The Natural Earth 2 is a pseudocylindrical projection with a highly rounded shape. At high latitudes the meridians bend steeply inward to short pole lines. Compared to other rounded projections, such as the Aitoff and Mollweide, the Natural Earth 2 bulges out less on the sides, filling more of the printed page with the map. Natural Earth II has areal distortion values similar to those of the popular Robinson and Winkel Tripel projections.