Google Lat Long: March 2009

Mapping resources for the Red River Floods

March 31, 2009

As the news began to spread of the Red River's record-setting crest level, the first order of the day was to help get the word out to as many as possible. This was especially true in Fargo, North Dakota's most populus city, with 92,000 residents living in the vicinity of the Red River. For many Fargoans, the need for timely, flood-related geographical information, including shelter locations, evacuated neighborhoods, and official news was paramount. Radio Fargo-Moorehead, owners of several of Fargo's TV and radio stations, worked to develop a My Map that was embedded across its network of Fargo-area station websites, including: KFGO.com, BOB95FM.com, ROCK102online.com, MOJO104.com, Y94.com, and 740thefan.com.

Through the collaborative editing properties of My Map, this map was jointly kept updated over the course of the flood, the changes being instantly reflected on the Radio-Fargo station websites. After only 72 hours, the number of map visits from Fargoans, Moorheaders, and others from across the country exceeded 250,000. These resources will continue to evolve as this situation continues to change.

View KFGO - Red River Flood 2009 in a larger map

View the KFGO Fargo MyMap

We have also published a Google Earth Layer (kmz) with more GIS-related information for the flood response. This layer will be updated with additional data, including imagery, as it becomes available. To view the layer in Google Earth, download the KML file found here.

Posted by Phil Dixon, Geospatial Business Product Manager; and Pete Giencke, GIS Data Engineer

Your 3D buildings in Google Earth

March 30, 2009

[Cross-posted with the SketchUp Blog] 3D Buildings layer Google Earth Google SketchUp Google 3D Warehouse been
In the meantime, hats-off to the many modelers whose models were included. To highlight a couple....check out the Chrysler building in New York modeled by Kevin Girard, or Saint Peter's Basilica and Square in Vatican City by Antonino Grasso Cristaudo. Awesome work!Posted by Bruce Polderman, Sr. Business Product Manager

Searching for more than the point

March 26, 2009

Over the past few years Google Maps users have created millions of maps using the My Maps feature. At the same time we have been busy scouring the web to find maps in other formats, like KML and GeoRSS, to include in our index. As you may have seen in the recent post about blended search results we have been including individual places from those maps in our results. Until now, however, there has been no easy way to find complete maps created by others. That changes this week, as we start to surface a link to these complete maps when we think they are relevant to your query. For example, the query 'President Birth Places' now returns the following:

Clicking on the maps title takes you to a great map showing where each president was born:

Here are a few other queries to try: London Olympics 2012, US State Capitals, US National Parks, Events near Bay Area and Castles in Wales.

In addition to making searching better, this is also an excuse for you to go polish your maps, since now the world can find them! Remember, if we find an attribution in your feed we will link back to you.

Posted by James Macgill, Software Engineer

Mapping the big melt

March 23, 2009

Since the mid-1970s, glaciers have been melting faster than any other point in geologic history. James Balog, National Geographic Society photographer, has visited many of the world's most stunning glaciers, and has documented their unnaturally rapid retreat as a result of global climate change. Thanks to James Balog's Extreme Ice Survey, you can go to what was once the highest ski resort in the world, Chacaltaya Glacier in Bolivia, at 17,200 ft; this thousand year old glacier has all but disappeared in the past 68 years. Or visit Columbia Glacier in Alaska, which has deflated and thinned approximately 1200 feet since the early 1980's—equivalent height to the Empire State Building. Watch time-lapse photography of many glaciers' movements around the globe, from Alaska to Greenland to Switzerland.

Through books, films, TV shows, and now through Google Earth, efforts are being made to illustrate what is going on with the world's most remote and inaccessible glaciers. "I think science and art both have something to say to the public about what's going on. And that's what motivates me. I think with these tools we have a mechanism for telling the truth and bringing the evidence to the public," said James.
According to the Extreme Ice Survey, glacial retreat isn't happening at a glacial pace. You can watch PBS's NOVA special on Extreme Ice this Tuesday at 8pm to hear more about it. Until then, explore the Google Earth layer created by Bryce Tugwell.

Posted by Tanya Keen, Google Earth Outreach

Mapping the Madness returns

March 19, 2009

Today, the wonderful chaos that is March Madness returns, and with it, comes a brand new college basketball KML like the one I built last year. To celebrate this annual moment of basketball bliss, I've added the locations of this year's 13 tournament venues, in addition to the locations of the 65 tournament teams' campuses.

