A very popular projection for maps of the continental United States and used extensively by the U.S. Geological Survey. Developed in 1805 by German native H. C. Albers and is an equal-area projection. It is especially suited for nations like the USA that are wider east/west than north/south. Parallels are concentric arcs of circles, not equally spaced. The meridians are equally spaced radii of the same circle, running at 90 degrees. Normally it is arranged with two standard parallels.