We just couldn’t resist combining two of our favorite pastimes: pumpkin carving and geeking out about Maps. Behold: Pumpkin carving sheets to show off your Maps, Earth and SketchUp pride. Just click this link, hit print, and follow the how-to instructions.

We just couldn’t resist combining two of our favorite pastimes: pumpkin carving and geeking out about Maps. Behold: Pumpkin carving sheets to show off your Maps, Earth and SketchUp pride. Just click this link, hit print, and follow the how-to instructions.


Think you got skills? Let’s see ’em! We want to build a photo gallery of your finest work. Just send a photo of your Maps pumpkin our way on Google+ or Twitter using the hashtag #gmapspumpkin. Bonus points — and infinite bragging rights — for anyone who can pull off that Pegman.

Posted by Vanessa Schneider, Maps and Places community manager
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What do Elvis’ Graceland and Iran’s Marmar Palace have in common? Both estates have been updated with new imagery in Google Earth and Google Maps!

Over the last few weeks, the imagery team has updated hundreds of images. To give you a taste of this new data, today we’ll look at several interesting features that have been updated with new imagery from across the globe.

What do Elvis’ Graceland and Iran’s Marmar Palace have in common? Both estates have been updated with new imagery in Google Earth and Google Maps!

Over the last few weeks, the imagery team has updated hundreds of images. To give you a taste of this new data, today we’ll look at several interesting features that have been updated with new imagery from across the globe.

First, I’d like to look at a fantastic and majestic terrestrial landform known as the star dune. Star dunes form pyramidal shapes that grow upward and are characterized by multiple radiating dune crests. Shown below is a perspective satellite image of a star dune field within the Badain Jaran Desert of China. The desert contains Earth’s tallest stationary dunes, reaching heights of 500 meters!

Perspective view of star dunes of Badain Jaran Desert, China

One of my favorite hobbies is scrambling around volcanic sites throughout the western United States, and many of my favorite areas are located in Idaho’s Snake River Plain. Within this river plain, one of the youngest volcanic flow features of the region comprises the Hell’s Half Acre lava flow field. In the aerial image below, taken this past September, you can see “windows” of older river bed material (now farmland) that were not buried during lava flow emplacement.

Farmland enclosed by lava flow, Snake River Plain, Idaho

Can you identify the unusual feature relationship seen in the satellite image below? Yes, train tracks cut to the northeast across the airport runway! Those tracks belong to the Kyber Railway, and their two vintage steam locomotives take passengers 42 kilometers to the town of Landi Kotal in Pakistan’s mountainous Kyber Pass.

Peshawar International Airport, Pakistan

Below is a fun water sport activity captured in high resolution aerial imagery of the southeastern coast of Auckland, New Zealand. You can see the kayakers paddles as well as the submerged sandbars and boulders of Thorne Bay.

Kayakers in Thorne Bay, New Zealand

We can see the Marmar Palace of Tehran, Iran, a.k.a the Marble Palace in the updated satellite image below. It is associated with the Pahlavi dynasty, and is still used today by the Iranian government.

The Marble Palace, Tehran, Iran.

In my opinion, most good things start and end with Elvis references, so our last example showcases updated imagery of Graceland, including the private customized Convair 880 jet Elvis used while hopping across the globe.

Graceland, Memphis Tennessee

If you’d like to receive an email notification when the Earth and Maps Imagery team updates your favorite site(s), we’ve got just the tool: The Follow Your World application!

These are only a few examples of the types of features that can be seen and discovered in our latest batch of published imagery. Happy exploring!

High Resolution Aerial Updates:
USA: Bellingham, WA; Bemidji, MN; Brookings, SD; Davenport, IA; Emporia, KS; Grinnel, IA; Idaho Falls, ID; Klamamth Falls, OR; Lawrence, KS; Lovell, WY; Nephi, UT; Pittsfield, MA; Portland, OR; San Francisco Peninsula, CA; Scottsbluff, NE; Seattle, WA; St Louis, MO; Terre Haute, IN; Wasco, OR; Williston, ND; Wolf Point, MT

Spain: Huesca, Logrono

Countries/Regions receiving High Resolution Satellite Updates:
Angola, Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Gaza Strip, Greenland, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Malawi, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, North Korea, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Svalbard, Taiwan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United States, West Bank, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

These updates are now available in both Google Maps and Google Earth. For a complete picture of where we updated imagery, download this KML for viewing in Google Earth.

Posted by Eric Kolb, Geo Data Strategist
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Today we’re opening the map of Canada in Google Map Maker for users to add their expert local knowledge directly to Google Maps. Users know their neighborhood or hometown best, and with Google Map Maker they can ensure the places they care about are richly represented on the map.
Today we’re opening the map of Canada in Google Map Maker for users to add their expert local knowledge directly to Google Maps. Users know their neighborhood or hometown best, and with Google Map Maker they can ensure the places they care about are richly represented on the map.


