EPSG:3857 WGS 84 / Pseudo-Mercator
Projected system (Popular Visualisation Pseudo Mercator) in use: World - 85°S to 85°N. The full definition below, and conversion in one click.
EPSG publishes no simple transformation to WGS 84 for this datum: conversion works on the ellipsoid alone and can be off by tens of metres.
| Code | EPSG:3857 |
|---|---|
| Name | WGS 84 / Pseudo-Mercator |
| Type | Projected system — Popular Visualisation Pseudo Mercator |
| Area of use |
World - 85°S to 85°N World between 85.06°S and 85.06°N. |
| Bounds | W -180,00° · S -85,06° · E 180,00° · N 85,06° |
| Countries | World |
| Datum | World Geodetic System 1984 |
| Ellipsoid | WGS 84 a = 6378137 m · 1/f = 298.257223563 |
| Base geographic system | EPSG:4326 — WGS 84 |
| Unit | metre (X east, Y north) |
| Transformation to WGS 84 | No simple transformation published (ellipsoid alone) |
| Scope | Web mapping and visualisation. |
Projection parameters
| Parameter | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Latitude of natural origin | 0 | degree |
| Longitude of natural origin | 0 | degree |
| False easting | 0 | metre |
| False northing | 0 | metre |
proj4 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_defsPaste it into QGIS, proj4js, PostGIS (spatial_ref_sys) or GDAL. +towgs84 carries the EPSG transformation to WGS 84; the official code stays EPSG:3857.
WKT (ESRI format, the .prj content)
PROJCS["WGS_1984_Web_Mercator_Auxiliary_Sphere",GEOGCS["GCS_WGS_1984",DATUM["D_WGS_1984",SPHEROID["WGS_1984",6378137.0,298.257223563]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Mercator_Auxiliary_Sphere"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",0.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",0.0],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_1",0.0],PARAMETER["Auxiliary_Sphere_Type",0.0],UNIT["Meter",1.0]]Other systems — World
- EPSG:3408NSIDC EASE-Grid North
- EPSG:3409NSIDC EASE-Grid South
- EPSG:3410NSIDC EASE-Grid Global
- EPSG:3411NSIDC Sea Ice Polar Stereographic North
- EPSG:3412NSIDC Sea Ice Polar Stereographic South
- EPSG:3413WGS 84 / NSIDC Sea Ice Polar Stereographic North
- EPSG:3571WGS 84 / North Pole LAEA Bering Sea
- EPSG:3572WGS 84 / North Pole LAEA Alaska
- EPSG:3573WGS 84 / North Pole LAEA Canada
- EPSG:3574WGS 84 / North Pole LAEA Atlantic
- EPSG:3575WGS 84 / North Pole LAEA Europe
- EPSG:3576WGS 84 / North Pole LAEA Russia
- EPSG:3976WGS 84 / NSIDC Sea Ice Polar Stereographic South
- EPSG:3995WGS 84 / Arctic Polar Stereographic
- EPSG:3996WGS 84 / IBCAO Polar Stereographic
- EPSG:4087WGS 84 / World Equidistant Cylindrical
- EPSG:4231ED87
- EPSG:4276NSWC 9Z-2
Source: EPSG registry v11.022 (IOGP), through the PROJ database. Always check a code on epsg.org before contractual work.