Mapping with the goal of realism

[waldronate]

What's the map projection?

Where are your hot spots (mantle plumes)?

[Paraclete]

What's the map projection?

Good question. I didn't put any thought into the projection, since I don't have much use for this planet-scale map - I just want to know what's going on in general so that I can then zoom in and map a particular continent on a much smaller scale, at which point I imagine the projection won't matter nearly as much. But to answer the question: I've been using http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filelates_tect2_en.svg as the bottom layer of my GIMP file, so that I can refer to it whenever I need a general idea of the scale of various real-world landforms that can then inspire the shape and scale of my imaginary landforms. So whatever projection it uses is the projection my map uses.

Where are your hot spots (mantle plumes)?

I'll sheepishly admit that I don't even know what hot spots/mantle plumes are in a geological context.

Thanks for the reply. I wish I could provide some better-informed answers.