Why, you might ask, did I decide to burn the midnight oil again to map these locations? Because I'm a a die-hard college hoops nut, plain and simple. Plus, I love learning facts like the ones below. As you're watching the games over the next few weeks, take a minute during a break in the action to do some March Madness geo-browsing and see if you can find these spots in Google Earth:

A tournament venue with an airplane silhouette on top of it
The tournament team based in Moon Township, PA
The two tournament teams that play in arenas that have their school logos on the roofs

I've also included these placemarks on a My Map - check it out:

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Enjoy, and let the Madness begin!

Posted by Adam Hughes, Google Maps Senior Strategist and College Hoops Fan

Street View cures the homesick blues

March 19, 2009

I moved from Amsterdam to London last year and even though I've enjoyed getting to know London, I can't help feeling a bit homesick sometimes. Which is why I'm really excited that today we're launching Street View for both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom; now I can take a trip down memory lane and explore my new home, even if it's raining. Starting today you'll be able to view 360º street level imagery for Amsterdam, London, Rotterdam, Manchester, Liverpool and several other cities in these countries -- 25 cities in all!

Now whenever I feel like going back to the Netherlands I can use Street View to admire the beautiful canals in Amsterdam:

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...or visit my old university in Rotterdam:

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...or even take a look at the bike I left behind:

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Street View will also help me further explore London and other cities in the United Kingdom. I can now better plan my visits to Portobello market in London (so that I don't get lost like last time)...

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....try to find the exact spot of a famous zebra crossing:

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....show my friends abroad some of London's most famous landmarks (spin around for another view):

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....or take a look at historic Oxford:

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The great thing about this is that with Google Maps on my mobile I can check Street View when I'm out and about and see exactly what the restaurant I'm supposed to be meeting my friends at looks like.

I'm not the only one who's very excited about Street View's arrival in the Netherlands and the UK; there are quite a few websites which are already (yes, already - it's that easy) using Street View in creative ways. With some help from our friends at fancyapint.com I can use Street View to find the best watering holes in London, and the Tate museum helps me get a better sense of British culture by showing how the world has changed since the likes of J.W. Turner were painting back in the 18th century. Other partners such as the Mayor of London show the highlights of the city, VisitBritain shows me where to go in the United Kingdom, and the Dutch tourist organisation VVV shows me what's what in Holland.

And if somehow this just isn't enough, there is even more! After launching Street View in France, Spain and Italy last year we're also excited to announce that we're adding more cities to Street View in these countries, which means that Google Maps will be even more useful when you next plan a vacation to the south of France, Zaragoza or the Amalfi coast.

If you want to view street level imagery for all these new locations - go to Google Maps and drag the Pegman icon to one of the (many) new cities in Europe. Have fun exploring!

Posted by Kenzo Fong Hing, Product Marketing Manager

A taste of what's to come

March 18, 2009

On September 6th 2008, satellite imagery company GeoEye successfully launched the world's most advanced commercial imaging satellite, GeoEye-1, into orbit. After nearly 4 months of in-orbit checkouts they officially announced the start of GeoEye-1 commercial operations in February. Since then they have been building their archive with beautiful images of our planet, such as this one of the pyramids near Cairo, Egypt:

In the coming months you will start seeing stunning GeoEye-1 imagery blended into our database and viewable through Google Earth, Maps, and Google Maps for Mobile, but until then you can visit http://earth.google.com/geoeye/ to download a KML preview of full resolution GeoEye-1 imagery to get a taste of what's to come. As exciting as these images are, remember: there will be even more coming soon!

Posted by Dylan Lorimer, Strategic Partner Manager; and Jacob Schonberg, Associate Product Manager

100 days on the ice

March 17, 2009

About two weeks ago, a team of explorers was dropped off in the Arctic, ready to embark on a 100 day journey across 1000 kilometers of disintegrating and shifting sea ice. They're traveling on foot, hauling sledges in temperatures ranging from 0ºC down to -50°C, and conducting scientific experiments as they go.

Why would anyone do this? The team of experienced polar explorers and photographers - Pen Hadow, Ann Daniels, and Martin Hartley - are leading the Catlin Arctic Survey, which seeks to resolve one of the most important environmental questions of our time: how long will the Arctic Ocean's sea ice cover remain a permanent feature of our planet? (For their sake, we hope it's at least 100 days!)
If you don't have quite the same tolerance for cold weather, you can still follow along with the team in Google Earth with this KML or on the Catlin Arctic Survey website. They have a bundle of communications tools with them, and they'll be sending back regular video updates directly from the ice as well as photos and the scientific data that they collect.

