Which type of projection is known for preserving shape?

The type of projection known for preserving shape is the conformal projection. Conformal projections are designed to maintain angles across small areas, meaning that the shapes of land masses and features are represented accurately. This property is particularly valuable for navigational maps and other applications where it is essential to maintain the correct representation of shapes, such as in aeronautical charts.

When using a conformal projection, while the sizes and areas of features may become distorted, the local angles are accurate, ensuring that the spatial relationships of small areas are preserved. This makes conformal projections particularly suitable for certain types of geographical analysis that require precise shape representation, such as urban planning and architectural design.

Other projection types, like equal area or azimuthal, serve different purposes such as preserving area or providing a specific directional relationship, but they do not focus on maintaining the shape of features in the same manner that conformal projections do. Thus, the defining characteristic of conformal projections makes them the correct answer for understanding shape preservation in cartography.