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Never ass-ume

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:09:00 +0000

Over the last 24-hours concerned members of the public and the media have been speculating on the fate of a donkey pictured in Street View in the Kweneng region of Botswana.

Because of the way our 360-degree imagery is put together, it looked to some that our car had been involved in an unseemly hit and run, leaving the humble beast stranded in the road.

As our imagery below shows, the donkey was lying in the path - perhaps enjoying a dust bath - before moving safely aside as our car drove past. I’m pleased to confirm the donkey is alive and well.

Images 1 & 2: our car, driving on the left hand side, approaches the donkey lying down in the road.

Image 3: the donkey gets up and moves aside.

Image 4: a shot taken from the back of our car shows the curious animal back on its feet.

I hope you continue to enjoy some of the spectacular images of Botswana and its wildlife, big and small.

Posted by Kei Kawai, Group Product Manager, Google Maps

Follow Santa live on Google Santa Tracker

Lat Long Blog — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 10:00:00 +0000

The North Pole air traffic control elves have just notified us that Santa has taken off! For the next day, you can visit the Google Santa Tracker to see where Santa’s headed next and keep tabs on how many presents he’s delivered. You can also keep up with him on your smartphone and tablet with the Android app, in your browser with the the Chrome extension, and even in 3D with Google Earth and Google Earth mobile (look for it in the Tour Guide feature with the latest version of Google Earth).

And follow Google Maps on Google+, Facebook and Twitter to get up-to-the-minute details on Santa’s journey around the world.

Ho ho ho! Happy holidays everyone!

Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps and Google Earth

Tips for getting the most from Google Maps on iPhone

Lat Long Blog — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 19:41:00 +0000

(Cross posted to Official Google Blog)

We hope you’ve had a chance to try the new Google Maps app for iPhone (announced last week and available for download in the Apple App Store). The app is designed to be simple—just to work whenever you need it. Still, we have a few tips to make finding things with Google Maps even faster and easier. All the tips are collected on our site but here a few of my favorites:

Swipe to see more. In Google Maps a wealth of information is often just a swipe away. Whether you’re looking at search results or directions, you can swipe the bottom info sheet left and right to see other options. To get more details on any of the results, swipe that info sheet upward (or just tap it—that works too). Even with the info sheet expanded, you can swipe to see those other results.

Place a pin. Get more information about any location by just pressing and holding the map. The info sheet that pops up tells you the address, lets you save or share the place, and best of all, brings up...

Street View. By far the easiest way to get to Street View is placing a pin. Tap the imagery preview on the info sheet to enter into Street View, then explore! I recommend the look-around feature (bottom left button) which changes what you’re looking at as you tilt and move your phone.

Want to learn more? See the rest of our tips on the site. And as you explore the app on your own, share your own tips using #googlemaps. Most of all, enjoy discovering your world.

Posted by Vicky Tait, Consumer Operations, Google Maps

Count down to Christmas Eve with Google Santa Tracker

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 06:19:00 +0000

(Cross posted on the Official Google Blog)

While millions of people eagerly await Christmas Day, Santa and his elves are keeping busy at the North Pole. They’re preparing presents, tuning up the sleigh, feeding the reindeer and, of course, checking the list (twice!) before they take flight on their trip around the world.

While we’ve been tracking Santa since 2004 with Google Earth, this year a team of dedicated Google Maps engineers built a new route algorithm to chart Santa’s journey around the world on Christmas Eve. On his sleigh, arguably the fastest airborne vehicle in the world, Santa whips from city to city delivering presents to millions of homes. You’ll be able to follow him on Google Maps and Google Earth, and get his stats starting at 2:00 a.m. PST Christmas Eve at google.com/santatracker.

Simulating Santa's path across the world—see it live Dec 24

In addition, with some help from developer elves, we’ve built a few other tools to help you track Santa from wherever you may be. Add the new Chrome extension or download the Android app to keep up with Santa from your smartphone or tablet. And to get the latest updates on his trip, follow Google Maps on Google+, Facebook and Twitter.

Get a dashboard view of Santa's journey on Google Maps

The Google Santa Tracker will launch on December 24, but the countdown to the journey starts now! Visit Santa’s Village today to watch the countdown clock and join the elves and reindeer in their preparations. You can even ask Santa to call a friend or family member.

We hope you enjoy tracking Santa with us this year. And on behalf of everyone at Google—happy holidays!

Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps and Google Earth

Google Maps is now available for iPhone

Lat Long Blog — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 04:27:00 +0000

(Cross posted on Official Google Blog)

People around the world have been asking for Google Maps on iPhone. Starting today, we’re pleased to announce that Google Maps is here—rolling out across the world in the Apple App Store. It’s designed from the ground up to combine the comprehensiveness and accuracy of Google Maps with an interface that makes finding what you’re looking for faster and easier.

The app shows more map on screen and turns mobile mapping into one intuitive experience. It’s a sharper looking, vector-based map that loads quickly and provides smooth tilting and rotating of 2D and 3D views. The search box at the top is a good place to start—perhaps by entering the name of a new and interesting restaurant. An expandable info sheet at the bottom shows the address, opening hours, ratings and reviews, images, directions and other information.

At the heart of this app is our constantly improving map of the world that includes detailed information for more than 80 million businesses and points of interest. Preview where you want to go with Street View and see inside places with Business Photos to decide on a table or see if it’s better at the bar. To get you there, you’ve got voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation, live traffic conditions to avoid the jams and if you want to use public transportation, find information for more than one million public transit stops.

The world around us is constantly changing and, thanks to feedback from you, we make tens of thousands of daily updates to keep Google Maps accurate and comprehensive. Here’s a helpful hint for the new app: if you see something off, simply shake your phone to send us feedback.

To complete the Google Maps ecosystem, we’re also releasing the Google Maps SDK for iOS, and a simple URL scheme to help developers use Google Maps when building their beautiful and innovative apps.

The new Google Maps app is available for the iPhone and iPod Touch (4th gen) iOS 5.1 and higher, in more than 40 countries and 29 languages, including Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. Please note some of the features mentioned in this post aren’t available in all countries.

Visit the App Store today and download the new Google Maps app. We believe this delightful new experience is a great starting point—and we’ll continue to improve Google Maps for you, every day.

Posted by Daniel Graf, Director, Google Maps for Mobile

Google Maps: You learn, we listen

Lat Long Blog — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 18:05:00 +0000

Whether you use Google Maps to get to work on time, explore new places, or find your way, our goal is the same: to make Google Maps the most comprehensive, accurate, and usable map for you. We are constantly working to achieve this goal by supporting you where and when you need it, and actively listening to your feedback.

Your answers and support for your Maps

There are more than one billion monthly active users of Google Maps services, and we are able to reach users in over 40 languages on our desktop maps and mobile maps Help Centers. Learn everything from searching on Google Maps to embedding a map onto your blog. In order to make sure the how-to guides and videos we post are useful to you, we provide a star rating form at the bottom of each article. Your ratings help us prioritize which articles we update - like this newly improved Help Center article for creating My Maps.

In the Google Maps Help Forum, a tight-knit community of superusers called “Top Contributors” and Googlers help you troubleshoot more technical issues, brainstorm best practices, and connect with others passionate about Google Maps. Our Google+, Twitter, and Facebook channels are also there to share product tips, and of course to listen to what you have to say.

Tell us what you think about our Maps

Your feedback is valuable when it comes to improving both the quality of support provided to you as well as the quality of the product itself. Provide comments and feedback about your Maps experience (and even help to fix the map) through the “Report a problem” feature. It can be found in multiple places on the desktop version of Maps, most prominently in the bottom-right corner of the map.

You can tell us what you think about our Maps by clicking “Report a problem” > “Other problems” > “All other comments, feedback on Google Maps.”

There are instances where feedback has caused big changes. For example, some Google Maps Android users had expressed their disappointment that viewing maps required an internet connection. The product team took that to heart and created a feature for mobile users to download maps for use offline.

Good support is about creating a connection between those of us behind the product and all of you who use the product. We want you to know your support options and feedback channels. After all, support and feedback are what drives Google Maps forward and what helps to make your experience easier than folding up a map.

Posted by Laura Paragano, Consumer Operations

Explore digital archives of buildings in Japan affected by the 2011 tsunami

Lat Long Blog — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:00:00 +0000

(Cross posted on the Official Google Blog)

A year ago we released Street View imagery of areas in Northeastern Japan that were affected by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Our hope was that the 360-degree panoramas would provide a comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-use way for people around the world to view the damage to the region by enabling a virtual walk through of the disaster zones.

The panoramas were only the start of our digital archiving project. Last month we took the next step—using the technology behind Business Photos to photograph the inside of buildings in Northeastern Japan that were heavily damaged but still standing. We worked with four city governments in the Tōhoku area to photograph more than 30 buildings, and today we’re bringing this imagery to Google Maps and our Memories for the Future site. The new imagery enables you to walk through the buildings and switch between floors to get a first-hand glimpse at the extent of the destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami.

The timing of the project was critical. There has been a strong debate in these areas whether to keep the buildings up as a permanent reminder of the tragedy or to tear them down to allow emotional wounds to heal. After long consultations with their citizens, many local governments have decided to move forward with demolishing the buildings. Knowing this, we quickly moved to photograph the buildings before they started to be dismantled.

The panorama below shows an elementary school very close to the ocean. Thankfully, all the students survived the disaster as they had been well drilled to rush to escape at the sound of tsunami warnings.

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Panorama of Kamaishi Municipal Toni Elementary School

Other sites include Rikuzentakata city public housing, a building that physically demonstrates the heights of the tsunami wave. Everything up to the fourth floor is completely ruined, but the fifth floor remains mostly unscathed.

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Panorama of Rikuzentakata City Public Housing

We’ve also captured imagery of Ukedo Elementary School and a few other buildings in Namie Town—located in the restricted area (PDF) within 20km of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. In the elementary school, you can see holes in the gym floor, where a graduation banner still hangs in the gym, though the ceremony never took place.

View Larger Map

Panorama of Ukedo Elementary School

We’ll continue to photograph more buildings in two Iwate Prefecture cities, Ōfunato and Kamaishi, over the coming weeks. By the end of the year, we also hope to complete the collection of imagery from five new cities in the Miyagi prefecture. We look forward to making this new imagery available as soon as it’s ready to pay tribute to both the tragedy of the disaster and the current efforts to rebuild. City governments in Northeastern Japan that are interested in this digital archiving project are welcome to contact us through this form.

Posted by Kei Kawai, Group Product Manager, Street View

Building a better map of Europe

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:28:00 +0000

More than a billion people use Google Maps each month to find their way around town and around the world. To help these people get exactly the information they need, the Google Maps team works constantly to ensure that the geographic data behind our maps is comprehensive and accurate. As part of this ongoing effort, we’ve just released updated maps for 10 countries and regions in Europe: Andorra, Bulgaria, Estonia, Gibraltar, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

Today’s update is part of a project called Ground Truth that began in 2008. Through this initiative, we acquire high-quality map data from authoritative sources around the world and then apply a mix of advanced algorithms, supplemental data (including satellite, aerial and Street View imagery), and human input to create a map that corresponds as closely as possible to the real-world facts that you’d find if you were to visit that location.

For example, this update adds a new 70-km section of Bulgaria’s Trakiya motorway, which opened recently to drivers but hasn’t been reflected on most maps of the region until now.

Explore this area on Google Maps
But roads and highways alone don’t define the character of a place, and they aren’t always sufficient to help you get around. So Google Maps also integrates information such as walking paths, ferry lines, building outlines, park boundaries, university campuses and more—providing a richer, more comprehensive and more realistic experience for locals, visitors and armchair travelers alike.

Our new map of Spain, for example, not only shows the famous Museo del Prado and Parque del Retiro in Madrid, but also includes additional building models in surrounding neighborhoods, the well-known “Estanque” (or pond) in the center of the park, and detailed walking paths throughout both the park and the nearby Royal Botanical Gardens.

Explore this area on Google Maps
Of course, the world is always changing, and we want Google Maps to change with it. So when you notice something on the map that needs updating, let us know through the simple “Report a problem” tool in the lower right corner of the map. We’ll make the appropriate changes to the map—often within just a few minutes or hours of reviewing and verifying your feedback! This tool launches today in the 10 places where we’ve updated our maps, and is already available in dozens of other countries around the world.

With today’s release, the maps that we’ve built through our Ground Truth initiative are now available in a total of 40 countries worldwide. To see the progress we’ve made to date, take a look at the image below.

We hope today’s launch of more comprehensive and accurate maps of Europe will help you explore amazing places from Barcelona and Budapest to Bratislava and beyond.

Posted by Brian McClendon, VP Google Maps and Google Earth

New Crisis Response map features storm information for Typhoon Pablo (Bopha)

Lat Long Blog — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 00:37:00 +0000

(Cross-posted on The Official Google.org Blog.)

The Google Crisis Response team has assembled a Typhoon Pablo crisis map to help you track the storm’s progress and provide updated emergency information. On the map, you’ll find storm warnings, shelter locations, the latest weather information, and more. The map is available in English, as well as Filipino. You can also find the map embedded on the Filipino government’s Pablo site.

View larger map

You can easily share and embed these maps on your website — just hit the “Share” button at the top of the map to get the HTML code. We’ll continue to update the maps as more information becomes available.

Posted by Steve Hakusa, Software Engineer, Google Crisis Response

Better maps in your Android apps!

Lat Long Blog — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:43:00 +0000

(Cross posted on Google Geo Developer Blog)

Today we’re launching an update to the Google Maps Android API, which gives developers the ability to use Google’s comprehensive, accurate and useful maps to build beautiful Android apps. The updated API is easy to use and features vector-based maps that load quickly and enables users to easily navigate 2D and 3D views, and tilt and rotate the map with simple gestures.

