Recently, as part of a routine data update to maps.google.com, we inadvertently added Chinese language names to some locations in Arunachal Pradesh that were previously unlabeled or labeled with English language Indian place names.The data was publishe…
On the side of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum west wall is a quote etched into the rock from General Dwight D Eisenhower, who witnessed firsthand the conditions in the concentration camps in 1945, after they were liberated: “The things I saw beggar…
Here at Google Maps we’re always looking for new ways to allow people to easily explore the world’s information. Well, what could be easier than putting things right on the map? We’ve now added icons and labels of prominent businesses and places of int…
Since our launch of Street View in May 2007, it has consistently been one of Google Maps’ most popular features. We’ve also found that it has been one of the features that folks are most curious about, so we have given our Street View overview site a r…
Even for experts and scientists, analysing data on emissions and climate change can seem like a rising sea of numbers. The United Nations Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC) in collaboration with several Googlers has created a map that visualizes green…
For my thirteenth birthday, one of my aunts gave me a gift I won’t soon forget: a day in Boston. I grew up north of the city and, as a child, often visited the Museum of Science, Newbury Street, the Swan Boats, and elsewhere with my family, but my aun…
One of the missions of the Street View team is to help users navigate the world’s geographically located photos. We have just launched Street View Smart Navigation which provides 3D navigation between Street View panoramas. We have also recently added …
Many of the features in Google Maps involve adding layers of information to your map: the ‘More’ button (like Wikipedia and Transit), Traffic, My Maps and search layers (little red dots onyour map).We’re now adding lots of this same functionality to yo…
Have you ever wished you could see multiple searches in Google Maps, or search for directions and see businesses along the route all at the same time? Now, you can!Suppose you would like to drive the famous Road to Hana while you are on vacation on Mau…
[Cross-posted from the SketchUp Blog]With the launch of Moon in Google Earth today, you can now explore our nearest celestial neighbor from within Google Earth. Beginning in 1959, we began to send probes and landers to the lunar surface, and most of th…
Last year we had a post about authors using Google Maps to tell stories, and pondered whether that was foreshadowing other examples to come. Now author John Higham has taken that to the next level by incorporating Google Earth into his book as a way to…
Have you seen us on Twitter? The Official Google Blog has just posted a list of Google’s Twitter accounts. Below are the active geo-related accounts:twitter.com/GoogleMaps – uses, tips, mashups, and news for Google Mapstwitter.com/GoogleEarth – announc…
[Cross-posted from the Google Africa Blog]President Obama’s visit to Ghana has caused a wave of excitement on the web, with searches for “Obama” increasing by 150% in Ghana over the last week. In recognition of this occasion, we have teamed up with the…
The Los Angeles region is widely known for its extreme traffic, and a study released just this week by the Texas Transportation Institute reports that LA has the most significant congestion in the United States. It goes on to estimate that commuters in…
If you’ve used Google Maps for mobile, you’ll be familiar with My Location. With single click of a button, your approximate location is shown on the map with a blue circle. Wouldn’t it be great if that same feature was available in Google Maps on your …