Google Maps Scale – Google Maps Has Inconsistent Zoom Level and Scale Ratio

google-maps-apiscale bar

At the same zoom level, the scale bar of a map from Google Maps API (v3) can have different sizes.
Here are two screenshots I took at the same zoom level on the same map at two different locations.

Indianapolis
enter image description here

Cambridge (UK)
enter image description here

You can try it yourself on this page (go to the second map, the one with the scale bar).
http://tech.reumer.net/Google-Maps/Demo-Google-Maps-V3/show-all.html

In my application, I have two maps and I want these maps to always have the same scale. I started out by forcing them to be at the same zoom level (with some js listeners), but it looks like it's not going to be enough.

Is there a way to force same scale maps or a specific scale (as opposed to a specific zoom level) on Google Maps API? Which competitors offer this feature?

Best Answer

The locations you specify are at different latitudes. Because the Spherical Mercator implementation used by Google maps compresses latitude, the scale will change depending on the distance from the Equator.

In your example, try zooming out a long way, then navigate northwards. You'll see that the scale bar gets progressively longer as you pan.

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