With the new version of the Google Maps Android API, developers can utilize Google Maps to its fullest. We’ve incorporated many of the highly-requested features developers want, such as:

More dynamic and flexible UI designs for large screen Android devices, such as tablets, using Android Fragments

Adding more Google Maps layers in their apps including satellite, hybrid, terrain, traffic and now indoor maps for many major airports and shopping centers

The ability to create markers and info windows with less code

Some of our favorite apps already use Google Maps, such as Trulia, Expedia Hotels and FlightTrack. Soon, when you upgrade to the latest version of these apps, you’ll experience the new API and maps as rich as those in Google Maps for Android.

With the latest Google Maps Android API, Trulia Android app users can search for a place to buy or rent in 3D.

To hear from these developers about their apps and migration to the new version of the API, check out the following Google Developers Live video below.

More than 800,000 sites around the world use our mapping APIs to create amazing and useful apps. We hope you enjoy using this new addition to the Google Maps API family and building mapping experiences that were never before possible on a mobile device.

To get started, follow the Google Maps Android API v2 documentation and reach out to the developer community if you have questions on building your app with this API.

Posted by Andrew Foster, Senior Product Manager, Google Maps

Get ready for winter: Mapping the Canadian Arctic and Global Ski Resorts

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000

(Cross posted on Official Google Blog)

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping. To help prepare for the winter ahead, we’re adding more detail and imagery to the map for a variety of chilly destinations, making them more comprehensive and accurate than ever. Starting today, you can virtually experience the Canadian Arctic through new panoramic Street View images of Cambridge Bay and detailed maps created with the help of local community members. And if you’re planning a winter getaway, you can preview the slopes of more than 90 ski and snow resorts around the world, adding to dozens that are already available via Street View today.

Canada’s Arctic

When we visited Canada’s far north this past August, we worked with the nonprofit group Nunavut Tunngavik and the residents of Cambridge Bay to improve the map of this remote, but culturally rich, Nunavut hamlet. The map this community helped build using Google Map Maker, as well as the 360-degree images we collected using Street View trike and tripod technologies, is now available for all the world to see on Google Maps.

To get a sense of what it’s like to live up in the north, you can walk down Omingmak Street, make your way to the bridge (where locals fish for Arctic Char) and head out to the Old Stone Church. Check out some Arctic souvenirs in the Arctic Closet, or visit the Ice Hockey and Curling Arena—it’s uninsulated and freezes over once they flood it in the winter! You can also learn more about Inuit history and culture at the Kitikmeot Heritage Society and the Arctic Coast Visitors Centre.

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Explore the intersection of Omingmak (“musk ox”) Street and Tigiganiak (“fox”) Road

Ski and snow resorts across the globe

You can also view some of the world’s best runs right on Google Maps before you get there. Whether you’re looking to discover a piste you’ve never tried before, or just want to take in some winter wonderland scenery, we’ve added Street View imagery for resorts across Europe (including runs in Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Italy and Spain), Canada (including runs in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario) and the U.S. (including runs in Utah and Michigan).

For example, take a look at Sölden, a popular ski resort in the Ötztal valley of Tyrol, Austria. It’s not just tourists who flock there every year, but fans of professional skiing—Sölden regularly hosts the giant slalom competition as part of the Alpine World Cup in late October.

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You can also visit Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah. With 19 chairlifts, 4,000 acres of skiable terrain and an average of 355 inches of snow each winter, Canyons is the largest ski and snowboard terrain park in the state.

View Larger Map

Visit the to see some of our favorite images of the Arctic and resorts available on Google Maps. As winter sets in, we encourage you to experience it all from the comfort (and warmth) of your couch—or check it out online, then dig out your thermal underwear and snow boots to hit the slopes!

Posted by Ulf Spitzer, Program Manager, Google Street View

Something to smile about: A 5,000-mile walk across Asia, guided by Google Maps

Lat Long Blog — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 22:00:00 +0000

(Cross posted on the Official Google Blog)

Inspiration comes in many shapes and forms. For U.S. Marine Sgt. Winston Fiore, it was a news article about the International Children’s Surgical Foundation (ICSF) and Dr. Geoff Williams, who provides free facial-reconstructive surgeries for children with cleft lips/palates in developing countries. Although cleft palates are quite correctable, if left untreated the deformity can cause serious health issues. Many children don’t have the surgery because the cost of each procedure ($250 USD) is out of reach for their families.

Inspired to do something to help, Winston set out on a 5,000-mile trek across Southeast Asia to raise money and awareness for the ICSF—a mission he dubbed Smile Trek. Armed with sturdy boots, a 20-pound vest carrying essentials and an Android phone with Google Maps, Winston set off on his mission in October 2011. In the last year, he has walked (yes, walked!) through Brunei, China, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Along the way he’s met countless individuals who have contributed to his cause, whether it was a place to stay, a hot meal or a monetary donation on his website.

Trekking along: Winston, standing in front of a durian fruit stand near Sematan, the westernmost town of Malaysian Borneo

Out on the road, Winston’s Android phone and Google Maps became “the hub” of his entire operation. He used Google Maps to find accurate and easy-to-use walking directions everywhere he went, whether it was through remote villages and farms, down tiny dirt roads, or across rice paddies and desolate sugar cane fields. “Walking directions in Google Maps were critical to my trek. The directions were accurate and efficient—it’s essential to take the shortest route when you’re walking 20-25 miles each day,” said Winston. “But the best part was being routed onto roads and trails through areas I otherwise never would have discovered with, say, driving directions, or even a physical map.”

View the complete map of Winston's journey on his site.

In addition to using Google Maps, Winston relied on many other Google products during his trek. He used Google Latitude to keep his family, friends and supporters informed of his whereabouts, and MyTracks to record his speed, distance and the places he visited. He also used Google Translate to communicate with locals, and in one case found it essential: when bit by a stray dog outside of Bangkok, he typed "I got bit by a dog, can someone take me to a hospital?" into his app. A taxi driver took him to the hospital, where he got 11 shots!

Today, after walking 5,000 miles in 408 days, Sgt. Fiore completes his journey, with more than $65,000 raised for ICSF. The money will help to fund more than 200 life-saving surgeries for children in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. If you’d like to contribute to the International Children’s Surgery Fund and Winston Fiore’s effort, we encourage you to visit: http://smiletrek.org

Posted by Jennifer J. Chen, Product Manager, Google Maps

Imagery Update: Tour sites around the world with high-resolution imagery

Lat Long Blog — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:33:00 +0000

As part of our ongoing commitment to provide you with comprehensive and accurate maps, we continue to steadily release new and updated imagery of places around the world as it becomes available. Here, we’ll take you on a short tour of some of our favorite locations that were included in the most recently published batch of aerial, satellite and 45-degree imagery.

New high resolution aerial and satellite imagery:

The aerial and satellite imagery in Google Maps and Google Earth has now been updated for 164 cities and 108 countries/regions. Below are a few highlights from Washington state and Austria.

The Emerald City is bucking its nickname to celebrate the Space Needle’s 50th anniversary. Check out the image below, where you can see Seattle’s iconic landmark repainted to it’s original “Galaxy Orange” color scheme.

Space Needle, Seattle

From towering above the clouds in Seattle to a celebration of rooftop art in Austria, below we find an art installation where visitors are encouraged to ascend to the top of a rooftop and travel a set of wooden bridges to see the city from a new perspective.

Bridges in the Sky, Linz, Austria

New 45° imagery available for 60 cities:

Our collection of 45° imagery in Google Maps has also recently expanded to include 40 more U.S. cities and 20 more international cities, including Luxembourg and Romania for the first time. Below are some fantastic sites from Luxembourg and Switzerland.

Though one of the smallest countries in the world by size, this European Grand Duchy plays an important role in politics because it’s the site of several institutions and agencies of the European Union. Below is one of the administrative and conference buildings.

Centre de Conférence, Luxembourg - View Larger Map

Settlements near the Swiss pre-alpine town of Thun can be dated back as far as Neolithic times around 2500 B.C. The city’s name derives from the Celtic term “Dunum” which translates to “fortified city.” Below is Thun Castle, which was erected by the Zaehringer dynasty around 1190 A.D. and which serves as the home of the district court of the Bernese Oberland until 2009.

Thun Castle, Switzerland - View Larger Map

Below is the full list of places where we’ve recently shared new or updated imagery. Enjoy!

Cities with new high resolution 45° imagery:

United States: Baltimore, MD; Bangor, ME; Battle Creek, MI; Bay City, MI; Bowling Green, KY; Burbank, WA; Burlington, VT; Charleston, WV; Cheyenne, WY; Decatur, IL; Duluth, MN; Eau Claire, WI; Fargo, ND; Farmington Hills, MI; Fort Wayne, IN; Hagerstown, MD; Holland, MI; Huntington, WV; Iowa City, IA; Kalamazoo, MI; Kelso, WA; Kenosha, WI; La Crosse, WI; Lancaster, CA; Lawrence, MA; Lewiston, ME; Lima, OH; Loveland, OH; Madison, WI; Mansfield, OH; Morgantown, WV; Portland, ME; Queensbury, NY; Rockford, IL; St. Cloud, MN; Toledo, OH; Urbana, OH; Waterloo, IA; Wausau, WI; Youngstown, OH.

International: Arcachon, FR; Brno, CZ; Charleroi, BE; Ferrara, IT; Fribourg, CH; Gijon, ES; Leeds/Huddersfield, UK; Leipzig, DE; Luxembourg, LU; Nantes, FR; Oviedo, ES; Parma, IT; Perugia, IT; Regina, CA; Reims, FR; Rouen, FR; Saskatoon, CA; Siena, IT; Sighisoara, RO; Thun, CH.

Areas with new high resolution aerial updates:

United States: Seattle WA, Mt Rainier WA, Mt St Helens WA, Ritzville WA, Chewalah WA, Pomeroy WA, Astoria OR, Portland OR, Eugene OR, Medford OR, Drewsey OR, Silver Lake OR, Sprague River OR, Pendleton OR, Bend OR, Mt Hood OR, Sandpoint ID, Idaho Falls ID, Redway CA, Redding CA, Bishop CA, Hayfork CA, Honeylake CA, Fresno CA, San Luis Obispo CA, Joshua Tree CA, Flagstaff AZ, Holbrook AZ, Arches UT, Cherry Creek NV, Hayden NM, Winnemucca NM, Wellington NV, Libby MT, Whitefish MT, Butler MT, Glacier MT, Great Falls MT, Missoula MT, Three Forks MT, Harlem MT, Lewiston MT, Montrose CO, Lamar CO, Ft Collins CO, Limon CO, Crested Butte CO, Sheridan Lake CO, Sheridan WY, Laramie WY, Bryce Canyon UT, Pueblo Peintado NM, San Patricio NM, Petersburg ND, North Platte ND, Medina ND, Ellendale ND, Devils Lake ND, Eagle Butte SD, Gettysburg SD, Swan Creek SD, Mitchell SD, Miller SD, Edgemont SD, Spooner WI, Ladysmith WI, Hayward WI, Atkinson NE, Ord NE, Holdrege NE, Beatrice NE, Nebraska City NE, Norton KS, Junction City KS, Topeka KS, Ellsworth KS, Wakeeney KS, Goodland KS, Scott City KS, Ottawa KS, Manhattan KS, Ottawa KS, Manhattan KS, El Reno OK, Shawnee OK, Oklahoma City OK, Tulsa OK, McAlester OK, Dallas TX, Greenville TX, Palestine TX, Montevideo MN, Owatonna MN, Litchfield MN, Willmar MN, Worthington MN, Creston IA, Des Moines IA, Cedar Rapids IA, Emmetsburg IA, Algona IA, Knoxville IA, Kirksville MO, Milan MO, Sedalia MO, St Joseph MO, Willow Springs MO, Butler MO, Warrensburg MO, Kansas City MO, Clinton MO, St Louis MO, Bloomington IL, Jacksonville IL, Freeport IL, Carrollton IL, Effingham IL, Mount Vernon IL, Sterling IL, Litchfield IL, Indianapolis IN, Corinth MS, Montgomery AL, Charlotte NC, Cincinnati OH, State College PA, Gettysburg PA, New Castle PA, Saint Marys PA, Lancaster PA, Hazleton PA, Scranton PA, Pittsburgh PA, Port Jervis NY, Rockland ME
Japan: Osaka, Hiroshima, Nakama, Fukuoka, Asahikawa, Choshi, Sendai, Okazaki, Edogawa
Canada: Winnipeg
Portugal: Coimbra
Spain: Oviedo
France: Reims
Belgium: Charleroi
Luxembourg: Luxembourg
Italy: Siena, Ferrara
United Kingdom: Huddersfield
Switzerland: Zurich, Geneva
Germany: Berlin, Munich, Leipzig, Wuppertal
Austria: Linz, Mistelbach, Pinkafeld
Czech Republic: Brno
Slovenia: entire country

Areas new high resolution satellite updates:

Canada, United States, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Suriname, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, South Africa, Madagascar, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, Nigeria, Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Togo, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica

Posted by Eric Kolb, Geo Data Specialist

Let indoor Google Maps be your guide this holiday shopping season

Lat Long Blog — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 14:00:00 +0000

(Cross posted from Official Google Blog)

The holiday shopping season is upon us. Your favorite retail stores are already playing holiday tunes, promoting sales, and decking out their displays in red and green. But if flashbacks of people rushing all around you frantically trying to find gifts for everyone on their lists are giving you anxiety, fret not. This year you can use indoor Google Maps on your Android device to stay cool, calm, collected and most of all, one step ahead of the crowd.

On Black Friday and throughout this holiday season, simply zoom in to a participating store on Google Maps to devise your shopping game plan. An indoor floor plan with helpful labels will automatically appear, and the familiar “blue dot” icon will help you figure out the fastest way to the accessories department, the food court when you need to refuel, and the closest restroom or ATM when you need a break from your marathon shopping session. For many locations, you can even get indoor walking directions to find the best route from one store to the next.