Posted by Steve Miller, Product Manager

Why we believe in geospatial data sharing

March 17, 2009

In several recent posts, we've highlighted our ongoing efforts to partner with public sector organizations to add their map content to Google Maps and Google Earth. We undertake these partnerships because, by definition, organizations like local governments are the most authoritative source of geospatial data for their jurisdiction. But partnering with governments is a difficult mathematical equation. If you run the numbers for just the U.S. where there are many federal agencies with geospatial data, 50 state governments, some 3,000 counties and over 30,000 cities and towns, you quickly get an idea of the volume of relationships you'd have to develop and manage to add data from all governments to a service like Google Maps.

It's therefore no surprise that we at Google are very supportive of organizations that seek to streamline access to and simplify the sharing of geospatial data. One such organization is the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC), the association of U.S. state government GIS agencies. Among NSGIC members' objectives is coordinating the collection and sharing of data within their jurisdictions. Because of the efforts of many NSGIC members, we've managed to efficiently add aerial imagery and other datasets for entire states to our services.

For example, the State of Arkansas improved the resolution and currency of imagery statewide. The following screenshots, taken from Google Earth's Historical Imagery feature, show the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas, while under construction and following its dedication. The latter view was provided by the State of Arkansas.

Clinton Presidential Library under construction, December 2002, DigitalGlobe

Clinton Presidential Library post-dedication, December 2005, State of Arkansas

Another NSGIC objective, shared by U.S. federal agencies and others, is producing nationwide datasets as part of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure, such as through the Imagery for the Nation program. We've joined others in the technology industry in endorsing such efforts.

NSGIC recently held a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, where we had the opportunity to present to the association's state government members. The purpose of our presentation was to address the recurring questions we get from GIS agencies about the types of geosptial data we welcome and the steps involved in partnering with us. One result is that we've published answers to an initial group of questions and we'll be adding others soon.

We applaud the work of GIS agency managers and policymakers who are working, at all levels of government, to ensure that the public's investment in geosptial data is shared and thereby used across agencies and governments, but also is made readily available to the public through free services like Google Maps. We look forward to collaborating with NSGIC and other organizations to advance such efforts in data sharing.

Posted by Dylan Lorimer, Strategic Partnerships Team

Model the world - one bridge at a time

March 16, 2009

Cross-posted with the SketchUp Blog
Are you in awe of the engineering that goes into designing a bridge? Do you have a favorite local, famous, or historical bridge you'd like to see in Google Earth? I'm pleased to announce the launch of the Google SketchUp 2009 International Student Bridge Modeling Competition. Now you have a chance to show off your modeling skills and make that dream a reality by entering the competition anytime before June 15, 2009.

Simply model your bridge in Google SketchUp, geo-reference it in Google Earth, and submit the bridge by uploading to the Google 3D Warehouse to earn eternal online glory and, if you win, a handsome prize. You can enter this competition if you're a student at a higher education institution almost anywhere in the world. Take a look at this 3D Warehouse collection to get inspired, and good luck!

Posted by Allyson McDuffie, SketchUp for Education Program Manager

A look back in time

March 16, 2009

I'm happy to announce that we've recently added a large update of historical imagery to Google Earth. While looking through these images I once again realized how powerful historical imagery is in illustrating the progress of events in our world. The massive amount of historical imagery available at your fingertips through Google Earth lets you explore changes in time in a way never seen before. Progress and destruction of our natural and built environment is readily apparent.

Take the construction of "The World" islands in Dubai. How grand is this achievement? You can go to Google Earth, load up the Historical Imagery feature and see the scope of this endeavor for yourself.

Left image taken on December 23, 2004, right image taken on October 28, 2006. The archipelago took only 5 years to build.

Historical Imagery also lets you visualize, for yourself, important environmental trends such as the deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest -- no need to try to decipher scientific studies; just look at the images.

Population growth and expansion into the forest in Rondônia, Brazil. Left image taken on June 19, 1975, right image take on September 19, 2001.

Looking at snapshots of the past can also help you conceptualize the extent of a horrible natural disaster and empathize with its victims. Seeing the effects of Hurricane Katrina one image at a time really brings the force and devastation of the events to you in a new and powerful way.

I-10 highway in New Orleans. Left image taken on April 9th, 2004, right image taken on September 2, 2005 just after Katrina hit. Notice the highway is mostly submerged underneath the flooding.

Another harrowing instance is an image of New York City taken on September 12, 2001, in which a plume of smoke is visible; though tragic, it serves as an important part of the historical record.