Users can help make the map complete in many ways such as marking hiking paths and trails, fixing the name of a local business, or adding the buildings of a college campus so they appear in Google Maps. We’ve seen incredibly detailed contributions from users worldwide, for example, take a look at the map of a shopping mall in California before and after Map Maker was launched. We’re eager to see the same level of detail for locations throughout Canada.


Milpitas, CA (before, avant)


Milpitas, CA (after, après)

To confirm Map Maker user contributions are accurate, each edit will be reviewed. After approval, the edits will appear in Google Maps within minutes. To see examples of what people all around the world are adding in Map Maker, you can watch mapping in real-time.

Citizen cartographers using Google Map Makerin more than 180 other regions of the world help keep maps of their areas accurate and up to date. We are delighted to welcome Canada to the Map Maker family. To learn more, visit our handy guide to mapping Map Makerpedia or check out a video tutorial. Get started mapping at www.google.ca/mapmaker.

Note: Translated to French below.

Posted by James Kelly, Product Manager, Google Map Maker


Ajoutez de la couleur locale à la carte avec l’édition canadienne de Google Map Maker

Aujourd’hui, nous ouvrons la carte du Canada dans Google Map Maker afin que les utilisateurs puissent ajouter directement leurs propres connaissances locales aux cartes Google. Les utilisateurs connaissent leur quartier ou leur ville mieux que quiconque, et grâce à Google Map Maker, ils peuvent s’assurer que leurs endroits préférés figurent sur la carte.

Les utilisateurs peuvent contribuer à enrichir la carte de nombreuses façons, notamment en indiquant les pistes cyclables et les sentiers, en identifiant les commerces locaux, ou en ajoutant les édifices d’un campus universitaire afin qu’ils apparaissent dans Google Maps. Nous avons vu des contributions incroyablement détaillés de la part d'utilisateurs du monde entier. Par exemple, jetez un coup d'oeil à la carte d'un centre commercial en Californie, avant et après le lancement de Map Maker. Nous avons hâte de voir le même souci du détail pour des emplacements situés à travers le Canada.

Afin de confirmer l’exactitude des contributions des utilisateurs de Map Maker, chaque ajout sera révisé. Après approbation, les changements apparaîtront sur Google Maps en quelques minutes. Pour avoir un aperçu de ce que les gens à travers le monde ajoutent à Map Maker, vous pouvez visionner la cartographie en temps réel.

Les citoyens cartographes utilisant Google Map Maker dans plus de 180 autres régions du monde contribuent à rendre les cartes de leur région les plus précises et à jour possible. Nous sommes ravis d’accueillir le Canada dans la famille de Map Maker. Pour vous familiariser avec cet outil, consultez notre guide pratique de cartographie Map Makerpedia ou visionnez notre vidéo pédagogique. Ne perdez pas une minute. Rendez-vous à www.google.ca/mapmaker.

Publié par James Kelly, chef de produit, Google Map Maker

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This month’s update to 45° imagery in Google Maps includes U.S. and international imagery.

Let’s just begin with Graz. It’s the second largest city of Austria (behind Vienna), located in Steiermark. It is a typical Austrian town with a vivid university life, a charming historic center mostly of the Gothic period and is significantly influenced by mediterranean climate which manifests being among the sunniest places in Austria due to its location at the southeastern rim of the Alps. Arnold Schwarzenegger - bodybuilding world champion, movie star and former governor of California - was born and raised nearby.
This month’s update to 45° imagery in Google Maps includes U.S. and international imagery.

Let’s just begin with Graz. It’s the second largest city of Austria (behind Vienna), located in Steiermark. It is a typical Austrian town with a vivid university life, a charming historic center mostly of the Gothic period and is significantly influenced by mediterranean climate which manifests being among the sunniest places in Austria due to its location at the southeastern rim of the Alps. Arnold Schwarzenegger - bodybuilding world champion, movie star and former governor of California - was born and raised nearby.


View Larger Map
During September we have launched imagery for some of the major towns in the Midwest of the U.S. like Canton OH, Grand Rapids MI, Kansas City KS/MO, Springfield MO.

Kansas City was founded in 1830 and named after the Native American tribe of the “Kansa” and since then evolved to the largest city in Missouri and the third largest city in Kansas. During the Civil War the city experienced several violent events. In the 1930s, Kansas City was the center of a creative jazz scene and today the American Jazz Museum can be found there. The Irish-American community that numbers around 250,000 includes a large number of bands.


Canton OH is home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame which opened in 1963 and where the busts of America’s greatest professional football players are enshrined.


