A map projection in which a globe, as of the Earth, is assumed to rest on a flat surface onto which its features are projected. An azimuthal projection produces a circular map with a chosen point
the point on the globe that is tangent to the flat surface
at its center. When the central point is either of Earth's poles, parallels appear as concentric circles on the map and meridians as straight lines radiating from the center. Directions from the central point to any other point on the map are accurate, although distances and shapes in some azimuthal projections are distorted away from the center. Compare
conic projectioncylindrical projection