What is a characteristic of cylindrical equal-area projections?

Cylindrical equal-area projections are designed to preserve the area of geographic features, meaning that the size of landmasses and other spatial features are accurately represented relative to one another. This is particularly important for applications that require accurate representations of area, such as in resource allocation or land use planning.

While shapes of these features can become distorted—especially the farther one moves from the equator—these projections ensure that the proportional areas remain consistent. This characteristic makes them particularly useful in thematic maps where area representation is critical.

In contrast, accurately measuring distances everywhere is a feature typical of equidistant projections, not necessarily equal-area ones. True direction is typically preserved in azimuthal projections, which focus on maintaining accurate angles from a specific point, thus not applicable to cylindrical equal-area projections. The notion that they distort only the center of the map does not align with the fundamental nature of these projections, as distortions typically increase with distance from the central meridian and can affect both shapes and areas. Therefore, the attribute that cylindrical equal-area projections preserve area while distorting shapes is the defining characteristic, making it the correct choice.