More 3D trees in the western United States

It’s late summer and many U.S. cities have reported record (or almost record) heat. Are you withering in warmth and longing for some shade under a tree? Maybe you can’t easily leave for your favorite park but trees are actually closer than you think! We’re happy to announce that we’ve added 3D trees to Google Earth in three new cities: Los Angeles, Denver and Boulder.Typically, when you imagine trees in Los Angeles, you picture the commanding palm...

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Imagery Update: Week of August 29th

The Google Earth and Google Maps Imagery Team has published their latest batch of aerial and satellite imagery!In this blog post, we’d like to highlight a few interesting features from across the globe that can be explored in this new imagery release. Our first example below is of high-resolution aerial imagery from this past June and shows the U.S. version of that instantaneously recognizable French icon, the Eiffel Tower. This half-scale replica...

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+1 your favorite custom maps

Today, we’ve launched the +1 button for custom maps in Google Maps. By clicking the +1 button you can tell other viewers that a particular map is helpful. It’s also a way to thank the specific map author for creating a useful custom map. For instance, say your friend created an awesome map of Hawaii Hikes and Surfing. Now you can let them know it was handy by clicking the +1 button. You can find the +1 button underneath the map description on...

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New York City Hurricane Irene Maps

Yesterday, we posted about our new Google Crisis Map, with the latest available geographic information on current disasters including Hurricane Irene. This morning, we put together a New York specific Crisis Map for Hurricane Irene, including Evacuation Zones, Shelter, and Storm Tracking. Sources include NYC Datamine, FEMA, American Red Cross and other organizations.We hope this information helps you stay informed and be prepared.Posted by Nigel...

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Mapping Hurricane Irene

With Hurricane Irene headed towards the East Coast of the United States, the Google Crisis Response team has assembled a collection of map data to help you keep track of the storm. From this map, you’re able to get most recent hurricane-related information from such sources as NOAA’s National Hurricane Center and FEMA.To help explore this information, we’ve created the Google Crisis Map, a map viewer with the latest available geographic information....

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Search Google Maps out loud

Tired of typing? Without using your keyboard, you can now talk into Google Maps to look for places and get directions. If you’re using a Chrome web browser in the U.S. (English only for now), simply click the microphone icon and speak into your computer.Click the mic and ask for a place to get startedUsing voice search can make it easier to find hard-to-spell places (like Poughkeepsie or Liechtenstein) or simply get directions without typing (for...

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Your World in 3D, now in more languages

[Cross-posted from the Google SketchUp Blog]Earlier this summer, we unveiled a new website called Your World in 3D to help introduce users to the concept of geo-modeling -- the term given to creating 3D buildings for Google Earth and Google Maps. Today, we're releasing the Your World in 3D website in 15 additional languages: Czech, German, English (UK), Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Brazilian Porteguese, Russian, Turkish,...

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Panoramio Groups: Join a photo community to match your interests

Cross-posted on the Panoramio and Official Google blogs.I'm from Barcelona, and once a year I go to Costa Brava on the Mediterranean with my friends to enjoy good food and nice weather. I always carry my camera with me to capture the beach when the light is just right, take photos of my favorite meals or document my latest hike. When I get home, I upload my photos to Panoramio and position them on the map. Pictures uploaded to Panoramio can be featured...

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Just a Short URL away

A little over a year ago, we began testing a feature in Google Maps that automatically generated a Short URL (aka URL Shortner) to link to any page on Google Maps. This quickly became one of our most popular experiments, and today we’re excited to announce that we have graduated the Short URL into an official feature of Google Maps.Starting today, when obtaining a link to a Google Map using the 'Link' button on the upper right-hand corner of the...

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Explore the ancient and modern with Rome in 3D

[Cross-posted from the Google SketchUp Blog]Rome really is an eternal city. With a history spanning over 2500 years and regimes from the early kingdom, through the republic, the empire, and later as the heart of the Catholic faith in the Vatican city, each has made their mark on the current urban architectural landscape of Rome. Now, with the release of thousands of new 3D buildings for the city, you can explore the blending of the ages in layered...