Indoor Google Maps for Mall of America in Bloomington, MN (left)

and for Macy’s in New York, NY (right)

These accurate, easy-to-use indoor maps are available for a number of popular retail locations across the globe including many local malls and select Best Buy, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Harrod’s, Selfridges, John Lewis and other stores. With the help of your Android device, you can beeline it to the camcorder you’ve been eyeing for your dad, and then quickly make your way to that sweater you know your sister will love. For list of additional venue partners, including some in Belgium that just became available today, check out this list.

Indoor Google Maps for West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (left)

and for Nordstrom in Seattle, WA (right)

We hope these indoor maps make finding your way in and around retail stores easier, less stressful and more efficient this holiday season. To access them, simply update Google Maps on your Android by visiting Google Play on your phone or desktop. Happy holiday shopping!

Posted by Cedric Dupont, Product Manager, Google Maps

Google Earth Outreach launches in Australia and New Zealand

Lat Long Blog — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:53:00 +0000

(Cross posted from Google Australia Blog)

Great Barrier Reef coral health, fire management, and depleting forest cover are some of our nation’s greatest environmental challenges. But up until now it has been a challenge to bring large-scale environmental issues (that might affect hundreds of thousands of acres) to life in a meaningful way. To help address this, we’re bringing Google Earth Outreach to Australia and New Zealand.

With Google Earth Outreach, nonprofit organisations can use Google mapping tools to visualise their causes and tell their stories to millions of people around the world.

See how nonprofits and researchers are using Google mapping tools.

Across the globe, nonprofits have used Google Earth Outreach to help clear landmines in Cambodia and Angola, and to demonstrate forest and wildlife loss in Sumatra, Indonesia. At last night’s official launch event at Macquarie University, we announced new projects with three Australian partners.

Dr. Elizabeth Madin from Macquarie University demonstrated how her team is using Google Earth to further her work in investigating coral reef landscapes; they integrate ecological theory and the high-resolution satellite imagery available in Google Earth to identify “grazing halos”, which may be able to tell us more about coral reef health.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority launched an interactive map, which will shows how their Reef HQ Aquarium is bringing the Great Barrier Reef to students around the world. They also launched a Google Earth narrated tour following the track of Torres the Green Turtle as he swims along the Great Barrier Reef and meets incredible marine life along the way.

The Australian Wildlife Conservancy also unveiled two Google Earth tours. The first tour flies through their 23 sanctuaries which cover more than 3 million hectares to bring to life their fight to save Australia’s unique wildlife from extinction. The second tour overlays AWC geospatial data on top of Google Earth to demonstrate the impact of their EcoFire Project in the Kimberleys over the last six years.

Take the new Google Earth tour from AWC

If you’re a nonprofit interested in learning more about the Google Earth Outreach program, check out our website. There you’ll find tutorials and a showcase of nonprofit success stories, and you can also apply for grants for Google Earth Pro, Google Maps Engine, Google Maps API for Business, and Google Maps Coordinate.

We hope that by bringing this program to Australia and New Zealand, many more organisations will be able to tell powerful visual stories about the important work they do, to both help them raise awareness and funds and further their scientific goals.

Posted by Raleigh Seamster, Program Manager for Google Earth Outreach

Explore the world with tour guide and 3D imagery in Google Earth 7

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 18:37:00 +0000

A few months ago, we announced Google Earth for mobile, which offered new ways to see cities in 3D and a new tour guide feature to help you discover places of interest on the go. Starting today, you can get both of those features on a bigger screen that makes it even easier to explore by downloading Google Earth 7 on your desktop. Check out the comprehensive and accurate tours of more than 11,000 popular sites around the world, including our growing list of cities where new 3D imagery is available.

The new tour guide feature in Google Earth 7

The tour guide feature serves as a local expert, suggesting nearby places you might want to explore and helping you learn about those locations. For whichever area you’re viewing in Google Earth, thumbnails highlighting pre-created tours in the same area will dynamically update at the bottom of the screen. Simply click on one of the tours, and you’ll embark on a virtual flyover of famous, historical and cultural sites close by. Educational and fun facts from Wikipedia will also appear on the screen as you fly in and around locations like the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, and more.

New 3D imagery of Munich, Germany

In addition, Google Earth 7 now includes the comprehensive, accurate 3D imagery we’ve already made available on Android and iOS for Boulder, Boston, Charlotte, Denver, Lawrence, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Seattle, Tampa, Tucson, Rome and the San Francisco Bay Area (including the Peninsula and East Bay). And today, we’re adding more 3D imagery for a handful of metropolitan regions including Avignon, France; Austin, Texas; Munich, Germany; Phoenix, Arizona; and Mannheim, Germany. The experience of flying through these areas and seeing the buildings, terrain and even the trees rendered in 3D is now consistent across both mobile and desktop devices -- making all of your virtual travels more realistic than ever.

Download Google Earth 7 and be sure to check out the Google Earth website for more tips and tricks.

Posted by Peter Birch, Google Earth Product Manager

Announcing the winners of 2012 Google Earth Outreach Developer Grants

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:42:00 +0000

(Cross posted from Geo Developer Blog)

In 2011, Google Earth Outreach launched a new program to fund nonprofits that want to create cutting-edge maps for public good. Today, we’re excited to announce the winners of the 2012 Google Earth Outreach Developer Grants program. We’ve selected eight nonprofit organizations, listed below, that have presented a compelling ideas for a new map or mapping technology that will make a positive impact on the world. Each winner received a grant to support the technical development of their map. The winners include:

The Royal Canadian Geographical Society - A Developing World: a Maps API application containing UN Human Development Index data

Clinton Health Access Initiative - Getting to Zero in Southern Africa: A Temporal and Spatial Map of Malaria Progress

SamSamWater Foundation - Rainwater Harvesting Tool: Calculate Your Drinking Water using Google Maps

Wild South - Cherokee Trails: Google Earth tours, a map, and an Android app documenting Cherokee Indian geography and the struggle of the Cherokee to remain in their homeland.

Internews -Change of States Map: a Maps API application documenting local impacts and adaptations to climate change in the US.

Vanishing Worlds Foundation / World Oral Literature Project / Language Landscape - Language Landscape: an Extensible Model for Mapping Language Dynamics

the Jane Goodall Institute - Community-based Forest & Wildlife Monitoring: Scaling Up and Sharing Dynamically Generated Maps

Atlantic Public Media - Monarch Migration: a Google Earth Tour

Work is already in progress on each of the projects, so check back on our Developer Grants page in the coming months to see these maps come to life, and to explore maps created by last year’s grantees.

Watch this video to see an example of a Google Earth Tour made possible by the 2011 Developer Grants program is the Arctic Tern Migration, created by the Atlantic Public Media.

We’re very excited about the organizations that were funded this year, and we wish to thank these hardworking organizations who are improving conditions for people and the planet.

Posted by Tanya Birch, Google Earth Outreach

*These organizations were funded through the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at the Tides Foundation.

Add your Photo Sphere images to Google Maps with Android 4.2

Lat Long Blog — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 20:27:00 +0000

Remember the last time you went on a hike, triumphantly reached the lookout point, and took out your camera to snap a few photos? Odds are that somehow, the pictures weren’t able to fully convey your experience of standing at the top of the peak with the rolling hills surrounding you, the vibrant blue skies above, and the rocky terrain beneath your feet.

Now, with Photo Sphere, the new camera mode that’s part of the latest version of Android 4.2, Jelly Bean, you can photograph an entire scene—up, down, and all around—to create a 360º immersive experience.

View Larger Map

Explore immersive 360º Photo Spheres such as Vernal Falls in Yosemite Valley

You can easily choose to share your Photo Spheres to Google Maps so the entire world can enjoy the beauty of your favorite places. Your images will help make Google Maps more comprehensive, and enable other travelers to get an accurate preview of a location before they arrive.

Blue circle icons indicate where user-contributed Photo Spheres are available directly on Google Maps for desktop. They’re also discoverable on this website, which highlights some of the most incredible imagery from photographers around the world. Your geotagged Photo Spheres will be attributed to your Google+ profile name when you choose to share them on Google Maps. Of course, you also have the option of sharing them just with your friends and family through your Google+ circles.

Look for the blue circle icon to explore user-contributed panoramas on Google Maps

Whether you want to highlight your favorite places, show off your photography skills, or just help other Google Maps users see and experience a particular location, now sharing your Photo Spheres is just a few taps away on your Android device!

To learn more about creating Photo Spheres please visit this site. We can’t wait to see your favorite spots on Google Maps!

Posted by Evan Rapoport, Product Manager, Google Maps

New Crisis Response maps feature preparedness information for Hurricane Sandy

Lat Long Blog — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 19:48:00 +0000

Update Nov. 1, 2012: We're constantly looking for ways to improve our ability to help in a crisis. Please tell use how you're using the Superstorm Sandy Crisis Map: http://goo.gl/mwIb4

Already responsible for a reported 41 deaths across the Caribbean, late-season Hurricane Sandy is expected to make landfall again early this week on the East Coast of the United States.

Some are calling the hurricane “Frankenstorm” due to its potential mix of both winter and tropical cyclone weather. Regardless of what you call it, we hope that you get the information you need to make preparations and stay safe if you are in the area. It has the potential to be one of the worst storms the area has seen in decades.

The Google Crisis Response team has assembled a Hurricane Sandy map to help you track the storm’s progress and provide updated emergency information.

View larger map

On the map, you’ll find the following emergency preparedness information:

Location tracking, including the hurricane’s current and forecasted paths, courtesy of the NOAA-National Hurricane Center
Public alerts, including evacuation notices, storm warnings, and more, via weather.gov and earthquake.usgs.gov
Radar and cloud imagery from weather.com and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
Evacuation information and routes
Shelters and recovery centers will appear as they become operational
Storm footage and storm-related YouTube videos, curated by Storyful

We’ve also launched a map specific to New York City, featuring evacuation zone information from NYC Open Data, open shelters, weather information and live webcams.

View larger map

You can easily share and embed these maps on your website — just hit the “Share” button at the top of the map to get the HTML code. We’ll continue to update these maps as more information becomes available.

Posted by Ka-Ping Yee, Software Engineer, Google Crisis Response

Get a better view of natural geography with Google Maps

Lat Long Blog — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 13:00:00 +0000

When you look at Google Maps, we want you to see the most comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-understand representation of the entire world. Today, we’re unveiling some visual improvements to the basemap that will help enable that goal.

Google Maps now clearly shows terrain, color gradations to depict vegetation, and labels for natural land formations. This enriched visual data allows you to quickly and easily see where the great forests, deserts, and mountain ranges around the world begin and end. It also conveys how natural land formations can impact where, how and why man-made developments like urban cities, dams and bridges are made.

For example, here’s how Southern Asia appeared before terrain and vegetation information was added:

And on the improved map below, you can now clearly see the dry deserts of Pakistan, the rocky Himalayas, and the rich jungles of Laos.

Another great example is the area north of Vancouver, Canada. Here’s how it appeared before:

And here’s the same area that now accurately shows the mountainous and rocky terrain in that area, immediately providing insight into why cities and settlements have been developed further south, rather than in the hilly landscape.

In addition to terrain and vegetation information, labels for large natural features are also now available when searching on Google Maps. Ever wonder where the Amazon Basin is? A previous search on Google Maps provided the below result:

But now, helpful labels provide more clarity:

So when you search Google Maps for dozens of natural land formations like the Gobi Desert, Melville Peninsula, or Nullarbor Plain, you’ll see improved, well-labeled results.

We hope this new visual information literally provides you with a more comprehensive and accurate lay of the land, and comes in handy whether you’re planning a trip or just browsing the map. From lush rolling hills to expansive deserts, just click and explore! Posted by Karl Johann Schmidt, Software Engineer, Google Maps

Trekking the Grand Canyon for Google Maps

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:00:00 +0000

In our ongoing effort to create the perfect map—one that’s as comprehensive, accurate and easy to use as possible—we’ve gone well beyond just the streets. Through the Street View feature on Google Maps, you’ve been able to explore panoramic views of amazing places around the world ranging from the Swiss Alps to the Amazon to Antarctica, and a variety of urban cities, university campuses, ancient ruins and ski resorts as well.

Today, demonstrating the rocky and rugged paths we’ll travel to make Google Maps even more complete, we’re collecting imagery from a place no car, trike or snowmobile has ever been before. On its first official outing, the Street View team is using the Trekker—a wearable backpack with a camera system on top—to traverse the Grand Canyon and capture 360-degree images of one of the most breathtaking natural landscapes on the planet.

Operations Manager Steve Silverman (left) and Product Manager Ryan Falor (right)

hiking the Bright Angel Trail on the South Rim with Trekkers

The narrow ridges and steep, exposed trails of the Grand Canyon provide the perfect terrain for our newest camera system. The Trekker—which its operator controls via an Android phone and automatically gathers photos as he walks—enables the collection of high-quality imagery from places that are only accessible on foot.

Falor controlling the Trekker with his Android device

This week, photos are being gathered from portions of the South Rim at Grand Canyon National Park, including the ridge, the famous Bright Angel Trail, South Kaibab Trail, and more. These panoramic views will soon be live on Google Maps, giving everyone from real-life visitors to armchair travelers the opportunity to marvel at this beautiful, majestic site from the comfort of their computers or mobile devices.

The team hiking the Bright Angel Trail

So get ready for the virtual adventure that awaits! And in the meantime, we’ll keep on trekken’ and working hard to bring you panoramic imagery of more visually stunning places we have yet to explore and share on Google Maps.

Posted by Ryan Falor, Product Manager, Google Street View

Expanded coverage of building footprints in Google Maps

Lat Long Blog — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 22:48:00 +0000

As we go about our daily travels, we often rely on buildings to orient ourselves, locate landmarks and navigate from place to place. So today, we’re expanding the coverage of building footprints that are already available in Google Maps.

Now, you can see 25 million new building footprints that have been added to Google Maps on desktop and mobile across major metropolitan regions in the United States, including Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and the San Francisco Bay Area. This expansion is part of our ongoing effort to provide you with maps that are as comprehensive as possible.