These are just some of the many gripping examples of development and change in Google Earth. As you explore the world over time, you can witness both the tragedies and the triumphs throughout recent history. We will continue to update our databases with more imagery so check back in the future to see what other moments in human history will be revealed.

Posted by Jacob Schonberg, Associate Product Manager

Ecce Triumphatores!

March 16, 2009

Congratulations to the winners of the Google Ancient Rome in 3D Curriculum Competition!

Our panel of educational thought leaders included Bernard Frischer, Director of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, University of Virginia, Roberta Johnson, Executive Director of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, and Michael H. Levine, Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. They chose to recognize the following teachers for their excellent lessons -- and all these lessons can be found on the Google for Educators website for other teachers to adapt them for their own classrooms:

Grades 9-12

Benjamin Johnson of Hampden Academy in Hampden, Maine for his lesson, Walking in the Footsteps of the Romans (He even created a great video of his lesson, available on YouTube ).
Amy Rechtiene of Lake Norman High School in Mooresville, North Carolina for her lesson, A tour of Rome Fit for an Emperor
Sarah Ellery of Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee for her lesson, Walking with the Emperors

Grades K-8

Cheryl Davis of Acalanes Union High School District in Lafayette, California for her lesson, Roman Holiday with the Ancients
Jennifer Wagner of Calvary School in Wildomar, California and Kathy Shields of Creek View Elementary in Alpharetta, Georgia for their lesson, Archy-the-Arch
Ingrid Gustafson and Carol Alcusky of Sarah Gibbons Middle School in Westborough, Massachusetts for their lesson, The Roman Record

Honorable Mentions

Ivan Nieves and Sally Hatcher of Winsor School in Boston, Massachusetts for their lesson, Ecce Rome
Mijana Lockard and Craig Hilgenberg of Lincoln Avenue Academy in Lakeland, FL for their lesson, What can we Learn from Ancient Societies?

Our judges had this to say about the competition: "We've had the privilege to read lesson plans and classroom activities from teachers all across the country that incorporate both the challenging pedagogy and breakthrough technologies that are required to prepare children in a global age. We've been impressed and delighted by the level of expertise shown across a wide range of grade levels and subject areas, from architecture, design, and theater to history, world languages, and environmental engineering. The teachers recognized as prize winners displayed both their keen eye for what works in the classroom to engage today's students, as well as a mastery of 21st century technologies, including Google Earth and the new Ancient Rome 3D layer. We are confident that their work will inspire educators everywhere!"

Posted by Anna Bishop, Google Earth Education

Live from Mars!

March 13, 2009

Just last month, we released Mars in Google Earth 5.0 and finally satisfied the long-standing demands of our Martian userbase. However, much to our delight, Mars has also proven popular among Earthlings, so today we're pleased to announce several new features for Mars in Google Earth designed specifically for our human users. Together they highlight humanity's newest and oldest views of the red planet: Live from Mars, Historical Maps, and Guided Tours.

	Live from Mars: NASA's typical release process for Mars satellite imagery requires months, and involves numerous stages of calibration. But thanks to the THEMIS camera team at Arizona State University, you could turn on the new 'Live from Mars' layer and become one of the very first people to lay eyes on images taken just days or even hours ago! This feature represents the first public continuous stream of fresh high-resolution satellite imagery in the solar system, and can display new images from the THEMIS camera just hours after NASA receives them. You can also see live satellite orbital tracks, or check out where the HiRISE camera plans to image next.
	Historical Maps: In the late 1800s, Giovanni Schiaparelli created many of the earliest detailed maps of Mars. He famously saw, recorded, and named numerous linear features on the surface, some of which he termed cannali (Italian for channel). His contemporary, Percival Lowell, re-imagined and misunderstood these features to be artificial canals, sparking a media frenzy back on Earth and captivating the public with the idea of abundant water and an alien civilization on Mars. The Historical Globes layer lets you see these and other antique maps of Mars as virtual spinning globes.
	Guided Tours: If you're not sure where to go on Mars, let Bill Nye the Science Guy and Ira Flatow of Public Radio's Science Friday show you around. Simply go to the Mars Gallery layer, and double-click either of their tours for a narrated trip around the Martian surface. This is a great way to introduce yourself to some of the most interesting spots on the planet - just sit back, and enjoy the ride. If something catches your eye, you can pause these tours at any time and explore on your own, then hit play to resume your journey. These tours were created with the new Touring feature in Google Earth 5.0.

