Find treasure with Google Maps

Archeological analysis has confirmed that our Google Maps Street View team has indeed found one of history’s long lost relics: a treasure map belonging to the infamous pirate, William “Captain” Kidd.The map was found on a recent expedition in the Indian Ocean, as part of a deep-water dive to expand our underwater Street View collection. Captain Kidd was rumored to have buried his treasure around the world, and tales of a long-lost treasure map have...

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Imagery on Google Maps of Fukushima Exclusion Zone Town Namie-machi

From time to time we invite guests to post about items or interest and are pleased to have Mister Tamotsu Baba, Mayor of Namie-machi, Fukushima, Japan, join us here. - Ed.Namie-machi is a small city in Fukushima Prefecture sitting along the coast of the Pacific. We are blessed with both ocean and mountains, and known as a place where you can experience both the beauty of the sea and the forests. Tragically, however, since the nuclear accident caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, all of Namie-machi’s 21,000 townspeople have...

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Create, collaborate and share advanced custom maps with Google Maps Engine Lite (Beta)

Maps are useful for visualizing and sharing information about places around the world. For enterprises, Google Maps Engine has been providing businesses with professional tools to help them organize large datasets, make decisions, and give their customers important details about their locations and services. Of course, experts aren’t the only ones who love to make maps. Today we're launching Google Maps Engine Lite (Beta), so any mapping enthusiast...

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Live transit information in more cities on Google Maps

I use public transit to get around my city or to explore new ones when traveling. When on the go, I rely on Google Maps Transit to help me get to my destination using public transportation. We want to make sure you have access to the most comprehensive, accurate and useful information when you’re on the go – and that includes public transportation.Starting today, you can view live departure times for seven lines on the New York City subway system...

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Google Maps shows Amazon funds at work

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest author is Gabriel Ribenboim from Ritual, on behalf of Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS), a nonprofit organization implementing a large-scale social and environmental program in the Amazon. FAS was the recipient of a Google Earth Outreach Grant for Google Maps Engine, which they used to develop an accountability map for their investments in conservation and poverty alleviation. We are excited to showcase the Bolsa...

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Trekker takes on Canada’s Arctic Winter

Editor’s Note: Today's guest author is Chris Kalluk, a resident of the Nunavut territory and mapping expert at Nunavut Tunngavik, the nonprofit organization we’re working with to collect imagery and build more comprehensive maps of the Canadian Arctic.There’s a saying we have in the north: unless you’re the lead sled dog, the view is pretty much the same. Today, I’m wearing a Street View Trekker - a backpack outfitted with a camera system - and walking...

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Notes from the top of the world: A behind-the-scenes look at our latest Google Maps special collection

Today, we released photos of the some of the most famous mountains in the world on Google Maps. I was lucky to be part of the team that traveled around the world to capture the imagery and experience the mountains first-hand.I’ve always had a sense of adventure. In 2011, when my colleague asked if I wanted to go on a trip to Everest Base Camp, I couldn’t resist, and we recruited a group of Googlers and fellow explorers to join us. Then we learned...

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Make a map that will change the world with Google Earth Outreach Developer Grants

For the third year, I’m excited to announce the call for 2013 Google Earth Outreach Developer Grants applications is now open. Google Earth Outreach Developer Grants provide funding to nonprofit organizations ranging between $10,000 and $20,000 on average to build a map that will help them accomplish their mission, be it around environmental issues, humanitarian causes, disaster relief prevention, or health issues. If your nonprofit has a great idea...

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Public Alerts for Google Search, Google Now and Google Maps available in Japan

With nearly 5,000 earthquakes a year, it’s important for people in Japan to have crisis preparedness and response information available at their fingertips. And from our own research, we know that when a disaster strikes, people turn to the Internet for more information about what is happening.With this in mind, we’re launching Google Public Alerts today in Japan—the first international expansion of a service we debuted last year in the United States....

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Expanding Street View in Europe

Today we’re announcing a major expansion of Street View to make our maps of Europe more comprehensive and usable. For the first time, people all over the world can see Street View imagery of Bulgaria. They’ll also have access to panoramas of almost 200 new towns and cities in Russia, and thousands of miles of refreshed imagery of the UK.Bulgaria: from the mountains to the beaches Nestled in the southeastern corner of Europe, Bulgaria is the 48th country for which immersive, street-level imagery is now available on Google Maps. This Bulgarian launch...

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Updating Google Maps for iPhone with faster local search, new ways to find friends, and more countries

Today, we’re releasing an update for Google Maps for iPhone with new search icons that make finding local places faster and easier, and with integration of your Google Contacts to make it simple to find your friends. This update is part of our goal to make Google Maps comprehensive, accurate and useful – wherever you may be in the world. To that end, we’re rolling out the English version of the app in seven new countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon,...

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