Here is a list of updated cities:

Europe:
Caceres, Spain; Graz, Austria; Montreux, Switzerland; Zurich, Switzerland;

US:
Bakersfield, CA; Boise, ID; Canton, OH; Centennial, CO; Columbia, SC; Davenport, IA; Des Moines, IA; Enumclaw, WA; Grand Rapids, MI; Kansas City, KS/MO; Lawrence, KS; Los Angeles, CA; Merced, CA; New Orleans, LA; Omaha, NE; Payson, UT; Portland, OR; Springfield, MO; St. Louis, MO; The Woodlands, TX;

Posted by Bernd Steinert, Geo Data Specialist
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Nothing compares to the sensation of visiting a place where history was made. Exploring castles, pyramids and other historical landmarks in a country provokes a deeper understanding and respect for unique cultures and creates a sense of belonging. Today, technology enables us to expand our horizons in a matter of clicks, bringing foreign cultures and history to us from around the world.

Nothing compares to the sensation of visiting a place where history was made. Exploring castles, pyramids and other historical landmarks in a country provokes a deeper understanding and respect for unique cultures and creates a sense of belonging. Today, technology enables us to expand our horizons in a matter of clicks, bringing foreign cultures and history to us from around the world.

Mexico is a country full of natural beauty and cultural heritage. It’s archaeological sites attract hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. Today, we are making these historical landmarks more accessible than ever by bringing an interactive atlas from the National Institute of Anthropology to Google Earth.

Download the new KML file of this historical archive to view geo-referenced scale models (many in 3D) of monuments, archaeological sites, museums and other buildings that make up the cultural heritage of Mexico.

View the historic and cultural sites that make up Mexico’s history from anywhere in the world.

Through Google Earth, you can virtually visit 416 locations across Mexico, including 182 archaeological sites, 116 museums, 31 world heritage sites, 83 3D models and 4 schools. Many of the models presented in this interactive guide were created through the ‘Put Mexico on the map’ competition recently hosted by Google and the National Institute of Anthropology.

Learn more about this effort that helps bring Mexico’s history to life by visiting www.OneWorldManyStories.com. We hope this new resource makes it fun to both learn about Mexico’s rich cultural heritage and plan your next Mexican vacation.

Posted by Miguel Angel Alva, Marketing Director of Google Mexico
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(Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog)

From the Amazon to the ancient ruins of Pompeii, Street View technology has put imagery of some of the world’s most interesting and significant sites online for everyone to enjoy. Now, for the first time in Google Maps, we’re hitting the train tracks to capture the majesty of the famous railway lines of the Swiss Alps and the surrounding scenery.
(Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog)

From the Amazon to the ancient ruins of Pompeii, Street View technology has put imagery of some of the world’s most interesting and significant sites online for everyone to enjoy. Now, for the first time in Google Maps, we’re hitting the train tracks to capture the majesty of the famous railway lines of the Swiss Alps and the surrounding scenery.


In cooperation with Rhaetian Railway, our Street View team has collected images from one of the world’s most scenic railway routes—the Albula-Bernina line in Switzerland—that will soon be live on Google Maps. The picturesque route through the Swiss Alps is one of most famous in the world, winding its way through wild mountain scenery from Thusis, Switzerland; past the resort town of St. Moritz; to its final stop just over the border in Tirano, Italy.

View Albula-Bernina Line in a larger map

A complex system of tunnels, viaducts and galleries allow the railway line to pass through the narrow valleys and climb almost 2,000 meters in altitude. It’s unique to see technology and architecture like this in a natural landscape, and the route is a popular tourist destination offering amazing photography opportunities.

To capture the stunning scenery for Street View, we mounted our trike—a three-wheel pedicab with a camera system on top—to a flatbed at the front of a train. As the train travelled along the line, cameras facing nine different directions captured still photos of the surrounding areas that we’re now stitching together into 360-degree panoramic views. Soon, we’ll publish the imagery on Google Maps for people around the globe to enjoy and experience themselves. The imagery will provide admirers of this route with completely new perspectives, and also help document and preserve this UNESCO World Heritage site.

In the meantime, enjoy these photos from imagery collection day:


To get the latest on Street View go to maps.google.com/streetview.

Posted by Ulf Spitzer, Street View Program Manager, Europe
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Ever since we launched the English version of Follow Your World earlier this year, users around the globe have been able to receive email notifications whenever imagery of locations they care about are updated in ...
Ever since we launched the English version of Follow Your World earlier this year, users around the globe have been able to receive email notifications whenever imagery of locations they care about are updated in Google Maps and Google Earth.

Today we’re happy to announce the expansion of this tool. We’ve localized the software into 43 additional languages so that the application can easily be accessed by millions more people around the world.

Simply use the app to indicate areas around the world that interest you - be they your current neighborhood, college town, or dream vacation spot - and receive an email update whenever new satellite or aerial imagery for those places are added to Maps and Earth.

Follow Your World: now in Chinese and 43 other languages

Follow Your World is now available for users of the following languages:

Arabic, Basque, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, English (UK), Estonian, Farsi, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese

We hope this handy feature helps you stay connected with your favorite locations around the world!