A Traveler's Guide to Marsface on Mars

Space Act Agreementearth.google.com/marsPosted by Michael Weiss-Malik, Martian Product Manager

Will It Blend? Yes!

March 12, 2009

As an engineer working on Google Maps, I often talk with my coworkers about how some of the most interesting data comes from the geo-community. It's because of this that we've recently taken yet another step on our quest to make Google Maps more user driven: fully blending user-created content into our search results.

Some of our more regular users may have noticed that we'd been sparingly doing this for a while now, occasionally surfacing results from KML, GeoRSS, or Wikipedia we crawl from the web, along with photos and videos we think would be useful - but now we've opened the floodgates! From now on, you can expect to see more higher quality user-created content to show up, often intermixed with our traditional results. Here are some examples of queries that now have more useful blended results:

In New York City and looking for good street food?
Try "falafel carts in nyc" to see what users had to say.

Looking for information about the bridge collapse that happened in Minnesota last year?
Search for "bridge collapse in MN" to see pictures, animations, and 3d-models.

Planning a vacation and want some recommendations?
Try searching for "snorkeling costa rica" to see some options.

Thanks to content from the geo-community, our results are richer and more informative than ever. We'll continue to work hard to show the best of the best, and of course, to attribute them to their authors. So keep adding that great content, whether through My Maps or getting your KML indexed.

Posted by Daniel Yehuda, Software Engineer

U.S. job growth powered by the sun

March 11, 2009

[Cross-posted with the google.org blog]studySolar Energy Research & Education Foundation (SEREF)solar jobs mapKML in Google Earth

f the job growth over time and compare the solar energy resources of each state with their job growth potential. In the additional data, you can also see solar installations, like and a solar power tower at the Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) in Southern California, to see what they actually look like in Google Earth.

This map was created as part of SEREF’s and Google.org’s shared objective to rapidly scale-up the use of solar technologies in the U.S. so that the environmental, economic, and national security benefits of renewables can be realized.
To check out the map and learn more about solar energy, please visit http://www.seref.us/solarjobsmap.html.
Posted by Dave Bercovich, Google.org and Karin Tuxen-Bettman, Google Earth Outreach

The maps you made just got directions

March 10, 2009

Over the past few months, users have created rich and comprehensive maps in 164 countries around the world. Today with our newly launched feature on Google Map Maker, you can get driving directions in regions where this was not previously available. For example, you can get directions from Ho Chi Minh City to Thien Hau Pagoda in Vietnam or Pune City to Khandala in India.

In the spirit of Map Maker, you can correct the directions as appropriate. Note that for every turn in the directions, you can edit the intersection details such as name and whether turns are allowed or not (known as turn restrictions). We're pleased to note that the directions seem very good in many examples we tried out, but there is always room for improvement. Also, finding directions is a great way to fix roads on the map that are broken, incomplete, or not connected well. For example, directions are incomplete for Devanahlli to Bommavara in Bangalore, India. This is because the road connecting Bommavara to a nearby main road is not drawn on the map.

We have created a little guide to help you use the new feature. Our hope is that with this deep editing ability, we will be able to ensure the most up-to-date and reliable maps ever.

Posted by Vinay Chitlangia, Software Engineer and Sree Unnikrishnan, User Experience Designer

And the award goes to...

March 9, 2009

After much review our judges finalized their decisions for the winners of the KML in Research contest. The contest was designed to generate some new and

exciting KML that focused on science and research applications. Some contestants used the format to display data in multiple dimensions. Others used the KML format's flexibility to pack dense layers of data into a convenient and easy to navigate form. All of the entries exhibited novel uses that could be used as examples for many other research problems.

The student winners are:

Darren Achtymichuk, Univ. of Alberta
Kerry Ard, Univ. of Michigan

The professional winners are:

Declan De Paor, Old Dominion Univ.
Tyler Erickson, Michigan Tech
Ionut Iordache, UC Berkeley
Bjorn Sandvik, ThematicMapping.Org
Aidan Slingsby, City Univ. London

Each contestant will receive a prize pack including an iPod Touch, Garmin GPS, and Google swag. All the entries will be featured on our Google Gallery page as well as the Google Earth Education website.

We would like to thank all the contestants for their work and encourage anyone interested in learning how to generate KML to check out our resources for examples and getting started guides.