Before (left) and after (right) screenshots of the map in Houston, Texas, now with building footprints

A neighborhood complete with building footprints in San Diego, California

These building footprints, complete with height detail, are algorithmically created by taking aerial imagery and using computer vision techniques to render the building shapes. This process enables us to provide more building footprints and a more comprehensive and detailed map than ever before.

For areas that you’re familiar with, you can also help ensure that the building footprints are accurate and up-to-date by using our community mapping tool, Google Map Maker. In addition to improving the shapes, you can also assign your favorite local business to an existing building or draw the building footprint for that business using Map Maker.

For example, I enjoy exploring and updating the map around Detroit, Michigan, where I lived for many years. Now, whenever I go back for a virtual visit, I won’t have to imagine where all the buildings were in my old neighborhood since their footprints have been added for the world to see on Google Maps!

Posted by Bobby Parikh, Engineering Manager

Google’s data centers: an inside look

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:09:00 +0000

(Cross posted from the Official Google Blog)

Very few people have stepped inside Google’s data centers, and for good reason: our first priority is the privacy and security of your data, and we go to great lengths to protect it, keeping our sites under close guard. While we’ve shared many of our designs and best practices, and we’ve been publishing our efficiency data since 2008, only a small set of employees have access to the server floor itself.

Today, for the first time, you can see inside our data centers and pay them a virtual visit. On Where the Internet lives, our new site featuring beautiful photographs by Connie Zhou, you’ll get a never-before-seen look at the technology, the people and the places that keep Google running.

In addition, you can now explore our Lenoir, NC data center at your own pace in Street View. Walk in the front door, head up the stairs, turn right at the ping-pong table and head down the hall to the data center floor. Or take a stroll around the exterior of the facility to see our energy-efficient cooling infrastructure. You can also watch a video tour to learn more about what you're viewing in Street View and see some of our equipment in action.

Finally, we invited author and WIRED reporter Steven Levy to talk to the architects of our infrastructure and get an unprecedented look at its inner workings. His new story is an exploration of the history and evolution of our infrastructure, with a first-time-ever report from the floor of a Google data center.

Fourteen years ago, back when Google was a student research project, Larry and Sergey powered their new search engine using a few cheap, off-the-shelf servers stacked in creative ways. We’ve grown a bit since then, and we hope you enjoy this glimpse at what we’ve built. In the coming days we’ll share a series of posts on the Google Green Blog that explore some of the photographs in more detail, so stay tuned for more!

Posted by Urs Hölzle, Senior Vice President, Technical Infrastructure

Making Google Maps more comprehensive with biggest Street View update ever

Lat Long Blog — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 07:01:00 +0000

Today we’re making our Street View coverage more comprehensive than ever before by launching our biggest ever update--doubling our number of special collections and updating over 250,000 miles of roads around the world. We’re increasing Street View coverage in Macau, Singapore, Sweden, the U.S., Thailand, Taiwan, Italy, Great Britain, Denmark, Norway and Canada. And we’re launching special collections in South Africa, Japan, Spain, France, Brazil and Mexico, among others.

Hey World, are you ready for your close up?
You can explore our many new places directly in Google Maps, including parks, city centers, castles and tourist attractions like Catherine Palace and Ferapontov monastery in Russia, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taiwan, or Stanley Park in Vancouver. You can even walk through the urban jungle of Singapore's Fort Canning Park, without ever leaving home.

Taroko Gorge, Taroko National Park, Taiwan

To see, or not to see?
Street View, as you know, is a useful resource when you’re planning a route or looking for a destination, but it can also magically transport you to some of the world’s picturesque and culturally significant landmarks.

On the walls of Elsinore Castle, nestled on the northeastern coast Helsingør in Denmark, Bernardo and Francisco uttered the opening words to William Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy. The castle known locally as Kronborg and immortalised by Hamlet, provided the setting for the Prince of Denmark to play out his personal battle with madness, grief and searing rage. Today we’re also launching images from inside Kronborg and its surroundings, so you can discover for yourself the inspiration behind Shakespeare’s masterpiece.

The courtyard of Kronborg castle, Denmark

We hope you enjoy taking a virtual stroll around some of the world’s beautiful places, and stay tuned for more Street View updates as we look to make our maps more comprehensive and useful for you. To learn more, visit: maps.google.com/streetview

Posted by Ulf Spitzer, Street View Program Manager

Street View comes to Google Maps on your Mobile Browser

Lat Long Blog — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 13:00:00 +0000

To make Google Maps even more comprehensive, accurate and useful, today we’re making Street View available on mobile browsers. With access to Street View on your phone, you can use panoramic, street-level imagery to explore and navigate the places around you, even on the go.

Times Square, New York

District Wine Bar, San Francisco

Starting today, use Street View on your mobile browser to check out a new shop across town or get a feel for the ambiance at a restaurant before you arrive. To use Street View on your mobile browser simply go to maps.google.com and search for a location. Then click the “pegman” icon at the bottom right of your screen to access Street View. And to view still more helpful imagery, such as a photos shared by users or interior panoramas, visit the business’ Google+ Local page.

Access Street View by clicking on the “pegman” icon

Also, transit, driving, biking and walking directions continue to be available on your mobile browser to help you help guide you to your destination.

For quick access to Google Maps on iOS devices, you can save a bookmark to your home screen. Simply click “Save to Home Screen” on the bottom of the page when you’re in Google Maps, or follow the instructions here.

Posted by Amanda Leicht, Product Manager Google Maps

Building great websites and apps with the Google Maps API

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000

We’re constantly working to build the most comprehensive, accurate and usable maps in the world for our users--no matter where or how they access Google Maps. While millions of people come directly to maps.google.com to search for a nearby business or get directions, many people around the globe experience Google Maps on their favorite website or application thanks to the Google Maps API (and some very talented developers). In fact, today 800,000 active websites and apps are using the Google Maps API to create interesting and useful experiences for you.

MoreThanAMap.com
To demonstrate the capabilities and features of the Google Maps API, today we’re launching a new website called morethanamap.com. This site showcases the unique features of the Google Maps API and how developers are using it.

Visit morethanamap.com to learn more!

Through morethanamap.com you’ll learn how developers can embed popular Google Maps features like Street View, public transit directions, location data, and advanced data visualization capabilities into their website or app. The interactive demos on morethanamap.com show how these features are ready to be added to any website or app.

Developers can use the Google Maps API to embed Street View imagery into their sites and apps

Even if you’re not a developer, the animated London Heathrow flight map or global population heat map are a fun way to visualize data and explore the power of Google Maps.

Google Maps Developers Stories from Around the World
Morethanamap.com also features stories from our community of developers who are using the Google Maps API to start businesses, help improve their communities or save the environment. Starting next week we’ll showcase these stories weekly on the Geo Developers Blog. And follow us on Google+ to learn more.

With just a backpack and a camera Google Maps team member Carlos Cuesta went on a global tour to video blog six distinct developers who are creating thriving applications with the Google Maps API.

Start exploring what’s possible with the Google Maps API today at: morethanamap.com.

Posted by Ken Hoetmer, Google Maps API Product Manager

Google Maps Roundup for September: Making Google Maps even better for you

Lat Long Blog — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 17:46:00 +0000

As always, we’re focused on making Google Maps the best it can be for people around the world. In September, we added many new features to Google Maps, introduced new Street View imagery, and made existing imagery even more accurate so people have access to the most comprehensive maps possible. A few highlights from September are below:

Expansion of Google Maps features in more places

To help motorists save time and reduce stress on the road, we expanded Google Maps Navigation (Beta) with voice guided, turn-by-turn directions to thousands of towns across India and nine countries in the Middle East and North Africa. To help drivers even more, we’ve added live traffic conditions for major roads in India as well as in the cities of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Kuwait City, Kuwait; and Guayaquil, Ecuador.
In New Zealand, local cyclists can now access biking directions directly on Google Maps and use Map Maker to add bike lanes and trails if their favorite route is missing or they discover a new one. Beyond biking trails, Map Maker can also be used to make the New Zealand map more accurate with details such as new road names, building footprints and more.
We’re now working with more than 50 venues in France, including shopping malls, retailers, airports and museums, to have their indoor floor plans appear on Google Maps for Android.

Access to new, amazing places with Street View

We released the very first underwater panoramic images to Google Maps, highlighting six locations in Australia, Hawaii, and the Philippines, such as Heron Island in the Great Barrier Reef and Molokini Crater in Hawaii. This amazing imagery, which captured by our partner, The Catlin Seaview Survey, enables anyone around the world to “swim” around and explore these amazing reefs without ever getting wet.
In our effort to make Google Maps more comprehensive, we launched imagery of two of Japan’s top scientific institutions: the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan).
And in the spirit of back to school, we released new Street View imagery for more than 150 university campuses globally.

More high-quality imagery

We continue to release updated and new imagery on a regular basis. Most recently, we updated aerial imagery in Google Earth and Maps for more than more than 170 countries/regions. In addition, Google Maps now includes 45° imagery for 80 additional locations around the world. This high-quality imagery is one of the many ways we’re continuing to bring you the most accurate maps possible.

Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps and Earth

Google Maps Coordinate Grants announced at Geo for Good User Summit

Lat Long Blog — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 20:41:00 +0000

On the Google Earth Outreach team, we’re very lucky to work with organizations around the world who are practicing “Geo for Good:” using maps to help make the world a better place. We’ve worked with organizations that save elephants in Africa, clear landmines around the world and protect our coastlines. As part of our ongoing support for non-profits that use Google mapping tools to help change the world, we hosted the Geo for Good User Summit this week at our Google headquarters in Mountain View.

85 nonprofit organizations attended this week’s Summit -- old partners and new -- spanning the globe from the Galapagos to the Appalachian Mountains of the United States to the forests of Sumatra, and working on a range of issues such as conservation, humanitarian relief and cultural preservation. They received hands-on training of all the new mapping tools that Google makes available to users around the world, including Google Maps Engine, Google Earth Engine and Google Earth Enterprise Portable Solution.

Brian McClendon, VP Google Maps and Google Earth, addressing the Geo for Good attendees

As part of our event this week, we also announced the latest addition to our Google Earth Outreach Grants program: Google Maps Coordinate. Google Maps Coordinate is a workforce management tool that allows organizations to quickly and easily assign jobs to field workers, improving operational efficiency and communication. We’re looking forward to helping non-profits use Google Maps Coordinate to do things like deploy urban forestry teams, urban car-sharing services, or mobile health workers to conduct surveys in villages. Eligible non-profits in the U.S., U.K. and Canada are welcome to apply for a Google Maps Coordinate grant today.

Posted by Raleigh Seamster, Google Earth Outreach

Imagery Update: Virtually visit more places in high-resolution

Lat Long Blog — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Our quest to create the most comprehensive and accurate map of the world is ongoing, but we’re happy to take a pause and share some impressive progress that our Google Maps and Earth imagery teams have recently made. We’ve refreshed the high resolution aerial and satellite imagery for many places around the world, and released some new 45 degree imagery as well.

New 45° imagery available for 51 cities:

In addition, 45° imagery is now available in Google Maps for 37 U.S. and 14 international locations. Below are some examples of the beautiful new views from Pisa, Italy and Winnipeg, Canada.

Probably one of the most famous landmarks in the world is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Its construction started back in 1173 and extended over a period of almost 350 years. Due to increasing incline during the last Century, a stabilization effort was performed that took almost two decades to complete. Today the tower is said to be safe from collapsing for at least 200 more years.

Leaning Tower of Pisa - Can you detect the angle?

In the language of the native Cree people, the city’s name of Winnipeg means “muddy waters.” The first European settlements in the area were several fur trading posts started around 1738. Today Winnipeg’s economic and educational significance within Canada is undoubted. Below is an image of The Forks which designates the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers.

The Forks in Winnipeg, Canada - View Larger Map

New high resolution aerial and satellite imagery:

The aerial and satellite imagery in Google Maps and Earth has now been updated for 17 cities and 112 countries/regions. Below are a few highlights from our latest release:

The aerial image below shows the pentagon-shaped Citadel of Lille, in Lille, France. It was built in 1668 and designed by the great military engineer of the time, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban.

Citadel of Lille, France - View Larger Map

The next aerial imagery shown below was taken earlier this month of the Texas State Capitol and adjoining grounds in Austin, Texas. The building is recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas - View Larger Map

Below is the full list of places with new or updated imagery. Have fun exploring the new sites!

Cities with new high resolution 45° imagery:
United States: Ames, IA; Anderson, IN; Billings, MT; Bloomington, IL; Carmel Valley, CA; Cedar Rapids, IA; Coeur d'Alene, ID; Corvallis, OR; Danville, IL; Dayton, OH; Detroit, MI; Dubuque, IA; Elizabethtown, KY; Enid, OK; Florence, SC; Grand Forks, ND; Great Falls, MT; Gulfport, MS; Hartford, CT; Kankakee, IL; Kenosha, WI; Lafayette, IN; Lancaster, CA; Lansing, MI; Lewiston, ID; Los Banos, CA; Sun Prairie, WI; Medford, OR; Michigan City, IN; Olympia, WA; Pocatello, ID; Sheboygan, WI; Sioux City, IA; Sioux Falls, SD; South Bend, IN; Terre Haute, IN; Utica, NY.

International: Angers, France; Clermont-Ferrand, France; Coimbra, Portugal; Dijon, France; Grenoble, France; Livorno, Italy; Lyon, France; Newcastle, United Kingdom; Oberhausen, Germany; Palermo, Italy; Pisa, Italy; Toulouse, France; Troyes, France; Winnipeg, Canada.

Areas with new high resolution aerial updates:
Florence OR, Kellogg ID, Casper WY, North Platte NE, Concordia KS, Alva OK, Austin TX, Nevada MO, Chilicothe MO, Toulouse FR, Clermont-Ferrand FR, Angers FR, Nantes FR, Troyes FR, Lille FR, Thun CH, Lucca IT

Areas new high resolution satellite updates:
Canada, United States, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Antarctica, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Zambia, Angola, Malawi, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali, The Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Turkey, Iran, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Finland, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzebekistan, Turkmenistan, China, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand

Posted by Bernd Steinert, Geo Data Specialist

Introducing Imagery of Chile and Croatia on Google Maps

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 09:00:00 +0000

In the spirit of making Google Maps more comprehensive and accessible to people around the world, today we’re introducing Google Street View imagery of Chile and Croatia. We hope that these images are useful to both locals who want to scope out their own neighborhoods as well as tourists who are planning trips to either of these scenic countries.

