EPSG:3857, WGS 84 / Pseudo-Mercator (web maps)
Web Mercator, the projection of Google Maps, OpenStreetMap and nearly every web map tile. Metres on a sphere: right for display, wrong for measuring area or distance away from the equator.
Parameters
Read from the PROJ definition the converter above runs.
- Projection
- Mercator
- Ellipsoid
- Sphere, radius 6,378,137 m
- Shift to WGS 84
- None in this definition: the datum sits within two metres of WGS 84
- Central meridian
- 0°
- Scale factor
- 1
- False easting
- 0 m
- False northing
- 0 m
- Units
- metres
PROJ definition
+proj=merc +a=6378137 +b=6378137 +lat_ts=0 +lon_0=0 +x_0=0 +y_0=0 +k=1 +units=m +nadgrids=@null +wktext +no_defs
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AI AgentFrequently asked questions
What is EPSG:3857?
Web Mercator, the projection of Google Maps, OpenStreetMap and nearly every web map tile. Metres on a sphere: right for display, wrong for measuring area or distance away from the equator.
What are the units and axis order of EPSG:3857?
Metres, counted from a false origin of 0 m east and 0 m north. Most GIS software writes easting first, then northing; check the order of your source data when a point lands in the wrong place.
How do I use EPSG:3857 in QGIS?
To show the map in it: Project > Properties > CRS, search 3857. To save a layer in it: right-click the layer, Export > Save Features As, and pick EPSG:3857. Set Layer CRS only labels a file whose system is missing; it does not move the data.
Is EPSG:3857 the same as WGS 84?
It uses WGS 84 latitude and longitude, projected as if the Earth were a sphere. Converting between the two is exact, but distances and areas measured in EPSG:3857 grow with latitude: 1 km at 60° north reads as 2 km.