Posted by Jeral Poskey, Google Earth Consumer Operations
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Educators have created many exciting lessons with Google’s tools. These tools help students learn about the world in fun ways. Recently they had the opportunity to share this work with peers from all over the US at two Google Geo Teachers Institute events, first in Washington DC at ...
Educators have created many exciting lessons with Google’s tools. These tools help students learn about the world in fun ways. Recently they had the opportunity to share this work with peers from all over the US at two Google Geo Teachers Institute events, first in Washington DC at National Geographic Headquarters and then at the University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn College in Lewiston, Maine.

The Institute was an intensive, two-day event where participants got hands-on experience using Google Earth, Google Maps, and Google SketchUp. Participants also learned about Google Fusion Tables and Chromebooks, and heard from a variety of guest educators. Juan Jose Valdez, head geographer at National Geographic Society, and Angus King, former governor of Maine, gave keynote addresses on the importance of geographic literacy and the state of technology in education today.

Educators had the opportunity to see and hear how Google’s tools can be integrated easily into all subjects to create a more meaningful learning experience for their students. For example, Jerome Burg of Google Lit Trips demonstrated how Google Earth can be used to teach all levels of literature. Mike Hathorn of Hartford High School and Beryl Reid of Billerica School District discussed how students are using SketchUp for historical architecture projects. Margaret Chernosky of Bangor High School showed attendees how she helps students visualize geographic data into Google Earth. Jim Sill of El Diamante High School shared his Google Maps educational tips and tricks as well.

Google Earth and SketchUp bring the world's geographic information to teachers and students in a new and unique way. Google Earth's satellite imagery and Google SketchUp models create a 3D experience of the entire planet, giving students an opportunity to explore in ways never before possible. The many layers provided in Google Earth include a plethora of information and resources for both teachers and students. From literature to science and from math to history, Google Earth, Maps, and SketchUp provide a compelling and fresh way to teach, learn, and explore.

Visit the Google for Educators website for more ideas on how to bring geographic technology into the classroom.

Posted by Allyson McDuffie, Geo Education Team
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(Cross-posted on the Small Business Blog.)

Our goal to create a digital representation of the real world doesn’t just mean a birds’ eye view through Google Earth, or a ...
(Cross-posted on the Small Business Blog.)

Our goal to create a digital representation of the real world doesn’t just mean a birds’ eye view through Google Earth, or a street-level view through Google Maps. It means providing a local view as well, and tools like Google Places help people across the globe learn about and connect with the places and businesses in their immediate areas.

We use a variety of authoritative sources to give users relevant local information about places that might interest them, including data from partners, users, and directly from business owners who verify their organic listings via Google Places for business. In addition, we always want to know about changes to a business that should be reflected on our local search products. That’s why we have the “Report a problem” tool on Google Maps, and also enable users to click on the "Edit this place” link at the top of the Place page to provide updates to a business listing.

And while some business owners may have previously verified their organic listing to ensure that their company information was correct at that particular moment in time, we recognize that amidst all the work that goes into running a successful enterprise, remembering to update their Google Places account may not always be top of mind. Oftentimes, a neighborhood local or a loyal customer is eager to help their favorite business update its online presence when it moves into a bigger space across the street, or extends its hours for the summer season.

That’s why today, we’re introducing a new process that helps streamline the way updates are made to potentially outdated or incorrect business listings. Previously, verified business listings would always reflect the information provided by its owner - even if we received data about an updated name, address, or hours of operation. But now, if a user provides new information about a business they know -- or if our system identifies information from another source on the web that may be more recent than the data the business owner provided via Google Places -- the organic listing will automatically be updated and the business owner will be sent an email notification about the change. Without requiring any effort on the part of the business owner, we’ll take measures to keep their listing up-to-date if our system determines that the edit is accurate. Of course, if the business owner disagrees or has even more recent information, they can always directly log in to their Google Places account and make further edits.

Online ads from business owners using our AdWords or AdWords Express programs will not be affected by these automatic updates. Ads will continue to display the business information the owner has provided in Google Places.

We hope these new features help users find the most accurate local information available, and make it even easier for business owners to manage their online presence. If you’re a business owner with additional questions about your specific listing, please consult the Google Places for business Help Center or visit our user support forum.

Posted by Lior Ron, Google Places Product Manager
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The nonprofit mapping community is alive with amazing game-changing ideas. In May, Google Earth Outreach asked nonprofit organizations to think big: what kind of map would they want to create if they had the funding or developer resources to do so? We were thrilled by the number of applications we received, full of concrete ideas for tremendously impactful maps.

The nonprofit mapping community is alive with amazing game-changing ideas. In May, Google Earth Outreach asked nonprofit organizations to think big: what kind of map would they want to create if they had the funding or developer resources to do so? We were thrilled by the number of applications we received, full of concrete ideas for tremendously impactful maps.