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Introducing GTFS-realtime to exchange realtime transit updates

(Cross-posted from the Google Code Blog)In June, we launched Live Transit Updates, a feature that adds realtime public transport information to Google Maps and Google Maps for mobile. This feature is powered by the GTFS-realtime feed format. Today we’re making the specification of this format public on Google Code. GTFS-realtime allows public transport agencies to provide realtime updates about their fleets. If you’re developing a trip planner or similar application, you can process these feeds and keep your users up-to-date with realtime information.GTFS-realtime...

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Google Maps now available on 40+ new country domains

Here at Google our goal is to make all the world’s information accessible and useful; providing relevant local data to each country has been the heart of what motivates us on the Google Maps team.Back in 2005 we started with one domain, .com, and now almost six years later we are happy to announce today that we are adding more than 40 new domains on Google Maps. In total we have more than 130 countries with their customized maps domains and we support...

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Rain or shine, see the weather in Google Maps

Whether you’re organizing a trip overseas or a picnic at a local park, knowing the weather forecast is a crucial part of the planning process. Today, we’re adding a weather layer on Google Maps that displays current temps and conditions around the globe, and will hopefully make travel and activity planning easier.To add the weather layer, hover over the widget in the upper right corner of Google Maps and select the weather layer from the list of...

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Street View goes to the Amazon

With Google Street View, you can do amazing things such as hike around Stonehenge or even ski down Whistler’s slopes—all without leaving home. Soon, you’ll be able to float down the Amazon and Rio Negro Rivers of northwest Brazil and experience some of the most remote and biodiverse areas in the world.A few members of our Brazil and U.S. Street View and Google Earth Outreach teams are currently in the Amazon rainforest using our Street View technology...

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The journey to bring Iraq’s National Museum to Street View

Over the years, our Street View technology has been used to showcase images from a variety of amazing locations around the world. Without the stress of travelling, we’ve all been able to tour places like Stonehenge, Palace and Park of Versailles, and even Half Moon Island (with the penguins!) in Antarctica. Starting today, you can view Iraq’s National Museum in Baghdad on Google Maps, in our Street View Gallery and on the museum’s own website.View...

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Imagery Update: Week of August 15th

The Google Earth and Google Maps Imagery Team just published a new batch of aerial and satellite imagery, and as always, there’s all kinds of fascinating sites and features to check out.We’re now deep into the dog days of summer. When I was growing up in Chicago, my siblings and I would be acting a bit stir crazy by this time in our summer breaks. So what did our wise parents do? They’d pile us into the confined space of the family car and proceed...

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Map Makerpedia: A Worldwide Community of Mapping Knowledge

The collective expertise of the Google Map Maker community has benefitted millions of people who use Google Maps. Users have helped put cities, road networks, and universities on the map for the first time in over 187 countries and regions. Now, users have the ability to contribute more than their mapping edits; they can also share their experiences, knowledge, and local expertise.Map Makerpedia homepageMap Makerpedia is a new crowdsourced guide...

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Mapping towards crisis relief in the Horn of Africa

In the wake of intense drought, the Horn of Africa is gripped by its worst famine in more than 60 years. Over 12.4 million people across Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia are threatened with hunger and disease as they are unable to access basic survival means. UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations are rallying to support refugees on the move, particularly to the thousands fleeing Somalia. Valerie Amos, OCHA Emergency Relief Coordinator,...

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A big push for big ideas in Pakistan

Pakistan continues on a trajectory of exciting technology initiatives, sparked most recently by three consecutive Google Map Maker events in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore in early June. Following on the heels of these successful MapUps, P@SHA (Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES), in collaboration with Google, launched a fund to drive social innovation in Pakistan.Islamabad: Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Dr. Mohammed...

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Visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial with Google Maps

This past March, we announced Street View imagery of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. Known as the “Atomic Bomb Dome,” the Memorial bears witness to the devastation of nuclear war. The once proud pre-war structure nearly destroyed by the bomb still stands unrestored -- a monument to those lost and a powerful symbol of peace.Yesterday in Japan, we went one step further, making new imagery of the interior of the Memorial available via its Place page....

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