Wholesale Globes

How accurate are globes are?

I mean How accurate a model of earth are the globes that we use...thanks a lot!

Public Comments

1. Accuracy is a relative term. It depends on the scale used to represent the features of the earth. The smaller the globe, the less you can show, the less the accuracy. It also depends on how much the cartographer who designs the map on the globe has to move things around to make them fit. Landmarks and citys may not be where they really are because they won't fit. If you have an understanding of map making, things represented on maps are always shown much bigger than they really. If they were shown at a 1:1 scale, you would not be able to see them. Take a road, a railroad track, and a stream in a narrow valley. Cartographically, they are on top of each other. The cartographer has to move them apart to show them. Most globes are within reason for accuracy, but they are still just representations. Also, given today's political changes, a globe will often be out of date the day it is released.
2. Most globe makers don't bother to be more accurate than about 0.05 cm (0.02 inches) -- and that's only for the best, most expensive globes. On a large 60 cm (24") diameter globe, 0.05 cm represents 10.6 km ( about 6.6 miles). On a standard 30 cm (12") globe, 0.05 cm represents 21.2 km (13.2 miles). A lot of cheaper globes have more error -- I would guess about 25 miles or even more.