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

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

Posted by Tanya Birch, Google Earth Outreach


*These organizations were funded through the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at the Tides Foundation.
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Explore immersive 360º Photo Spheres such as Vernal Falls in Yosemite Valley

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

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



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

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

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


Posted by Evan Rapoport, Product Manager, Google Maps
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On the map, you’ll find the following emergency preparedness information:
We’ve also launched a map specific to New York City, featuring evacuation zone information from NYC Open Data, open shelters, weather information and live webcams.


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

Posted by Ka-Ping Yee, Software Engineer, Google Crisis Response
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And on the improved map below, you can now clearly see the dry deserts of Pakistan, the rocky Himalayas, and the rich jungles of Laos.


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


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


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



But now, helpful labels provide more clarity:



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

We hope this new visual information literally provides you with a more comprehensive and accurate lay of the land, and comes in handy whether you’re planning a trip or just browsing the map. From lush rolling hills to expansive deserts, just click and explore! Posted by Karl Johann Schmidt, Software Engineer, Google Maps
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hiking the Bright Angel Trail on the South Rim with Trekkers The narrow ridges and steep, exposed trails of the Grand Canyon provide the perfect terrain for our newest camera system. The Trekker—which its operator controls via an Android phone and automatically gathers photos as he walks—enables the collection of high-quality imagery from places that are only accessible on foot.


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

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

Posted by Ryan Falor, Product Manager, Google Street View

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


A neighborhood complete with building footprints in San Diego, California

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

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

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

Posted by Bobby Parikh, Engineering Manager

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



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

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

Posted by Urs Hölzle, Senior Vice President, Technical Infrastructure
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Taroko Gorge, Taroko National Park, Taiwan

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

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


The courtyard of Kronborg castle, Denmark

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

Posted by Ulf Spitzer, Street View Program Manager
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Visit morethanamap.com to learn more!

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


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

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

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



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

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

 Posted by Ken Hoetmer, Google Maps API Product Manager
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