While it was difficult to select projects with the highest potential impact from the long list of great applications we received, we are excited to announce the Google Earth Outreach Developer Grant awardees. Each organization below proposed cutting-edge visualizations in the public benefit sector utilizing a broad spectrum of tools ranging from narrated tours in Google Earth to Google Maps and Places API applications for Android to Google Fusion Tables. In total, we’ve awarded over $300,000 to the Google Earth Outreach Developer Grantees. We wish to congratulate all awardees for developing proposals that we hope will help them make the world a better place.

These organizations are all currently making great progress towards their project goals. Within the coming months, they will complete development of their mapping applications. We look forward to sharing the completed projects with you on the Google Earth Outreach site, so check back soon!

Atlantic Public Media One Species at a Time: Stories of Biodiversity on the Move, with the Encyclopedia of Life (in Google Earth narrated tours)
California Academy of Sciences A Global Water Story: Translating immersive programming about water from the Planetarium to Google Earth
David Suzuki Foundation Our Natural Capital: mapping ecosystem services in southern Ontario, Canada
Golden Gate Parks Conservancy The Story of Crissy Field: the transformation of an urban park in Google Earth
HabitatMap, Inc. AirCasting: citizen air quality monitoring using Android devices
The HALO Trust Notes from the (Mine)Field: a Google Earth tour of humanitarian landmine clearance
International Rivers Network The Wrong Climate for Damming Rivers
The Nature Conservancy Adopt an Acre in Google Earth & Maps
Pepperwood Foundation, on behalf of iNaturalist.org iNaturalist App on Android: citizen naturalists armed with Android devices can upload photos of flora and fauna to iNaturalist.org
Save the Elephants Tracking Animals for Conservation: Real-time mapping in the field on Android and Publishing Elephant Tracking Data in Fusion Tables
Water for People SanMap: supporting sanitation-related businesses in urban African cities
When I Walk, Inc. AXSmap mobile app using Google Places API for reviews and ratings of accessibility
Widecast Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network - Bonaire Track Your Turtles: The Great Migration Game and sea turtle monitoring in Bonaire
World Resources Institute Google Earth Tour of Reefs at Risk
World Wildlife Fund Eyes on the Forest: Interactive map on Sumatran Deforestation

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

Posted by Tanya Birch, Google Earth Outreach
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You’re now one step closer to experiencing and interacting with a 3D mirror of the real world within your browser with Google MapsGL. Google MapsGL takes Google Maps and harnesses the power of Web Graphics Library (WebGL) to create far richer visuals and animations.
You’re now one step closer to experiencing and interacting with a 3D mirror of the real world within your browser with Google MapsGL. Google MapsGL takes Google Maps and harnesses the power of Web Graphics Library (WebGL) to create far richer visuals and animations.

WebGL is a new technology that brings hardware-accelerated 3D graphics to the browser without additional installed software. With WebGL your maps experience is much better with 3D buildings, smoother transitions between imagery and the ability to instantly “swoop” into Street View without a plugin.



Starting today, if you’re using supported browsers (such as Chrome 14+ or Firefox Beta) with compatible video cards, you can opt in to the early beta release. Visit maps.google.com and click “Try it now,” or visit maps.google.com/gl to learn more.

We’ve been using WebGL to create experiences like our Chrome experiments “3 Dreams of Black” and “All is Not Lost,” which happen right in the browser. Previously, such sophisticated 3D graphics have only been possible on traditional desktop applications and have required manual installation. WebGL ushers in a whole new generation of graphics on the web, and with that, we can begin to redefine the expectations of an online map.

Check out Chrome Experiments WebGL for more WebGL-powered applications, and opt in to Google MapsGL to begin using the next generation of mapping today.

Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps and Earth
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We’ve learned that most people who use Google Maps just want to get from Point A to Point B -- as quickly and painlessly as possible. Whether it’s planning a weekend bike route, finding the quickest roads during rush hour, or identifying bus paths with the fewest transfers, people are making the most out of Maps features to travel faster and greener. Here’s how you can use Google Maps to minimize your impact on the environment.
(Cross posted from the Google Green Blog)

We’ve learned that most people who use Google Maps just want to get from Point A to Point B -- as quickly and painlessly as possible. Whether it’s planning a weekend bike route, finding the quickest roads during rush hour, or identifying bus paths with the fewest transfers, people are making the most out of Maps features to travel faster and greener. Here’s how you can use Google Maps to minimize your impact on the environment.

Commuting by bike
As an avid cyclist, I feel very fortunate to live in Boulder, Colorado and be surrounded by over 300 miles of bike lanes, routes and paths. When the weather is cooperating, I try to commute to work every day. It’s a great way to stay healthy and arrive at the office feeling awake! According to Biking Directions in Google Maps, it takes me 10 minutes to travel 2 miles from Point A (my house) to Point B (the office). It also shows three alternative routes, and I can check the weather in Google Maps to see if I’ll need a rain jacket for the ride home. I can also use Biking Directions on my mobile phone, which came in handy for me during a biking trip in Austin when I got lost on a major highway and needed a safe route back to the hotel.