You can now can explore the streets of three Chilean cities: Concepción, Santiago and Valparaíso. In Santiago, you can discover the Mercado Central in Santiago and see why this tourist spot was named one of the world's ten best in its class.

View larger map

Moving west, scope out the steep streets and beautiful views of the Port of Valparaíso from your computer before heading out with your own camera. Or go a few hundred miles south of Santiago to Concepción, where you can “walk” across the extensive bridge over the Bio Bio River.

View larger map

In Croatia, we’ve mapped many towns and cities; from the bustling city centre of the capital Zagreb, to picturesque coastal towns like Split and Dubrovnik.

Virtual tourists now can explore the old city of Dubrovnik with its impressive Gothic and Renaissance architecture such as the Assumption Cathedral below. Although suffering severe damage during an earthquake in the mid-17th century, many churches, monasteries and palaces are still well preserved and can be seen in Street View.

View Larger Map

Another must-see location is St. Mark’s Square, build around the Church of St. Mark, the parish church in the old part of Zagreb. The square is also the place where Croatia’s presidents are inaugurated.

View Larger Map

Since launching the Street View feature of Google Maps in 2007, we’ve captured imagery from more than 3,000 cities and 40 countries around the world. Chile and Croatia are just two of the newest locations people can explore in the Street View feature of Google Maps. Visit maps.google.com/streetview to learn more.

Posted by Ulf Spitzer, Program Manager, Google Maps

Dive into the Great Barrier Reef with the first underwater imagery in Google Maps

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 02:19:00 +0000

Today we’re adding the very first underwater panoramic images to Google Maps, the next step in our quest to provide people with the most comprehensive, accurate and usable map of the world. With these vibrant and stunning photos you don’t have to be a scuba diver—or even know how to swim—to explore and experience six of the ocean’s most incredible living coral reefs. Now, anyone can become the next virtual Jacques Cousteau and dive with sea turtles, fish and manta rays in Australia, the Philippines and Hawaii.

Get up close and personal with sea turtles at Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef (View Larger Map)

Starting today, you can use Google Maps to find a sea turtle swimming among a school of fish, follow a manta ray and experience the reef at sunset—just as I did on my first dive in the Great Barrier Reef last year. You can also find out much more about this reef via the World Wonders Project, a website that brings modern and ancient world heritage sites online. At Apo Island, a volcanic island and marine reserve in the Philippines, you can see an ancient boulder coral, which may be several hundred years old. And in the middle of the Pacific, in Hawaii, you can join snorkelers in Oahu’s Hanauma Bay and drift over the vast coral reef at Maui's Molokini crater.

We’re partnering with The Catlin Seaview Survey, a major scientific study of the world’s reefs, to make these amazing images available to millions of people through the Street View feature of Google Maps. The Catlin Seaview Survey used a specially designed underwater camera, the SVII, to capture these photos.

The Catlin Seaview Survey team on location on the Great Barrier Reef, encountering a manta ray (View Larger Map)

Whether you’re a marine biologist, an avid scuba diver or a landlocked landlubber, we encourage you to dive in and explore the ocean with Google Maps. Check out our complete underwater collection, featuring a Google+ underwater Hangout from the Great Barrier Reef. And you can always explore more imagery from around the world by visiting maps.google.com/streetview.

Explore more underwater images

Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps and Earth (and snorkeling enthusiast)

Explore the great indoors with Google Maps for Android in France

Lat Long Blog — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:29:00 +0000

(Cross posted on Google France Blog)

Every day, millions of people use Google Maps to get where they need to go, including airports, shopping malls and museums. As of last year, people could continue using Google Maps once inside these popular locations, as we began our effort to provide indoor floor plans and directions via Google Maps for Android.

Today, we’re expanding the coverage of this indoor maps feature to include popular French venues, making the maps of France more comprehensive, accurate and usable for both locals and travelers alike. Now, even if you’re visiting one of these large, well-trafficked places for the first time, you can navigate your way around like a pro. And with the accurate My Location feature that works indoors, you can easily figure out if you’re close to the shop you’re looking for, the escalator that will get you to the right gate, or even the nearest ATM or restroom.

We’ve worked with more than 50 French venues, including shopping malls, retailers, airports and museums, to have their indoor floor plans appear on Google Maps for Android. We even partnered with super markets such as Carrefour so that you can look for items like the “dairy” aisle and figure out the fastest way to the milk products to save time when shopping.

Whether you use indoor maps to view the different departments of iconic French retailers like Galeries Lafayette Montparnasse, or simply to find your way to a fresh loaf of bread at the local Carrefour supermarket, Google Maps for Android can help you explore the great indoors. For a list of locations for which indoor maps are available, check out our Help Center article here.

Otherwise, start your indoor adventure here!

Posted by Cedric Dupont, Product Manager, Google Maps

Live Road Traffic Launches in 3 New Countries

Lat Long Blog — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Today, Google Maps is expanding its offering of live road traffic in three new cities: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Kuwait City, Kuwait and Guayaquil, Ecuador. Now, the maps of these locations are much more useful, as drivers can quickly determine the clearest route to their destinations and reduce the amount of time spent in the car. In addition to being able to see current traffic conditions, estimated travel times are also available to ease anxiety and help you plan your trips accordingly.

See road traffic in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Guayaquil, Ecuador

We’ve also improved the live traffic information to include more roads and highways in 15 regions where this popular feature of Google Maps is already available: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Sweden, the U.K., and the U.S.

We hope this more comprehensive coverage provides a more accurate picture of the traffic conditions in these areas, and helps people to not only avoid getting stuck in traffic jams, but also more easily get where they want to go.

A quick glance at our live traffic coverage around the globe

For new users, simply check traffic conditions by visiting maps.google.com and clicking on the traffic layer in the widget on the upper right-hand side of the map. This useful traffic information is also available on Google Maps for Mobile devices and Google Maps Navigation.

Get traffic information on Google Maps for Android (Shown: Kuwait City, Kuwait)

And if the roads you’re traveling do not yet show traffic conditions, you can help! Simply opt in to using Google Navigation or Google Maps for Mobile while traveling to help your fellow drivers get improved traffic information.

Posted by Stephan Seyboth, Product Manager

All your Google Maps searches in one place

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 21:55:00 +0000

When you’re on the go, it can be difficult to recall all of the places you’ve searched on your desktop browser at home. To make Google Maps more useful and comprehensive, we added a few improvements to better sync your maps experience across all of your devices. Today, with the latest release of Google Maps for Android, we’re making it faster and easier for you to get the information you’ve searched for on your browser, right on your Android phone.

Just make sure you’re signed in to Google Maps and your web history is enabled to get a number of new benefits including search and directions history. When you start to type a place or directions into the search box on your Android device, you’ll see suggestions for directions and locations that you’ve previously searched for – making it easier to quickly find directions on the go.

Desktop and Mobile search synchronisation.

You can also see your mapping search history, as well as your directions history, on your Android phone by going to the “Search” or “Directions” tab under My Places. This way, places and businesses you have already searched for will show up in your suggestions to save you time when you’re out and about.

Access your search history under My Places.

Also, as in previous versions of Google Maps for Android, when you chose to set locations such as “home” and “work", you can quickly access directions to these places by simply typing “home” or “work” in the search field on your mobile device.

Searching for work automatically suggests your work address.

We’re always working to make your Google Maps experience more comprehensive, accurate and useful across all devices. To learn more about these features you can visit our site.

Posted by Keiji Maekawa, Software Engineer, Google Maps

An easier way to find panoramic interior imagery in Google Maps

Lat Long Blog — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 18:47:00 +0000

Together with thousands of participating businesses owners around the world, we’ve been working hard to improve the comprehensiveness of interior, panoramic imagery available on Google and Google Maps.

Now, if you’re searching or browsing Google Maps and want to check out what a business looks like on the inside, we’ve improved your ability to find and view these 360-degree panoramics. Simply drag and drop the orange Pegman on the left hand side of your screen onto an orange circle on the map. Voila! You’ll be virtually transported through the doors, and able to pan around and explore the interior of the establishment.

Drop Pegman on the orange dots to get 360 degree interior views of participating businesses

From restaurants to retail shops to beauty salons and more, these interior Business Photos on Google Maps give you the feeling of being there, and the comfort of knowing what to expect when you arrive. Whatever the occasion, they can help you find a place with the right ambiance for a dinner date in Orlando, Florida, a resort in Canary Islands, Spain, or even preview an antique store in Austin, Texas.

To give you an even better idea of where and how you can find these helpful interior Business Photos, watch this video. Then let Google Maps help you explore the interiors of the participating places in your area.

Posted by Shailesh Nalawadi, Product Manager

Google Maps shows how we spent summer 2012

Lat Long Blog — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:34:00 +0000

In the blink of an eye, summer is coming to an end. It feels like it was just yesterday that I was planning out all my summer activities as I eagerly awaited the start of long, sunny days and warm nights.

Before we approach the official end of summer on September 21, our Google Maps team thought it’d be fun to see how those of us in the Northern Hemisphere have spent the dog days. To do this, we reviewed the summer search activity on maps.google.com in several countries between the end of May and the beginning of September. Within each country, a look at some of the top-rising searches and the often-searched landmarks on Google Maps gives us a sense of how people around the world spent their summers.

We’re honored that people rely on the comprehensive and accurate imagery in Google Maps to research, plan, preview and digitally experience distant as well as local destinations across the globe. Take a look and click through for a larger image:

North Americans sought out the best local beaches to help cool off from the summer heat. In comparison, many more people from Spain, Italy and France searched for community swimming pools. In cooler areas of the U.K. the rising Google Maps searches included many indoor activities such as squash, bars and going to the gym. And, as expected, travel was a clear choice for the summer, as indicated by a surge in searches for lodging in almost every region.

Many popular destination searches were located outdoors. National parks and Hawaiian islands were the most popular searches in the U.S., while local parks, zoos, gardens and playgrounds topped Canada’s and Europe’s list. Major landmarks such as the Empire State Building in New York City, Niagara Falls in Canada, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the Taj Mahal in India also topped the list of often-searched places in Google Maps. And of course, with the Summer Games drawing in international audiences, Wembley Stadium and the Olympic Stadium were two of the most searched for locations throughout the UK this summer.

Check out the destinations that captured people’s attention this summer and see how your interests compared to others around the world. We hope you enjoy this look back to remember the fun places we all went with Google Maps this summer, and we can’t wait to help you find your next adventure!

Posted by Manik Gupta, Sr. Product Manager, Google Maps

Elephants in Peril

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:39:00 +0000

Editor’s note: Today’s guest authors are Rob Heittman from Solertium, Inc., a technical development company and Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants, based in Kenya. Save the Elephants was the recipient of a Google Earth Outreach Developer Grant, funded through the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at the Tides Foundation. We’re hoping that mapping data patterns over time will shed much-needed light on the recent dramatic increase in poaching of elephants in Africa.

History is currently repeating itself in a quite unpleasant way.

Once again, as we did in the 1970s and 1980s, we are seeing previously tranquil elephants affected by huge surges in the illegal killing of elephants for ivory. We know, from past experience, that this ivory rush is fueled by a sudden increase in demand: new prosperity in Asian markets, where ordinary people can suddenly afford to buy ivory. After a relative respite since the 1989 ivory trade ban, I am sad to report that elephants are once again in peril.

Murembo, a bull elephant, from Tsavo National Park, Kenya

Photo Credit: Johan Marais

Save The Elephants operates a research camp in Samburu, Kenya; a very special place. The elephants there are protected by law, the ceaseless efforts of the Kenya Wildlife Service, local stakeholders, and amazing technology that helps secure their future. Within Samburu -- and other places in Africa -- we provide a tracking system which uses GPS radio collars to monitor the movements of elephants in near real time. Using Google Earth and our new, lightweight mobile apps, our team can be deeply knowledgeable about the Samburu elephants, and share data with the guardians to come to their aid if needed. Alerts tell us when unusual conditions occur. The most serious alert concerns immobility. This too often means another poaching incident, and another elephant's life lost to runaway demand for ivory.

Save the Elephants’ private Android and iOS apps allow for real-time elephant tracking, alerting rangers to elephants movements and poaching incidents.

We believe the ivory poaching we're seeing is a microcosm of what is going on across Africa. This past year, especially, there have been a series of massacres, for example, one in Cameroon in which almost an entire population was wiped out with automatic weapons.

Just 10 years ago, the areas in red, where illegal elephant killing is peaking, were showing healthy or stable elephant populations in green. Explore the changes over time in the timelapse feature. Since 2008, major deterioration set in.

The other necessary part of the solution is to reduce the demand. Here, technology can also be a powerful ally. We are now using new Google technologies to bring the same level of awareness to anyone with a Web browser. With our most recent initiative, the Elephants in Peril site (http://www.elephantsinperil.org), we have turned to Fusion Tables and Google Maps Engine to do two important things. First, we are working to bring together public data sets, often buried in boring official reports, to reveal the complete story of elephant populations over time, map them out, and understand what trends can be seen. Second, we aim to share the real, unvarnished scientific data from whatever sources in a citable, and highly usable form.

As long as elephants continue to be threatened by surging ivory demand, we want Elephants in Peril to become a reliable source, whether a visitor wants to learn about the problem, write, tell about it, or take steps to help solve it. Google's simple data publishing and visualization tools make it possible for us to undertake this effort and reach a larger audience than would otherwise be possible.

elephantsinperil.org map shows main populations left in Africa with green being high density and red being low density.

