kumquat_repub t1_j6gwms9 wrote
Reply to comment by GetsGold in TIL China is bigger than the U.S. in terms of land area. The U.S. is also bigger than Canada in terms of land area. by Mewhenthe4
Yes whatever comparison method you choose will be arbitrary, but the smaller the scale of the measurements, the more accurate it becomes to find relative coastline lengths.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_length_of_coastline?wprov=sfti1
This Wikipedia article begins by explaining the coastline paradox but then states the measurements were taken at 1:250,000 scale. There are GIS tools that can calculate the lengths of coastline at this scale and add them up, giving you a very accurate relative list of coastlines…the key word is relative.
GetsGold t1_j6gwx9p wrote
That doesn't seem to match what the article is saying:
>The smaller the scale interval (meaning the more detailed the measurement), the longer the coastline will be.
It doesn't make it more accurate, it just makes it longer.
kumquat_repub t1_j6gxdkw wrote
Yes they will get longer…all of them will, but they will remain proportional to each other. The US has roughly 4.4 times as much coastline as China. If you make the scale interval smaller, they will both increase in length but the ratio will remain roughly 4.4:1
GetsGold t1_j6gyxyx wrote
Makes sense, I'll take your word on that then. The important thing is Canada is by far number one.
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