Did you know that Google Maps has biking directions available in over 200 US cities and in 9 Canadian regions? A collaboration with Rails to Trails, an organization that converts old railroad tracks into bike paths, has made information about over 12,000 miles of bike paths available to Google Maps users.

Taking public transit
Millions of people use Google Transit every week, viewing public transit routes on both Google Maps and Google Maps for mobile in over 470 cities around the world. You can take a train from Kyoto to Osaka or find your way around London on the Tube. In some places, you can compare the cost of taking public transit and driving by viewing the calculation below the list of directions (like in this example). Feel free to customize your routes and departure and arrival times under “Show options” to minimize walking or limit the number of transfers. You’ll know if your bus is late by checking out live transit updates.

Being green in the car
According to the 2011 Urban Mobility Report by Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University, motorists wasted 1.9 billion gallons of fuel last year in the US because of traffic congestion, costing the average commuter an additional $713 in commuting costs. You can save time and money by clicking on the Traffic layer in the top right corner to view real-time traffic conditions on your route, and then drag and adjust your route to green. If you need directions in advance, save paper by sending your directions directly to your car, GPS, or phone. The Send-to-Car feature is available to more than 20 car brands worldwide, and the Send-to-GPS feature is available to more than 10 GPS brands. And for those of you who drive electric vehicles, you can search for electric vehicle charging stations by typing “ev charging station in [your city]” and recharge.

As you can see, Google Maps is loaded with features to help you save time, save money, and get where you need to be -- all while minimizing your commute’s impact on the environment. Go green with Google Maps, and safe travels!

Posted by Tasha Danko, Geo Team
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If you use Google Maps in English, you might notice we’ve expanded our coverage of translated labels. Previously, map labels would display both transliterated and local names for many places. Using a single language can help users by making the map easier to read. For example, the label for Moscow on our English maps used to display as “Moskva (Москва)”. This was great for learning how places are named in other languages but also resulted in twice as many labels on the map.
If you use Google Maps in English, you might notice we’ve expanded our coverage of translated labels. Previously, map labels would display both transliterated and local names for many places. Using a single language can help users by making the map easier to read. For example, the label for Moscow on our English maps used to display as “Moskva (Москва)”. This was great for learning how places are named in other languages but also resulted in twice as many labels on the map.

Maps with dual language labels (left) and new single-language labels (right)

Below are some nice examples of improvements in Europe and China. Many Italian cities are now labeled with translated English names and China now has province names in English.

Before (left) and single-language labels (right)

Before (left) and single-language labels (right)

We realize it can be useful to see local language labels for learning place names so we’ve kept the option available. If you prefer to see local language labels, you can still do so by unchecking English in the maps menu (move your cursor to the ‘layers’ menu in upper right corner of the map and un-check English when the menu drops down). This is the same for other single-languages which Maps supports. Also note that we may still show multiple labels in some places where there are two local languages or when place names are disputed.

In total, Google now has single-language Maps for 5 major languages - Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and now English with more languages on their way. We hope this change makes it easier to browse, explore and discover the world around you.

Posted by Bryce Stout, Product Manager
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Editor’s Note: Recently, we welcomed Zagat to the Geo product family (and we've never eaten better!). You can read more about the acquisition on the Official Google Blog.

Some exciting news for all you foodies out there, via Zagat Buzz:
Epic news alert! The results of our 2012 New York City Restaurants Survey are here. This year we compiled ratings and reviews for 2,111 Big Apple restaurants, based on the votes of 41,604 local diners (a new record)! These people know what they are talking about, having collectively dined out an estimated 6.4 million times. With numbers like that, it’s no wonder that the restaurant industry is stabilizing – there were 135 noteworthy openings this year. Not too shabby.
Planning a trip to NYC? You may want to make a reservation at one of these Top-Rated Newcomers:
For the full scoop, head on over to Zagat Buzz.

Posted by Tim and Nina Zagat, Nooglers
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(Cross posted to the Official Google Blog)

Google Map Maker enables local experts to create maps and share their local knowledge with the world. These citizen cartographers help keep maps of their areas accurate and up to date. They add missing roads and new businesses—and even map areas that have little to no data yet on Google Maps.
(Cross posted to the Official Google Blog)

Google Map Maker enables local experts to create maps and share their local knowledge with the world. These citizen cartographers help keep maps of their areas accurate and up to date. They add missing roads and new businesses—and even map areas that have little to no data yet on Google Maps.

Today, our latest crop of countries, territories and an entire continent are graduating from Map Maker—meaning the user-generated maps of these countries will now appear on Google Maps: Afghanistan, Antarctica, Ecuador, Georgia, Guatemala, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Honduras, Iraq, Norfolk Island, Saint Pierre & Miquelon and Saudi Arabia.