We are in a race with the poachers; a race we have to win. Google Earth, Google Maps Engine, and Fusion Tables give us the advantage of speed. Already, we have used the system to share results with the media, and save weeks or months in achieving publicity. Later this year, we will publish original research that helps to tie our findings in Samburu to the challenges across the African continent, using the site to engage concerned individuals, NGOs and governments. In future, we look forward to translating the site into Chinese to improve its utility as a resource in Asia.

Google Earth Outreach and the Tides Foundation have made our mobile apps and Elephants in Peril possible. We welcome the assistance of any concerned Google developers or users. Please visit our website; even better, visit us in Africa if you can, and give us your ideas to help us win this race.

Posted by Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Founder of Save the Elephants, and Rob Heittman, CTO of Solertium, Inc.

Explore the Forefront of Japanese Space Science with Google Maps

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 15:00:00 +0000

September 12th is “Space Day” in Japan, and we are celebrating by releasing new, comprehensive Street View imagery for two of Japan’s top scientific institutions: the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan). With panoramic imagery in and around these locations now available via the Street View feature of Google Maps, space enthusiasts around the world have a more complete and accurate sense of what it’d be like to virtually swap places with an astronaut.

The JAXA imagery allows you to walk through the Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC) down on the idyllic beach island of Tanegashima. TNSC is the site from which the Kounotori 3 rocket recently lifted off to send supplies (and the YouTube Space Lab winning experiments) to the International Space Station. You can start your tour of the TNSC facilities with a look inside the Space Science Technology Museum at the Southern tip of the island, and then a peek in the nearby Control Room.

Space Science Technology Museum

Next, check out the launch pad with the huge open areas and launch tower.

Launch Pad

Beyond the TNSC, you can also explore the immersive imagery from the JAXA facilities at Tsukuba Space Center, Sagamihara Campus, Chofu Air and Space Center, Earth Observation Center, Usuda Outer Space Observatory, and the Uchinoura Space Center.

In addition, today’s release also includes 360-degree views of the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, known in Japan as the “Miraikan.” Now, you’re able to virtually walk inside the museum and see the famous “Geo Cosmos” hanging Earth model, as well as the other permanent exhibits like the model of the International Space Station.

Geo Cosmos

We thank JAXA and the Miraikan for working with us to collect and share the new Street View imagery for these breathtaking and important sites of space innovation and technology. We hope the imagery on Google Maps brings the science of outer space much closer to people around the world.

Posted by Setsuto Murai, Strategic Partner Development Manager

Imagery Update: Explore more of the world in high-resolution

Lat Long Blog — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Improving the availability of more high quality imagery is one of the many ways we’re continuing to bring you the most comprehensive and accurate maps of the world. In this month’s update, you’ll find another extensive refresh to our high resolution aerial and satellite imagery (viewable in both Google Maps and Google Earth), as well as new 45 degree imagery in Google Maps spanning 30 new cities.

New high resolution aerial and satellite imagery:

Google Maps and Earth now feature updated aerial imagery for more than 20 locations, and updated satellite imagery for more than 60 regions. Here are a few interesting locations included in our latest release.

Below is imagery of Mecca, Saudi Arabia where each year more than 15 million Muslims visit this important religious site. Here you can see Abraj Al Bait, one of the world largest clock towers, visible even from space!

Abraj Al Bait is the world’s largest clock face

On the opposite side of the globe, baseball season in the United States is in full swing and fans can’t get enough. Below is an aerial image of Coca-Cola Park in Pennsylvania, home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, a minor league affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania

New 45° imagery available for 30 cities:

In addition, this month’s Google Maps update includes 45° imagery coverage for 23 U.S. cities and 7 international locations. Below are some highlights from Bordeaux, France and Cincinnati, Ohio.

Bordeaux is a major city in southwestern France, located roughly 45 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean. It is especially famous for its wine and cuisine, and the image below shows the Gothic style Saint-André Cathedral.

Bordeaux, France - View Larger Map

Cincinnati, Ohio, was the first major inland city in the United States known for its large collection of historic architecture . Below is the Over-The-Rhine neighborhood, which exemplifies the historic Italianate Architecture that can be found throughout Cincinnati.

Cincinnati, Ohio - View Larger Map

Below is the full list of cities boasting new or updated imagery.

Cities with new high resolution 45° imagery:
United States: Bend, OR; Bloomington, IN; Buffalo, NY; Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, IN; Columbus, OH; Conway, SC; Evansville, IN; Fort Wayne, IN; Gastonia, NC; Hamilton, OH; Indianapolis, IN; Jackson, TN; Joliet, IL; Kokomo, IN; Lincoln, NE; Louisville, KY; Mankato, MN; Muncie, IN; Owensboro, KY; Palm Valley, FL; Rochester, MN; Wilmington, NC.
International: Béziers, France; Bordeaux, France; Lille, France; Marseille, France; St. Etienne, France; Platja d'Aro, Spain; Blanes, Spain.

Areas with new high resolution aerial imagery:
United States: Centralia WA, Tillamook OR, Salem OR, Dos Rios CA, Mount Shasta area CA, Lassen area CA, Joshua Tree area CA, Ely NV, Elko NV, Las Vegas NV, Lander WY, Onawa IA, Ames IA, Perry IA, Bolivar MO, Mountain Grove MO, Rolla MO, Coldwater KS, Spearman TX, Hereford TX, San Antonio TX, Tyler TX, Lafayette LA, Huntsville AL, Waycross GA, Palatka FL, Fort Pierce FL, Allentown PA
Portugal: Torre de Coelheiros
Spain: Baiona, Ourense, Torrelavega, San Sebastian, Pamplona, Nulles, Guadassuar, San Miguel de Salinas, Castellar de la Frontera, Los Palacios y Villafranca, Bailen
France: Bordeaux, Montpellier, Lyon, Dijon, Grenoble
Italy: Livorno, Rome, Catania
Switzerland: Montreux, Neuchatel, Zurich
England: Olympic Park
Germany: Munich, Heidelberg, Flieden, Alsfeld,
Austria: Salzburg

Areas new high resolution satellite updates:
USA, Greenland, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Antarctica, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, Khazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand

If you’d like to receive an email notification when imagery for the areas you care about are updated, check out the Follow Your World tool. Enjoy the new sites!

Update (9/7): Satellite and aerial image mentioned is currently available in Google Earth only and will be coming to Google Maps shortly.

Posted by Eric Kolb, Geo Data Strategist

Making exploration easier for people around the world with Google Maps

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Maps keep our spirit of adventure alive by making it easier for us to explore the world around us. That’s why today, we’re making Google Maps even better with new turn-by-turn navigation with traffic conditions, biking directions, Map Maker and new Street View imagery in more locations globally. These improvements are part of our ongoing effort to build the best map we can -- one that’s comprehensive, accurate and easy for you to use.

First, we’re expanding Google Maps Navigation (Beta) with voice guided, turn-by-turn directions in thousands of towns across India. Navigation is one of the most frequently requested features in this region and can be especially helpful when driving in densely populated cities like Delhi or Bangalore. We’re also adding live traffic conditions for major roads with estimated travel times to help you save time and to reduce stress on the road.

Turn-by-turn voice navigation in New Delhi, India
Biking directions and Map Maker are also now rolling out to New Zealanders. Local cyclists can access biking directions directly on Google Maps, and use Map Maker to add bike lanes and trails if their favorite route is missing or they discover a new one. Beyond biking trails, Map Maker can also be used to make the New Zealand map more accurate with details such as new road names, building footprints and more.

Biking directions from Remuera in Auckland to the local Google office
Later today, we’ll also release new Street View imagery for more than 150 university campuses globally. With classes just getting started, freshman students, transfers and even empty-nesting parents can now familiarize themselves with college campuses around the world, including UCLA in the U.S., Pembroke College in the U.K., McGill University in Canada and Sophia University in Japan. These new panoramic views join our growing list of universities whose campuses are already available in Google Maps.

View Larger MapRoyce Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles
Finally, to celebrate all the places you can reach with Google Maps—all seven continents, the sky, the moon and even the depths of the ocean—we made a video that we hope will inspire you to keep exploring.

Keep exploring at maps.google.com/helloworld. Here’s to many new adventures.

Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps and Earth

Google Maps Roundup: From Canada to Latin America to Europe, August was a busy month!

Lat Long Blog — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 17:00:00 +0000

We’re always working to make Google Maps even more comprehensive, accurate and useful. This month, we’ve crisscrossed the globe gathering more imagery, expanding features and growing our Map Maker community. In case you missed it, here are a few Google Maps highlights from August:

Explore amazing places with new Street View imagery
We recently released Street View imagery for more places around the world, making Google Maps even more comprehensive, including:

6,000 panoramic views in and around NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, enabling space enthusiasts around the world to walk in the footsteps of astronauts.
More than 70 cities in Brazil and 30 Mesoamerican archaeological sites in Mexico.
Stay tuned for imagery from Cambridge Bay, a tiny hamlet in Canada’s Arctic, where the Street View team is collecting imagery with the trike.

Get around more easily with the help of Google Maps
With enhanced directions, transit information and traffic data, Google Maps can help you get where you want to go more quickly.

We added turn-by-turn, voice-guided biking navigation to Google Maps Navigation (Beta) in 12 countries--more than 330,000 miles of biking directions are now available.

For those of you taking public transportation, Google Maps now has public transportation schedules for more than one million transit stops worldwide in nearly 500 cities, including New York, London, Tokyo and Sydney.
To make it easier for you to travel by car, we launched real-time traffic conditions for more than 130 cities in the U.S., plus the capital cities of Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama.

Contribute your local knowledge to Google Maps
Volunteer mappers can improve the accuracy and detail of the maps of their countries.
Our community mapping tool, Google Map Maker, became available in Ukraine and Poland, joining more than 200 other countries and regions where Map Maker is already available.

Posted by Brian McClendon, VP Google Maps and Earth

Half a gigameter of biking navigation in 12 countries in Google Maps for Android

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 19:05:00 +0000

(Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog)

Whether you’re a seasoned century rider or a casual beach cruiser, finding the best biking routes can be a challenge. That’s why today we’re bringing mobile biking directions and navigation to the 10 countries where we launched desktop biking directions last month (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK). Plus, we’re adding turn-by-turn, voice-guided biking navigation to Google Maps Navigation (beta) in every country with biking directions. Mount your device on your handlebars to see the turn-by-turn directions and navigation, or use speaker-mode to hear voice-guided directions.

Turn-by-turn biking navigation in Copenhagen

We know there are lots of ways to get from here to there, which is why in 2010 we added biking directions to Google Maps in the U.S. and Canada, and continue to work to bring more biking features to more places. Today, there are more than 330,000 miles (equal to more than 530,000 kilometers, or half a gigameter) of green biking lines in Google Maps. Dark green lines on the map show dedicated bike trails and paths with no motor vehicles, light green lines show streets with bike lanes and dashed green lines show other streets recommended for cycling. Biking navigation even helps you avoid steep hills.

Bike layer showing recommended streets for cycling in Stockholm

Where Map Maker and biking directions are both available, riders can add bike trails, lanes and suggested routes to Google Maps, helping to create a more comprehensive map for everyone living in or visiting their community. Thanks to the contributions of members of the biking community like Todd Scott and our partnership with nonprofits like Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, we’ve added bike data for hundreds of cities and trails to Google Maps in the past two-and-a-half years.

When you’re pedaling from Point A to Point B, we hope biking navigation will make Google Maps for Android more useful to you.

Posted by Larry Powelson, Software Engineer, Google Maps

Map Maker updates for Lesotho, Oman and Trinidad & Tobago

Lat Long Blog — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Since 2008, Google Map Maker has enabled anyone with an interest in cartography to update the maps of the areas they know, and improve their level of detail and accuracy. Whether adding new businesses, outlining building footprints, fixing road geometries or even tracing a favorite cycling route, citizen cartographers have joined together to create the most comprehensive maps of the world as seen on Google Maps and Google Earth.

Just last week, top mappers across Africa attended the Map Maker Africa Regional Conference in Lagos, Nigeria where we proudly announced the release of Map Maker in Lesotho. This marks an important milestone, as the Map Maker tool now enables volunteer mappers to update and edit the entire continent of Africa. At the event, attendees shared learnings from past MapUps and ideas for future ones, told inspiring user stories, discussed product features with engineers, and closed out the conference with a sing-along led by users who wrote an original song about mapping!

A group photo of attendees at the Map Maker Africa Regional Conference in Lagos, Nigeria.
People’s enthusiasm for making maps more comprehensive and adding their local knowledge also continues to gain momentum in other parts of the world. Starting today, map data for Oman and Trinidad and Tobago, which has been added by people through Map Maker, will now appear as the base maps for these countries in Google Maps.

Below is a time-lapse video demonstrating how the map of Trinidad has evolved and changed over time—the result of many contributions people have made via Map Maker. Other time-lapse videos from around the world can be found here.

A big thank you to the passionate communities of volunteer mappers who made both the regional conference and Map Maker graduation possible. More mapping activity across the globe can be seen right as it happens via Map Maker Pulse. And remember, the maps of more than 200 countries and regions are now open for updates and edits, and awaiting your local expertise.

Posted by Evans Arabu, Map Maker community team

Google Maps heads north…way north

Lat Long Blog — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Search for [cambridge bay] on Google Maps and you’ll fly to a tiny hamlet located deep in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut in Canada’s Arctic, surrounded by an intricate lacework of tundra, waterways and breaking ice. High above the Arctic circle, it’s a place reachable only by plane or boat. Zoom in on the map, and this isolated village of 1,500 people appears as only a handful of streets, with names like Omingmak (“musk ox”) Street and Tigiganiak (“fox”) Road.

View Larger Map
Cambridge Bay in Google Maps
There are 4,000 years’ worth of stories waiting to be told on this map. Today, we’re setting out on an ambitious mission to tell some of those stories and to build the most comprehensive map of the region to date. It is the furthest north the Google Maps Street View team has traveled in Canada, and our first visit to Nunavut. Using the tools of 21st century cartography, we’re empowering a community and putting Cambridge Bay on the proverbial map of tomorrow.

