The ArcGIS Online projection engine library is always growing to accommodate new and glorious projections. Equal Earth, a great projection for making regional and global thematic maps is supported, and now the Spilhaus map is, as well. Making non-Web-Mercator maps is possible in the Map Viewer Beta, and so is adding existing feature services to those maps, which re-project on the fly to appear right at home in whatever projection you are mapping.
Here is the Map Viewer Beta in its default state.
![](https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1BetaMapViewer.jpg)
But I have some basemaps that I’ve made (and here’s how you can too) that are not Web Mercator. For example, if I search ArcGIS Online for my Equal Earth basemap…
![](https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2SearchForBasemap.jpg)
I can choose to set it as the basemap of this web map, and change the underlying projection to Equal Earth.
![](https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/3AddBasemap.jpg)
And Equal Earth it up…
![](https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/4EqualEarth.jpg)
And because the web map is now Equal Earth, feature services that I add are re-projected to fit.
![](https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/4EqualEarth.jpg5EqualEarthWithData.jpg)
But remember Spilhaus? That sweet sweet projection that gives us a glimpse of the Earth’s one shared ocean? That is supported as well. In this case I’ve searched for a Spilhaus basemap that I made…
![](https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/5Spilhaus.jpg)
…and set it as the basemap. So fun.
![](https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/6SpilhausMap.jpg)
Because Spilhaus is supported in the ArcGIS Online projection engine library, and the Map Viewer Beta supports this broad array of projections, I can pull in a feature service and it will render appropriately. Here is that Spilhaus map with an overlain layer of ocean currents from Maps.com.
![](https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/7SpilhauseWithData.jpg)
So give it a shot. Make your own non Web Mercator basemaps, or pull in some that are already bouncing around. Then fire up the Map Viewer Beta and give it a projection-y workout.
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