Here are some before and after pictures that highlight how much detail Map Maker users have added to Google Maps for these regions (as well as some time-lapse videos):


Baghdad, Iraq


Kabul, Afghanistan


Tbilisi, Georgia

Each region has an impressive mapping story—from the Georgian Government’s initiative to improve their country’s map, to the group led by six students in Herat, Afghanistan who mapped their entire city in a matter of weeks.

Thank you to the Google Map Maker contributors who create better maps for these regions and others; their ongoing efforts can be seen at Map Maker Pulse. We encourage all local mappers to continue improving the maps of these areas and the more than 180 other regions of the world on Google Map Maker.

Posted by Anjali Joshi, Google Maps, Director of Product Management
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Striking for its charm, bustle and impressive historic architectural treasures, the silk road city of Herat, Afghanistan has until today, been nearly ‘invisible’ online in digital maps. Luckily, Herat is home to Herat University, which is filled with talented, entrepreneurial students some of whom have worked together to literally put their town “on the (digital) map.”
Striking for its charm, bustle and impressive historic architectural treasures, the silk road city of Herat, Afghanistan has until today, been nearly ‘invisible’ online in digital maps. Luckily, Herat is home to Herat University, which is filled with talented, entrepreneurial students some of whom have worked together to literally put their town “on the (digital) map.”

In response to their city’s absence on Google Maps and Google Earth, a team of students launched a grassroots volunteer effort, named the Afghan Map Makers, to map their country using Google Map Maker, with the vision of reintroducing Afghanistan to its people and the world through its maps. As a result of their efforts, we are proud to re-launch the map of Afghanistan, with a far more detailed Herat --- along with 11 more regions, on Google Maps.

The Afghan Map Maker Team hard at work, mapping Herat, Afghanistan

Led by recent computer science graduates Hasen and Sadeq, along with other volunteers from their tech start-up, Microcis IT Services CO, the Afghan Map Makers realized how mapping could improve Afghanistan’s economic, community and civic development. Starting from old paper maps and basic satellite imagery, the Afghan Map Makers employed unmatched strategy and diligence to map Herat in only a matter of weeks.

Shortly thereafter a new tech start-up incubator, the Herat Information Technology Incubator Program for Herat University entrepreneurs, was founded with the help of Department of Defense, giving five more start-up companies the resources to volunteer spare time to the mapping initiative. The group divided Herat’s map into six equal parts, and each set of volunteers was responsible for mapping a particular section of the city.

Herat, Afghanistan: The “before and after” efforts of volunteer mappers from Microsis, Afghan Citadel Software Company, Afghan Cybersoft, Asia Cyber Tech, Herat4soo.com and Taktech.


Represented by Hasen Poreya, the Afghan Map Makers presented their project during a June visit to the Mountain View and New York Google offices. According to Hasen, the group encountered many roadblocks from the very beginning; everything from connectivity issues to old satellite imagery and an initial lack of volunteers. Since then, they’ve laid out the map of Herat and several volunteers have already mapped most of Kabul, Afghanistan. You can watch a mapping time lapse of Herat here and Kabul here.

This story is far more significant than the mapping of a city. It is a story of young people in a community coming together, taking ownership of their future and serving their country in a truly entrepreneurial and meaningful way. Congratulations to Hasen, Sadeq, the Herat start-up teams and thousands of Map Makers in more than 180 other countries, helping to map the world.

Posted by Megan Smith, Vice President, New Business Development
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Last week Google Earth Outreach launched our program in Canada, offering support to non-profits and aboriginal communities that wish to leverage Google’s mapping tools to improve understanding of critical issues facing Canada today. Our team spent the week in Vancouver inspiring and empowering these groups to spread their message through geographic visualizations.

Last week Google Earth Outreach launched our program in Canada, offering support to non-profits and aboriginal communities that wish to leverage Google’s mapping tools to improve understanding of critical issues facing Canada today. Our team spent the week in Vancouver inspiring and empowering these groups to spread their message through geographic visualizations.

Google Earth Outreach team member Tanya Birch works with a participant on Fusion Tables.

We kicked off the week with a 3-day workshop co-hosted with our partner Tides Canada. With their help, we were able to gather developers, communications and technology professionals from over 50 organizations to be trained on Google Earth, Google Maps and Google Fusion Tables. We met folks from a diverse set of organizations, such as Ecotrust Canada, Social Alterations, Living Oceans Society, and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.

These groups came into the workshop with varying levels of familiarity with Google’s geo tools. While some participants leveraged the time to master the basics, others focused on advanced coding using the Maps APIs. Non-profits developed and worked on their project ideas with Earth Outreach staff on hand for guidance and technical help. Our team was amazed by some of the projects that came out of these sessions, including a Google Fusion Table map of Inuit communities and a Google Earth tour of the path of a migrating whooping crane.


Whooping crane migration path visualized in Google Earth by Matt Hanneman of Global Forest Watch Canada.