Posted by Ryan Falor, Systems Engineer

New 3D cities in Google Earth

March 6, 2009

Lucerne, Switzerland and Santa Rosa, California have joined the growing list of cities and towns that have chosen to incorporate themselves onto the "3D virtual map" in Google Earth. These cities both submitted 3D models of their downtowns to Google via the Cities in 3D Program. In doing so, they joined others who view Google Earth as an effective way to promote their town to virtual tourists, enable potential businesses to evaluate a new site, and help city planners share design proposals with their communities in a way that we all can relate to: in 3D.

Whether you're starting from scratch or have existing data to share, we have the resources for you to make your models available on Earth. For those of you who are new to this, Google SketchUp is free software that allows you to easily create high-quality photo-textured 3D models. If your town or city has already created models, you can share them with us in a couple of ways. Use the 3D Warehouse - our online repository for storing 3D data - to upload your textured or non-textured building models if you have fewer than 100 buildings. If you have hundreds or thousands of buildings, or if you only have building footprints with the height value, we're happy to take those in too! Just fill out our contact form and let us know what kind of data, how much and in what format you have and we'll get back to you with more info on getting your data in. If this sounds interesting to you, please contact us! We'd be happy to answer any questions you many have about the process.

Lucerne

Santa Rosa

Posted by Naureen Kabir, Strategic Partnerships Team

Google Transit at TransITech: A year later and 500% greener

March 5, 2009

My colleague Naomi and I recently presented at APTA TransITech 09 in Toronto. TransITech is the biggest technology conference for the transit industry in North America. I remember attending it last year when I just started working on the Google Transit partner program and had just celebrated my son's first birthday. Looking back, I am amazed by how much Google Transit, the industry, and my son have grown and accomplished in just 12 short months. Here are some highlights for Google Transit (but I'll resist the urge to brag about my son).

Increased transit coverage

In one year, the total number of cities for which people can plan transit trips with Google Maps has grown to more than 250 -- 500% more than last year. In North America, we've grown from supporting around 20 agencies to 115 agencies, including 8 agencies in Canada. These agencies range from serving large metropolitan areas like Atlanta, Montreal and New York City to rural areas such as Humboldt County, California. In South America, we had agencies in São Paolo and Belo Horizonte join shortly after Google Maps launched in Brazil. Many European agencies have been added across 8 countries, covering cities such as Moscow, Bordeaux, and Lisbon, and we even added national coverage for Austria. Last year, the big news for our Asian coverage was the nationwide launch in Japan and our initial launch in China with fewer than 20 cities. Today Chinese users can plan transit trips in 82 cities including Beijing and Shanghai. Perth was the first agency to launch in Australia, recently followed by Adelaide.

New and improved product features

A year ago, we had "walking directions" that simply consisted of an as-the-crow-flies arrow across buildings -- and sometimes rivers! Today, people are no longer directed to swim across rivers or fly over impassible areas - detailed turn-by-turn walking directions have now been seamlessly integrated with our transit directions.

And once you hit the road, you were out of luck - a year ago, you could only plan transit trips on a PC. Today you can plan your transit trips on the go by using Google Maps for mobile on a wide range of mobile devices, including iPhone and Blackberry. Finally, the Transit Layer is the newest feature in the transit family, helping you easily discover public transit routes, with a total of 60 cities included .

Open data encourages innovation

Transit agencies launched on Google Maps have created transit data feeds to include stop and schedule information according to the Google Transit Feed Specification (GTFS), an open format adopted by many developers as well. Many transit agencies not only share their data with Google, but also make their data public so developers can easily create mashups. A year ago, 6 agencies published their transit feeds; today, there are 24. Many clever transit applications have been developed by third party developers to help people use public transit. Here are some of my favorites that have been created in the last year:

Unibus-iBus Universal: an iPhone application that estimates bus arrival time. It started with TriMet’s information, and then quickly extended to 15 additional cities with GTFS data.
iBART: an iPhone application similar to iBus but specific for BART service in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was created by two college students, Ian Leighton and David Hodge, and was launched on the App Store just days after the app store was launched.

Graphserver: an open source trip planner developed by Brandon Martin-Anderson. It is the backbone for any application requiring a routing engine. An interesting application using Graphserver is TransitShed (first announced on Transit Developer Group on Feb 10, 2009) which shows how far a person can go using public transit.

Just nine days later, Brian Ferris further developed it by mashing up TransitShed with Yelp reviews to enable users to find businesses within the reach of public transit. Seeing this sort of collaboration - developers building on the work of other developers using open data - is really exciting for us to see.

TriMet, the first agency to publish its GTFS feed, launched developer resources to support developers using its GTFS feed and Transit Tracker Real-time Web Service. About 30 applications have been developed already.

