Final answer:
Map distortions can affect area, shape, distance, and direction, but they cannot change the actual geographical features of the earth, such as moving a river or altering the size of a mountain on Earth.
Step-by-step explanation:
When creating a world map, distortions can and often do occur. These distortions primarily affect aspects such as area, shape, distance, and direction. However, one thing that cannot happen as a result of distortion when making a map of the world is a change in the actual geographical features of the earth. For instance, distortion cannot cause a river or mountain range to physically change its location or size on Earth, only its representation on the map can be affected. Therefore, while the following issues like disproportionate size of continents, altered shapes of countries and distorted distances between locations can occur due to map distortion, physical changes to Earth's geography cannot.
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