The hamlet of Cambridge Bay
We’re not doing it alone, but with the help of the community and residents like Chris Kalluk. We first met Chris, who works for the nonprofit Nunavut Tunngavik, last September at our Google Earth Outreach workshop in Vancouver, where he learned how to edit Google Maps data using Google Map Maker. Today Chris played host to a community Map Up event in Cambridge Bay, where village elders, local mapping experts and teenagers from the nearby high school gathered around a dozen Chromebooks and used Map Maker to add new roads, rivers and lakes to the Google Map of Cambridge Bay and Canada's North. But they didn’t stop there. Using both English and Inuktitut, one of Nunavut’s official languages, they added the hospital, daycare, a nine-hole golf course, a territorial park and, finally, the remnants of an ancient Dorset stone longhouse which pre-dates Inuit culture.

Catherine Moats, a member of the Google Map Maker Team, working with Chris Kalluk and others at the Community Map Up.
Now we’re pedaling the Street View trike around the gravel roads of the hamlet and using a tripod—the same used to capture business interiors—to collect imagery of these amazing places. We’ll train Chris and others in the community to use some of this equipment so they can travel to other communities in Nunavut and continue to build the most comprehensive and accurate map of Canada’s Arctic. As Chris put it to us, “This is a place with a vast amount of local knowledge and a rich history. By putting these tools in the hands of our people, we will tell Nunavut’s story to the world.”

The Street View Trike collecting imagery of Cambridge Bay.
So stay tuned, world. We look forward to sharing with you the spectacular beauty and rich culture of Canada’s Arctic—one of the most isolated places on the planet that will soon be, thanks to the people of Cambridge Bay, just a click away.

Posted by Karin Tuxen-Bettman, Google Earth Outreach team

Mapping the Motor City with Google Map Maker

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Hailed as the birthplace of the automotive revolution, the city of Detroit, Mich. is taking its transportation legacy down new paths. As Detroit embraces a greener, non-motorized outlook, cycling is steadily increasing in popularity. The Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance is facilitating this transition by creating an interconnected statewide system of trails and greenways, including the development of bike paths throughout the Detroit area.

As these new bike paths change the city’s landscape, Motor City residents need a more comprehensive map showing bike friendly routes. Todd Scott, the Detroit Greenways Coordinator, discovered that he could use Google Map Maker -- a free tool that allows anyone to make contributions to Google Maps -- to add new information on biking paths and trails in and around Detroit. Adding new bike paths not only makes the map more accurate, it also improves biking directions, making it even easier for people to find the quickest routes through town. Anyone can also enhance existing trails by including details such as the official name, surface type and bicycle suitability. Keeping Google Maps updated with the latest information means everyone in the community is able to find and enjoy these new additions to the trail system.

Learn more about Todd Scott and his mission to improve the map for cyclists in Detroit.
Building a more comprehensive, accurate and usable map for local cyclists is just one part of Todd’s mission. From the smallest town to a rapidly evolving city like Detroit, maps reflect the heart of a community. Whether you’re improving directions, adding local businesses or mapping an entire area from scratch, your local expertise will help make life easier for not only you, but all Google Maps users. As Todd says, “It goes beyond map making. It’s a way to take back your neighborhood.”

How are you mapping your world? Join the Map Maker Community and tell us your story.

Posted by Lori Savageau, Map Maker Community Manager

AXS Map makes it easy to find accessible businesses in your community

Lat Long Blog — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest author is Jason DaSilva from AXS Lab, a non-profit organization focused on accessibility issues in Brooklyn, New York. When I Walk was the recipient of a Google Earth Outreach Developer Grant, funded through the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at the Tides Foundation. We’re excited to showcase how When I Walk has used the Google Places API to make finding accessible businesses easier for anyone in a wheelchair.

When I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis seven years ago, I didn't realize how much it would affect my freedom and decisions in regards to where I could or could not go. Not being able to walk created barriers. For example, on the street lined with stores and businesses, I'd only be able to get into one out of 10 of these places. Only the places that had wheelchair accessible entrances were available to me.

So I came up with an idea. Why not document and track all be accessible places around us? If there was an online database of accessibility hotspots in any given city, the disabled community and their supporters can share all the places that are accessible with each other. Google Maps provided the easy-to-use map platform for people to search and find these places. So voilà, with help from funders and our developer Kevin Bluer, AXS Map (pronounced “access map”) was born.

Watch a short video about AXSmap.
With AXS Map, you can document how easy it is to enter a restaurant with a wheelchair or cane or whether the restroom is wheelchair-accessible. With all of this information available on the web, the disabled community is able to easily find places to eat, sleep or get a haircut. With our recently launched mobile app for Android, built using the Google Places API, AXS Map users can now find and review businesses while they’re on the go. Download the app now and share a review on the accessibility of a business or public place. The more you review, the better AXS Map gets!

Learn how to use the AXS Map app to review places.
I hope that AXS Map makes it easier for you or someone close to you to find accessible businesses in your own community.

Posted by Jason DaSilva, Founder, AXS Lab

Tour Brazil and prehispanic Mexican cities with more Street View imagery in Google Maps

Lat Long Blog — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Our ongoing effort to build great maps—ones that are accurate, easy to navigate and cover every corner of the world—continues to progress. Over the last few months, Google Maps has taken people everywhere from the Amazon to Antarctica, and we’re continuing to add imagery of even more places around globe. Beginning this week, you can dive even deeper into Latin America with new Street View imagery of Brazil and Mexico.

Street View first became available for Brazil in 2010, and as of this week, we’ve grown our collection of panoramic imagery to more than 70 cities throughout the country. You’ll now find colonial cities like Fortaleza, architecturally compelling cities like Brasilia and coastal landmarks like Recife, Natal and Salvador. You can even virtually travel to the west side of Brazil and visit Foz de Iguaçu, or if you’re planning an upcoming trip, preview the the area around your hotel as well as nearby shopping malls, historic monuments, restaurants and more. With so many upcoming events, like the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, we’re excited to share the riches of Brazil’s cities not only with tourists from around the world, but also with locals who might want to visit a city, neighborhood or landmark they’ve not yet experienced.

Street View imagery of Brazil available before mid-August 2012

Street View imagery of Brazil available beginning mid-August 2012

We’ve also introduced Street View imagery of 30 Mesoamerican archaeological sites in Mexico. Start your adventure by exploring Kukulkan’s Temple, a 1,100-year-old pyramid whose peak is reached by climbing 365 steps, one for each day of the year. When visitors clap their hands, the architectural acoustics at the base of the pyramid’s steps are designed to mimic the sound of the Quetzal, a bird that the Mayans regard as representative of their gods.

View Larger Map
Chichén Itzá, Mexico

Find hundreds of magical stories like this one by visiting the colossal pyramids of Teotihuacan, emblematic sites for the Mayans such as Chichen Itza or seaside archaeological jewels like Tulum. These and other famous sites from around the world can be seen in our Street View Gallery.

We’re always improving the comprehensiveness of our maps so you can experience more imagery from around the world. Whether you’re planning a visit to one of these areas or touring these locations from the comfort of your armchair, we hope you enjoy these captivating new images of Latin America.

Posted by Ricardo Blanco, Communications Manager for Google in Latin America

Google Maps now has schedules for more than one million public transit stops worldwide

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 18:28:00 +0000

(Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog)

Since 2005, we’ve collaborated with hundreds of transit authorities around the world to make a comprehensive resource for millions of riders to find out which bus, train, subway or tram can take them to their next destination. Today, Google Maps has public transportation schedules for more than one million transit stops worldwide, in nearly 500 cities including New York, London, Tokyo and Sydney.

Public transportation information is especially useful when it’s in the palm of your hand. Today we’re releasing an update to the Google Maps for Android app (version 6.10) which makes this transit information even more useful. We’ve made some changes to the Transit Lines layer, so that you can select a specific mode of public transportation (train, bus, tram or subway) to display on the mobile map, hiding the other modes. This is helpful in areas where there is a tight concentration of several types of public transit.

Left: Mobile map with all modes of public transit shown; Right: Transit Lines layer in Subway mode

We’ve also updated the layout of station pages to be more useful. Open it by tapping on the name of the station on your mobile map.

Updated station pages show you departure times, lines serving the station and the distance to nearby stations.

In addition to these new transit features, we’ve updated region highlighting, My Places and Location History displays in Google Maps for Android:

Now, whenever you search for a city or postal code, the borders of that region are highlighted.

Under My Places you’ll notice we’ve added new tabs, which will help you access all your information from a single place; from your saved maps for use offline to your starred places and Custom Maps created on your desktop.
If you enable Location History, you’ll be able to browse the places you’ve been on a daily basis with an updated Location History dashboard.

Whether you’re looking for schedule and fare information, directions by public transit or nearby stations, Google Maps puts comprehensive, accurate and useful transit information at your fingertips. Update to the latest version of Google Maps for Android in the Google Play store

Posted by Christopher Van Der Westhuizen, Software Engineer, Google Maps

See Rebuilding in New Orleans Through Updated Street View Imagery

Lat Long Blog — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 13:00:00 +0000

New Orleans is a uniquely American city. It’s a place with indigenous culture, heart, and soul with our own music, cuisine, and architecture. You can really see and feel its originality and personality walking around our historic streets. In 2008, as Louisiana’s Lieutenant Governor, I had the pleasure of writing about Street View imagery becoming available for our state. Now, as mayor of New Orleans, I'm excited to announce an update of Street View imagery for our region that helps show the rest of the world that New Orleans, and all of Louisiana, are not just rebuilding what was, but we’re also preparing for our future by building back stronger and better than before.

Nearly 7 years after Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures in 2005, the resilient people of New Orleans are making remarkable progress. The Street View imagery in Google Maps, which has just been updated today, more accurately reflects the major construction and renewal that’s underway. It’s everywhere you look, from the nearly 2-mile long, 26-foot-high Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) Hurricane Protection Barrier to the major construction near downtown that will be the future site of two hospitals and a biomedical research corridor.

As reflected in the Street View imagery, you can also see the major investment being made to revitalize playgrounds, community centers, roads, and parks, like historic Congo Square in Armstrong Park -- the "birthplace of jazz".

View Larger Map
Louis Armstrong Park

Beyond the refreshed, more accurate Street View imagery you can see in Google Maps, you can also sense the incredible spirit of the people who have made our recovery possible. New Orleans is now a hub of entrepreneurship and innovation, and it was found to be the fastest-growing city in America by the U.S. Census. We are hard at work physically rebuilding schools, improving what happens inside the classroom to close the achievement gap for inner city youth, and making progress on education reform. New Orleans was named #1 in America’s Biggest Brain Magnets by Forbes, and Tulane University (which is a special collection in today’s release of Street View imagery) is ranked amongst the top schools in the U.S.

View Larger Map
Tulane University

Other important locations in New Orleans now visible directly in Google Maps include Woldenberg Park, Audubon Park, and Lafayette Square. Google has also updated imagery across the state of Louisiana including the cities of Baton Rouge and Lafayette.

New restaurants continue to open in New Orleans, we’re transforming city government, attracting major new corporations, and hosting international sporting events. Our city welcomed nearly 9 million tourists last year, and many more are on the way as we prepare for the 2013 Super Bowl at our newly-renovated Mercedes-Benz Superdome and dozens of other global events.

View Larger Map
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
We invite you to take a look at the updated Street View imagery of Louisiana to see, appreciate, and celebrate the progress in neighborhoods here in New Orleans and across the entire state. And I welcome you to come experience the sights, sounds, and soul of New Orleans for yourself once you’ve gotten a virtual preview to whet your appetite.

Posted by Mayor Mitch Landrieu, City of New Orleans

Fly through Seattle and Denver with new 3D imagery on Google Earth for mobile

Lat Long Blog — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Less than two months ago, we announced a new way to fly through full metropolitan areas in 3D with Google Earth as a step in our quest to build the most comprehensive and accurate maps. We’ve recently expanded this new imagery to the latest iPads and iPhones, and today we’ve released new 3D imagery of Denver, Colorado and Seattle, Washington to help you better explore and tour both cities via your iOS and Android devices.

Having grown up in Colorado and visited Seattle several times, this is particularly exciting for me. Now I can head on over to Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners, to revisit the diamond where I’ve watched games in the past.

Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington
Another great way to spend a day when visiting Seattle is walking along the shoreline, home of many iconic Seattle landmarks. Three of my favorite spots to visit are the Pike Place, the Seattle Public Library and of course, the Space Needle.

Downtown Seattle, Washington
A bit closer to home, it’s now possible to get a unique perspective on some local landmarks. For example, the amazing Denver Art Museum, with its seemingly impossible angles.

Denver Art Museum in Denver, Colorado
You can also head north to visit the Wells Fargo Center, which has inspired debate about what shape it presents. Is it a mailbox or a cash register? My vote is for mailbox.

Wells Fargo Center (left) in downtown Denver, Colorado
We hope you enjoy these new additions to Google Earth for mobile. Being able to provide you with this comprehensive 3D experience is possible because of advanced image processing and the use of 45-degree aerial imagery. If you don’t have the latest version of the Google Earth app for iOS or Android, be sure to update so you can check out this spectacular new 3D imagery!

Posted by Adam Hecht, Geo Program Manager

Add your knowledge to the Poland and Ukraine maps

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Digital maps reflect our real world. As the places around us evolve and change, so should our maps. With Google Map Maker - a product that enables people to add to and update the map for locations around the world - you can help ensure the accuracy of the places you care about most as seen by millions on Google Maps. Today, Google Map Maker has become available in Ukraine and Poland. They join the 200 countries and regions already available, and bring us two steps closer to building the most comprehensive world map possible.

From the peaks of Ukraine’s Hoverla mountains to Poland’s cheerful Baltic coastline, you can now contribute your local knowledge to help create a more complete and accurate map of Europe. Whether you want to add a place, provide details for a driving route, outline a building footprint, or make corrections based on recent changes, you can make sure your community is up to date on Google Maps.