Transit agencies would not have the resources to develop these applications themselves (at least, not at the speed external developers can). By publishing transit information, agencies leverage developers' talent to encourage transit usage. These applications help provide more information that promotes the availability and convenience of public transit -- and make it fun.

After stepping down from the podium at TransITech, I couldn’t help but feeling proud to be part of such a wonderful accomplishment. And Google couldn’t have done it without the support of great transit agencies and enthusiastic developers. I can’t wait to see how far we've all come next year.

Posted by Jessica Wei, Strategic Partner Development Manager

Shaking up seismic searches

March 5, 2009

Over on the Official Google Blog, you can read about a new search feature that shows you information about recent earthquakes. A seach for the term "earthquakes" will list the most recent seismic activity, provided by the US Geological Survey. You can also check the activity closer to home by adding a location to your query, like "earthquake san francisco" (which I'll be checking every time a truck passes, since as a newly-minted Californian I don't yet have the best internal Richter scale). From the results, you can click through to the USGS Earthquake Center for more information, or open Google Maps to see the epicenter of the earthquake.

Posted by Elaine Filadelfo, Lat Long Blog Team

Cleaning up Australia, one map at a time

March 4, 2009

This past weekend, 630,000 volunteers joined together in Australia to take part in Clean Up Australia Day. By the end of the day, they had collected nearly 8,300 tons of trash from their streets, parks, beaches, and neighborhoods. In the past, Clean Up the World has encouraged its participants to use My Maps to chart their activities, but this year they did something particularly exciting: Clean Up Australia chairman Ian Kiernan AO visited several clean up sites and added photos and text to a My Map along the way with the new My Maps editor for Android using the HTC Dream phone.

You can see Ian Kiernan's map below, or read more about last weekend's event on the Google Australia blog.

View all the grassroots projects around the world on the Clean Up the World map.

View Larger Map

Posted by Tanya Keen, Google Earth Outreach

Where in the world is... (Answers)

March 4, 2009

Great work figuring out the answers to the quiz! Here are the answers in case any of the questions stumped you, and below is a more complete listing of areas updated.

1) This busy city is home to the world's largest shopping mall.
- Edmonton, Canada

2) A Viking Runestone was found in this 'Springtime Place' back in 1824.
- Upernavik, Greenland

3) This 'capital of happiness' was once a colonial capital.
- Salvador, Brazil

4) Parlez vous Francais? If so, you would be at home in this city, which is the second largest French speaking city in the world.
- Montreal, Canada

5) Though not quite complete, we've significantly improved our imagery coverage of this enormous river.
- Amazon River

6) The gateway to the highlands is now visible.
- Stirling, Scotland

7) Abandoned by settlers in 1541, this city is now the 2nd largest on it's continent.
- Buenos Aires

8) This city was twice the capitol of Persia, and recently hosted the International Physics Olympiad.
- Esfahan, Iran

9) Despite chilly temperatures, this city is sometimes called the Riviera of the North.
- Malmo, Sweden

10) We've upgraded imagery of pristine mountains, glaciers, lakes, rivers, and plains in this State.
- Alaska

Updated Imagery:

Americas:

- USA: South Dakota, Wisconsin, Many Alaskan Parklands, Fairbanks

- Canada: Edmonton, Montreal, Antigonish, Faulder, Osoyoos, Apex, Keremeos, Naramata, Okanagan Falls, Olalla, Oliver, Princeton, Tulameen, East Gate

- Colombia: Medellin, Barranquilla, Bello, tulla

- Nicaragua: Managua

- Uruguay: Atlantida, Montevideo

- Guyana: Georgetown

- Chile: Talca

- Brazil: Belo Horizonte, Brazilia, Salvador, Goiania, Vila Velha, Betim, Atibaia, Amazon River

- Peru: Arequipa, Chincha Alta

- Argentina: Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Santa Fe, Ipatinga, Palmas

Europe, Middle East, & Africa:

- France: Pyrenees-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrenees, Rhone-Alpes, Rhone, Jura, Haute-Saone, Haut-Rhin, Indre-et-Loire, Vendee, Ille-et-Vilaine

- UK: Edinburgh, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Billingham, Sheffield, York, Hull, Sunderland

