give you an idea of how massive this gargantuan state really is.
Also, because this is the kind of thing we think about at SelfStorage.com, you’d need 15,890,409,216 10×20 storage units to store Arizona.
Arizona compared to Greenland
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
Despite appearing hundreds of times Arizona's size in Google maps' Mercator projection, Greenland is only 6.8 times the size of Arizona.
Arizona compared to France
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
France is 1.8 times the size of Arizona.
Arizona compared to Greece
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
Arizona is 2.2 times the size of Greece.
Arizona compared to Iceland
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
Arizona is 2.8 times the size of Iceland.
Arizona compared to Germany
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
Germany is 1.2 times the size of Arizona.
Arizona compared to the United Kingdom
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
Arizona is 1.2 times the size of the United Kingdom.
Arizona compared to New York
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
Arizona is two times the size of New York (state), 2.4 times the size of Pennsylvania, 10.8 times the size of Massachusetts, 13 times the size of New Jersey and 94 times the size of Rhode Island.
Arizona compared to New Zealand
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
Arizona is 1.1 times the size of New Zealand.
Arizona compared to Taiwan
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
Arizona is eight times the size of Taiwan.
Arizona compared to Iraq
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
Iraq is 1.5 times the size of Arizona.
Arizona compared to Spain
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
Spain is 1.7 times the size of Arizona.
Arizona compared to Alaska
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
Alaska is 5.8 times the size of Arizona.
Arizona compared to Australia
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
Australia is 25.8 times the size of Arizona.
Arizona compared to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
- Updated
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is 7.9 times the size of Arizona.
More like this...
- Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
At 113,998 square miles of land area, Arizona is the sixth-largest state by land area, coming in right behind New Mexico and just in front of Nevada. But how big is it really?
Many people have a hard time visualizing 113 square miles, let alone 113,998. You might be tempted to look at a map to get a visual sense of Arizona’s size, but be careful: most 2D maps massively distort area in favor of shape and presentation. This includes trusty Google Maps, which uses the popular Mercator Projection, a map projection which sacrifices the accurate display of size in favor of shape and presentation. With the Mercator Projection, geographic bodies become larger as you move further from the equator and towards the poles.
In order to compensate for these distorted 2D maps, we used special mapping software to create an outline of Arizona. As we move the outline around the map, it changes its shape to account for the projection’s distorting effects. This allowed us to create the following maps which accurately compare Arizona’s size to bodies of land around the world. For Arizonans more familiar with Arizona’s size, these maps should help put the size of other places in perspective and show how much these map distortions affect our perception. For those less familiar with Arizona, these maps will help give you an idea of how massive this gargantuan state really is.
Also, because this is the kind of thing we think about at SelfStorage.com, you’d need 15,890,409,216 10×20 storage units to store Arizona.
Arizona compared to New York
- Courtesy of Nicasio González and Brian Shreckengast SelfStorage.com
Arizona is two times the size of New York (state), 2.4 times the size of Pennsylvania, 10.8 times the size of Massachusetts, 13 times the size of New Jersey and 94 times the size of Rhode Island.
More like this...
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