Begin in your neighborhood by updating the cycling paths through your local park, or adding recreational sites along the way. Try mapping the local soccer stadium or add details to the architectural or historic destinations throughout your city. Once approved, your contributions will appear on Google Maps, Google Earth and Google Maps for mobile within minutes. You can also join with other local mappers to share your regional expertise and review one another’s contributions to the map.

The area around the Olympic Stadium in Wroclaw comes to life in Google Maps.
We welcome both residents and folks who are familiar with Poland and Ukraine to the team of citizen cartographers across the globe who are continuing to build the map of the world. To learn more, subscribe to the Map Maker YouTube Channel or watch others map in real-time for ideas on the types of details and additions you can make to the map. Happy mapping!

Posted by Anand Srinivasan, Tech Lead, Google Map Maker

Floods in the Philippines: Google Person Finder, landing page with emergency information

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 01:45:00 +0000

A devastating Southwest Monsoon hit the Island of Luzon, Philippines, yesterday, triggering major flooding. The Crisis Response team has collected resources on to a new page to help in the aftermath of the floods, with information in both Filipino and English. The site features emergency contact information and links, a new instance of Google Person Finder, a map of shelter locations and flood information, and the latest news, powered by Google News and YouTube.

Person Finder helps people submit or search for information about loved ones who may have been affected. The tool’s been translated into Filipino and can easily be embedded on any site:

We’re also able to share a map showing the locations of shelters and the extent of the flood, with real-time information from Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards):

View in a larger size. This map will continue to be updated with additional information.

We hope that those affected find the tools and information useful. Check back, as we’ll be updating the landing page and maps with more information as it becomes available.

Posted by Aileen Apolo, on behalf of Google APAC and the Google Crisis Response team

Know the traffic to speed up your trips in new cities with Google Maps

Lat Long Blog — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 18:06:00 +0000

We may not be able to eliminate the bottlenecks that plague rush hours worldwide, but since launching our live traffic feature in 2008 we’ve been working to make the traffic information in Google Maps even more comprehensive and accurate to help you speed up your trips. Today, we’re expanding this coverage for the first time to more than 130 smaller cities across the United States as well as the capitals of Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama.

Now the streets of Bogotá, San José, and Panama City and the arterial roads in Kalamazoo (Michigan), Portland (Maine), Tuscaloosa (Alabama) and many more cities will include real-time current traffic conditions as well as estimated travel times. Whether you’re online on your home computer ensuring no unexpected snarls await your drive to the airport or you’ve been stuck behind a line of cars for a few minutes and can ask your friend in the passenger seat to check whether it’ll clear up just around the bend, we hope these updates save you time and stress when getting to your destination.

San Jose, Panama City, Bogota traffic conditions on Google Maps for Android

In addition we’ve improved and expanded our coverage in parts of Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. For an overview of cities with traffic data you can go here.

See traffic conditions in your city and cities around the world

To check traffic conditions on either your Android device or through your web browser, here’s a quick tutorial:

Remember, you can help your fellow drivers and improve traffic data by using Google Navigation or Google Maps for Mobile while traveling. Drive safely!

Posted by Raphaël Marinier, Software Engineer, Google Maps

Celebrate the Kennedy Space Center’s 50th birthday with Street View

Lat Long Blog — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 13:00:00 +0000

(Cross posted on Official Google Blog)

For fifty years, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has been the launch point for a generation of space technology and exploration. Countless enthusiasts (including this one) grew up longing to see a space shuttle up close and walk in the paths of astronauts. Today, a collaboration between NASA and Street View is enabling people around the world to take a trip to the doorway to outer space, and see Kennedy as it transitions into a multipurpose launch complex for the next 50 years of space innovation. This location is our largest special collection of Street View imagery to date, totaling 6,000 panoramic views of the facilities, and expanding our mission to document the world’s most amazing places.

Street View fleet at Kennedy Space Center

Among the images you can now explore online with the click of your mouse are the space shuttle launch pad, Vehicle Assembly Building and Launch Firing Room #4. Gaze down from the top of the enormous launch pad, peer up at the towering ceiling of the Vehicle Assembly Building (taller than the Statue of Liberty) and get up close to one of the space shuttle’s main engines, which is powerful enough to generate 400,000 lbs of thrust. From these vantage points, anyone can live out his or her childhood dream of becoming an astronaut.

Atlantis Orbiter in the Vehicle Assembly Building - View Larger Map

Saturn V rocket on display in the Apollo/Saturn V center - View Larger Map

Even though they recently entered retirement, you can still get an up-close, immersive experience with two of the Space Shuttle Orbiters—the Atlantis and Endeavour —with Street View.

We’d like to thank NASA for making this project possible and giving all of us the chance to digitally walk in the shoes of all of the pioneering astronauts, scientists, engineers and technicians that made our space dreams possible. To explore more of our largest special collection yet, visit our Street View gallery at maps.google.com/nasa.

Posted by Ryan Falor, Product Manager, Google Street View

Calling all Aussie Mappers! Google Map Maker is now available in Australia

Lat Long Blog — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 03:00:00 +0000

G’day mappers — at last it’s time to share the treasures of the Great Southern Land. Today, Google Map Maker opens its maps to Australia, so you can add your local knowledge to Google Maps for all the world to see.

Help share Australia’s natural gems with tourists and locals alike by drawing the hiking trails through the Eucalypt forests of Tasmania or adding all the campsites surrounding Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Then, once you’re ready for some rest and relaxation, why not map the beach resorts of Kangaroo Island, all the best restaurants along the Coral Sea of Queensland, or your favourite billabong for a day of fishing? You can even add your neighbourhood rugby club before heading off to a game.

Once approved your contributions will appear on Google Maps, Google Earth and Google Maps for mobile, accurately reflecting your real-life neighbourhood. You can even join with other local mappers and use your local expertise to review one another’s contributions to the map. To see examples of what people all around the world are adding in Map Maker, you can watch mapping in real-time.

Hyams Beach comes alive with Google Map Maker.
Google Map Maker warmly welcomes the people of Australia to the team of citizen cartographers from 200 countries and regions across the globe as they continue to build the world map. To learn more, subscribe to the Map Maker YouTube Channel, and get started mapping today!

Posted by Nilesh Tathawadekar, Software Engineer

At your service: planned NYC subway changes now in Google Maps

Lat Long Blog — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Since first making New York City public transit directions available in Google Maps, we’ve been working to deliver you with the most accurate and useful information about subway, bus, commuter rail, and ferry service across the greater metro area. Starting today, we’ll also be showing planned service alerts for the city’s subways, which serve more than 1 billion riders each year.

Have you ever arrived at a subway platform only to find that the train you intended to take is skipping stops, rerouted on another line, or isn't running at all due to scheduled maintenance? Now when you click on any of the 468 New York City subway stations labeled on Google Maps, you’ll see whether any planned service changes are expected to affect that station at the time. In addition, the relevant alerts will be included in the step-by-step transit directions pointing you wherever you’re going.

Get transit service alerts on your desktop browser

If you’re looking to find the best route to see a concert after work or checking for any expected delays when already running late, this feature works when you’re online via maps.google.com and Google Maps for Mobile on Android. To adjust your travel around the alerts you see, simply choose another suggested route or change your departure time.

Get transit service alerts on Google Maps for Android

We’re regularly adding new cities and features globally and looking forward to continuing our efforts to make travel by public transportation a better experience in more than 400 regions around the world. For everybody who lives in one of New York City’s five boroughs, commutes in and out every day or is visiting for business or vacation, we hope today’s update improves the ease and efficiency of your trips around the city.

Posted by Csaba Garay, Transit Partner Technology Manager, Google Maps

Take a virtual walk in Downing Street

Lat Long Blog — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Following in the footsteps of The White House, we’re delighted to announce the iconic residence of the UK Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Downing Street, London, can now be seen in Street View. Google Maps users can take a virtual stroll along the street and stand in front of the famous front door to No.10, right at the heart of government.

View Larger Map

As an added bonus, we were lucky enough to capture Larry, the Downing Street cat, relaxing in his favourite spot on the front porch. Since February 2011, Larry has held the official position of Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office.

To learn more about Street View, visit our website.

Posted by Razia Ahamed, Geo Partnerships Manager, Google

Imagery Update: Explore your favorite places in high-resolution

Lat Long Blog — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:00:00 +0000

In our continuing effort to build the most comprehensive and accurate view of the world, the Google Earth and Maps Imagery team just published another extensive catalog of new imagery. This week we have exciting new updates to both our high resolution aerial and satellite imagery and our 45° imagery.

New high resolution aerial and satellite imagery:
This week we published new high resolution aerial and satellite imagery for 25 cities and 72 countries/regions. Our updates are now available in both Google Earth and Maps. We’ve highlighted a couple interesting locations below:

Olympic Park and Village, Stratford, London, United Kingdom
We’ll start in the United Kingdom, where the London 2012 Olympic Games opens this Friday. We’ve released new satellite imagery taken this past May of the Olympic Park and Village. In the image above, you can see the final construction touches being added to the open-air Olympic Stadium (lower right).

Perspective view of Bryce Canyon, Utah
Even if you aren’t a geologist, you’ll enjoy exploring the new imagery for Bryce Canyon, Utah - famous for its text-book example of hoodoos. The image above is a perspective view of aerial imagery taken in June.

New 45° imagery available for 28 cities:
This week our 45° imagery update includes coverage for 21 U.S. cities and 7 international locations. Below are some great examples from Munich, Germany, and Chicago, Illinois:

The Frauenkirche, a symbol of the Bavarian capital city - Munich, Germany
With approximately 1.4 million inhabitants, Munich is the capital of Bavaria and the third largest city in Germany. The image above shows the Frauenkirche, a symbol of the Bavarian capital city.

The Trump International Hotel and Tower - Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is a an industrial metropolitan city with an impressive skyline that really stands out with our new 45° imagery. The image above features the Trump International Hotel and Tower, the second-tallest building in the United States and a prominent Chicago landmark.

Cities with new high resolution 45° imagery:
United States: Anderson, CA; Beech Island - New Ellenton, GA; Cape Girardeau, MO; Carthage, MO; Chicago, IL; Clarksville (outskirts), TN; Columbus - Reynoldsburg, OH; Dayton, OH; Everett, WA; Galena, KS; Idaho Falls, ID; Joplin, MO; Lafayette (outskirts), LA; Lancaster, CA; Louisville, KY; Lowell, MA - Nashua, NH; Pittsburgh, PA; Pueblo (outskirts), CO; Redding, CA; Springfield, IL; Yuba City, CA.
International: Birmingham, UK; Catania, Italy; Denia, Spain; parts of London, United Kingdom; Meyrin - Vernier, Switzerland; Munich, Germany; Neuchatel, Switzerland.

Areas with new high resolution aerial imagery:
United States: Antelope Wells NM; Bryce Canyon UT; Green Bay WI; Huron, SD; Hutchinson, KS; Olympia WA; Park Hills, MO; Peach Springs, AZ; Phoenix, AZ; Placerville, CA; Riverside, CA; Rosenfeld, TX; Waverly, OH.
International: Wiener Neustadt, Austria; Alicante, Spain; Denia, Spain; Gandia, Spain; Las Rozas, Spain; Lugo, Spain; Santander, Spain; Sueca, Spain; Vitoria, Spain; Bern, Switzerland; Geneva, Switzerland; Nyon, Switzerland.

Countries/regions with new high resolution satellite updates:
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Greenland, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Latvia, Lesotho, Libya, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

If you’d like to receive an email notification for the latest Google Earth and Maps Imagery team updates for your favorite areas, we’ve got just the tool: our Follow Your World application. Happy exploring!

Posted by Bernd Steinert, Geo Data Specialist

A more accurate starting point in Google Maps

Lat Long Blog — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 23:46:00 +0000

Maps users have told us that when they embark on a journey, they often want to start from their current location. That’s why today we’re making Google Maps more useful by automatically zooming into your city as the starting point for your search. Now you can dive right in and discover the local businesses, restaurants and attractions near you, without having to manually enter your location. Much easier and faster.

We show the details of your starting point in the left panel. And if for some reason your starting point isn’t correct you can easily add your street address, zip code, city and state, or country by clicking on the Correct it link.

Location information displayed on left with option to correct it.
For those of you who’ve already set a Default Location with Google Maps, we hope you’ll appreciate this smart new feature that we hope will make Google Maps easier to use for your next adventure.

Posted by Andrey Salaev, Software Engineer, Google Maps

3D imagery now available on iPad and iPhone

Lat Long Blog — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 15:52:00 +0000

Today, we’re happy to announce the availability of 3D imagery for Google Earth on the new iPad, iPad 2 and iPhone 4S.

A map must be comprehensive and accurate no matter where you are or what device you use. We also believe maps can be useful in ways you might not have imagined. With today’s release of Google Earth for iOS you can literally fly through breathtaking 3D city landscapes and images and follow virtual tours of places you’ve never been -- all with a simple swipe of your fingertip. It’s a new, and I think magical way to explore the world in which we live.

The growing list of 3D cities include Boulder, Boston, Charlotte, Lawrence (Kan.), Long Beach (Ca.), Los Angeles, Portland (Ore.), San Diego, Santa Cruz, Tampa, Tucson, and the San Francisco Bay Area (including the Peninsula and East Bay) as well as Rome, Italy. We’ll keep building and releasing 3D imagery for new locations as fast as we can and by the end of the year we aim to have coverage for metropolitan areas with a combined population of 300 million people.

Also new in this release is a “tour guide” to show you interesting places to explore. We’ve put together short tours of thousands of famous places and historical sites across the globe so it’s easier than ever to discover amazing places. Just pull up the tab at the bottom of the screen to open the tour guide. Each image highlights a tours or place of interest in the area you are looking. Click on an item and you will be flown there. As you fly in and around the sites, snippets from Wikipedia provide additional information about the location. It’s like having a local expert right beside you! The tour guide is available for all iOS devices running iOS 4.2 and newer.

To start exploring, download the latest version of Google Earth for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch from the Apple App Store today.

Posted by Peter Birch, Google Earth Product Manager