- Sweden: Alingsas, Alvsbyn, Arjeplog, Arvidsjaur, Boras, Eskilstuna, Finspang, Fagersta, Boden, Eksjo, Enkoping, Helsingborg, Are, Avesta, Borlange, Hasselholm, Almhult, Arvika, Astorp, Halmastad, Alvesta, Angelholm, Tranas, Uddevalla, Uppsala, Vanersborg, Varberg, Varnamo, Casteras, Vetlanda, Haparanda, Kirstinehamn, Falkenberg, Falun, Gallivare, Gislaved, Hedemora, Hoganas, Jonkoping, Kalix, Karlshamn, Karlskrona, Klippan, Kungalv, Kungsbacka, Ljungby, Lycksele, Malmo, Norrtalje, Sunne, Ostersund, Saffle, Sodertalje, Stenungsund, Strangnas, Stromsund, Arboga, Bollnas, Eslov, Falkoping, Gavle, Hallstahammar, Harnosand, Hudiksvall, Karlstad, Katrineholm, Lidkoping, Lulea, Jokkmokk, Kalmar, Kinna, Kiruna, Koping, Kristianstad, Landskrona, Lund, Motala, Onsala, Oxelosund, Sigtuna, Oskarshamn, Ronneby, Trollhattan, Vadstena, Umea, Vastervik, Vaxjo, Ystad, Visby, Hoegland, Hoernett

- Greenland: Aappilattoq, Aasiaat, Akunnaaq, Alluitsup, Ammassivik, Arsuk, Atammik, Attu, Eqalugaarsuit, Igaliku, Iginniarfik, Ikamiut, Ikerasaak, Ilimanaq, Illoqqortmiut, Illorsuit, Ilulissat, Innaarsuit, Isotoq, Itterajivit, Kangaamiut, Kangerluk, Kangerlussuaq, Kangersuatiaq, Kapisillit, Kitsissuarsuit, Kullorsuaq, Kulusuk, Kuumiut, Maniitsoq, Naajaat, Nanotralik, Napasoq, Narsaq, Narsarsuaq, Nerlerit Inaat, Niaqornaarsuk, Nuuk, Nuussiaq, Oqaatsut, Paamiut, Qaanaaq, Qaarsut, Qaqortoq, Qasigiannguit, Qassiarsuk, Qassimiut, Qegertarsuaq, Qeqertarsuatsiaat, Saarloq, Saqqaq, Saattut, Sarfannguit, Savissivik, Sermiligaaq, Siorapaluk, Sisimiut, Tasiusaq, Tiniteqilaaq, Tussaaq, Ukkusissat, Upernavik, Uummannaq, Moriusaq, Tasiilaq, Vsskemgf (sorry, that last one was a sneeze).

- Italy: Terni, Genoa, Naples, Torino, Pisa, Brescia,

- Switzerland: Nidwalden, Obwalden

- Greece: Athens, Thessaloniki,

- Bosnia and Herzegovinia: Sarajevo

- Croatia: Zagreb

- Moldova: Chisnau

- Russia: Samara, Izhevsk, Yaroslavl, Tomsk, Cheboksary, Cherepovets,

- Iran: Esfahan, Kerman

- Qatar: Doha

- Saudi Arabia: Tabuk,

- Tunisia: Tunis

- Egypt: Tanta, Damanhur, Banha, Minuf

- Morocco: Rabat, Oujda, Meknes

- Senegal: Dakar

- Somalia: Mogadishu

- Angola: Lobito, Lubango

- Ghana: Tamale

- Mali: Bamako

- Uganda: Kampala

- Nigeria: Kaduna, Kano, Wukari

- Kenya: Ruiru

- Central African Republic: Bangui

- Sierra Leone: Freetown

- Ivory Coast: Abidjan, Korhogo

- Namibia: Windhoek

- Madagascar: Tamatave

Asia & Oceania:

- China: Anshan, Fushun, Benxi, Changzhou, Anqing

- India: Pune, Pimpri, Jamshedpur, Muzaffarpur, Latur, Sambhal, Amroha, Tenali, Navsari, Bhuj, Bankura, Begusarai, Chas, Buxar, Sujangarh, Dod Ballapur, Madhuban, Valsad, Sirsi, Borsad, Ladnun, Petlad, Kanakapura

- Pakistan: Peshawar, Jacobabad

- Bangladesh: Chittagong

- Kazahkstan: Shymkent

- Uzbekistan: Namagan, Navoiy

New 2.5m base imagery for: Mexico and Turkey

New Terrain for: Wollongong, Whitsunday Islands, Perth, Hobart, Geelong, Canberra, Cairnes, Adelaide, Honolulu, LA, and Santa Rosa.

Posted by Matt Manolides, Senior GIS Strategist

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