My Google Map Blog

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It appears we have some fresh imagery this morning! Thanks to GEB reader 'Munden' for letting us know about it.

As is almost always the case, you can use Google Maps to determine for sure whether or not a specific area is fresh. This new imagery isn't in Google Maps yet, so you can compare Earth vs. Maps to see what's new; the fresh imagery is already in Google Earth, but the old imagery is still in Google Maps. If you compare the two side-by-side and they're not identical, that means that you've found a freshly updated area in Google Earth!

Some of the updated areas include:

• Germany: Munich
• Pakistan: Islamabad, Lahore
• Switzerland: Dietikon, Kloten, Lausanne, Vevey, Winterthur, Zurich
• United States: Nebraska (North Platte)

If you find any other updated areas, please leave a comment and let us know!

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We discussed "Carolina Bays" on here a few times in the past, including the well-presented theory that GEB reader 'Michael' laid out regarding the Saginaw Impact Manifold.

Using data from Cintos Research, a new Google+ page has formed that shows off the +Carolina Bay of the Day, some of which are quite stunning.

The images are clearly enhanced, with the process as follow:

To "punch up" the very gentle bay rims, a 20x exaggeration has been applied to the elevation data map, and hue-saturation-value color hinting is used, where the color is driven by the elevation value. Additionally, the DEMs are generated with a false sun-shadow to enhance the viewer's perception of the bay's shape.

Along with an image and description each day, they also include a KMZ file so you can view the bay for yourself in Google Earth. For example, "Sandy Grove Bay" (seen above) can be viewed in Google Earth by loading this KMZ file.

It's yet another neat way to show off some of the amazing sights on our planet. Follow their page on Google+ to keep up with their daily releases.

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Just to the left is the location of a Google Datacentre in Belgium. LargerContinue reading

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Each year during the third week in November, the National Geographic and other organizations help celebrate Geography Awareness Week. The focus is to help raise awareness of the importance of geography education.

This year's theme is "Declare your Interdependence!" and it "explores the idea that we are all are connected to the rest of the world through the decisions we make on a daily basis, including what foods we eat and the things we buy." Through the Geography Awareness Week website they have tools such as their Global Closet Calculator, which helps students show how everyone is connected.

In addition, they've produced a toolkit for organizations that would to have any kind of event or outreach activity this week.

I encourage you to view all of the great resources that are available on the official GeographyAwarenessWeek.org website.