Our activities in Vancouver culminated in an event on Wednesday for the wider Vancouver non-profit community. We were honored to have David Suzuki, an influential Canadian scientist, author, broadcaster and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, on hand to share his thoughts on how philanthropy, public engagement and technology can advance the reach, scope and impact of Canadian civil society. Our team’s founder, Rebecca Moore, also took the stage to demonstrate how the rich variety of environmental and social issues in Canada can benefit from geographic visualizations as powerful tools for environmental advocacy and social justice. Afterwards, our team got to interact with the community face-to-face at demo stations featuring Google Earth, Google Maps, Google Fusion Tables, Open Data Kit as well as already developed Canadian mapping projects.

Inspiring examples of Canadian organizations already using mapping tools to communicate their work.

We are very excited about the next steps for these non-profits who have started their mapping initiatives and we can’t wait to see what comes next! For Canadian organizations looking to learn more, please take a look at our new Canadian website in English or French.

Posted by Raleigh Seamster, Program Manager, Google Earth Outreach
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How large is one billion? One billion hours ago modern humans were living in the Stone Age. One billion minutes ago, the Roman Empire was flourishing. If you traveled from Earth to the Moon three times, your journey would measure one billion meters.

How large is one billion? One billion hours ago modern humans were living in the Stone Age. One billion minutes ago, the Roman Empire was flourishing. If you traveled from Earth to the Moon three times, your journey would measure one billion meters.

Today, we’ve reached our own one billion mark: Google Earth has been downloaded more than one billion times since it was first introduced in 2005. That’s more than one billion downloads of the Google Earth desktop client, mobile apps and the Google Earth plug-in—all enabling you to to explore the world in seconds, from Earth to Mars to the ocean floor.


We’re proud of our one billion milestone, but we’re even more amazed at the way people have used Google Earth to explore the world. When we founded Keyhole, Inc. back in 2001 (the company was acquired by Google in 2004), we never imagined our geospatial technology would be used by people in so many unexpected ways. At www.OneWorldManyStories.com, we’ve collected stories from people all over the world who use Google Earth to follow their dreams, discover new and distant places, or make the world a better place.


Visit www.OneWorldManyStories.com to learn about people like Professor David Kennedy of the University of Western Australia, who’s used Google Earth to scan thousands of square kilometers in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Professor Kennedy has discovered ancient tombs and geoglyphs dating back at least 2,000 years, all without leaving his desk in Perth. Architect Barnaby Gunning, after the April 6, 2009 earthquake near L’Aquila Italy, encouraged his fellow citizens to start rebuilding the city virtually in 3D. Their online urban planning will aid city planners and architects. Retired English teacher Jerome Burg created Google Lit Trips, which uses Google Earth to match places in famous books to their geographical locations, encouraging students to create connections between the stories they read in school and the world they live in.

We hope you enjoy the site, and that it illustrates how some of those one billion downloads of Google Earth have been making a difference. You can explore these stories right in your browser with the Google Earth plug-in or download the KML files to view in Google Earth.

If you have a Google Earth story you’d like to share, we’d love to hear from you. If you don’t have Google Earth, download it now and be part of the next billion stories. While it’s inspiring to see how Google Earth has touched the lives of so many, we know the best is yet to come.

Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Engineering, Google Earth and Maps
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When getting directions on Google Maps, we suggest an origin or destination after you type the first few characters. But, we want to save you even more time by eliminating the need to type your current address each time. Today you can start using ‘My Location’ as a starting or ending point for your directions using the familiar ‘blue dot’ found in ...
When getting directions on Google Maps, we suggest an origin or destination after you type the first few characters. But, we want to save you even more time by eliminating the need to type your current address each time. Today you can start using ‘My Location’ as a starting or ending point for your directions using the familiar ‘blue dot’ found in Google Maps for mobile.

Directions with ‘My Location’ enabled

Now when you get directions on Google Maps, you’ll see “My Location” in the starting location field. All that is left for you is to fill in the destination and hit “Get Directions”.

The first time you use “My Location,” your browser will ask you to allow Google Maps to get your approximate physical location. If you accept, the dot next to “My Location” will turn from grey to blue, indicating Google Maps has retrieved your current location.

Depending on your browser, you can choose to have Google Maps ask you every time you use the “My Location” feature, or to remember your setting for Google Maps. You can also always opt-out by revoking the permission in your browser’s settings.

This feature is possible thanks to modern browsers supporting the GeoLocation API. If you are using one of the supporting browsers--Firefox V3.5+, Google Chrome, Opera 10.6+, Internet Explorer 9.0+, and Safari 5--Google Maps can use this technology to approximate your current location and use it as an origin or destination point.

To help you manage your privacy, Google Maps does not save your location when you enable this feature. You can also easily turn off the “My Location” feature and control your browser's ability to provide your location to Google Maps through the browser's settings.

With “My Location”, a second or two saved every time you get directions on Google Maps can add up!

Posted by Noam Ben Haim, Product Manager
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