Imagery update: What’s new in Google Earth
By Christiaan Adams, Developer Relations, Google Earth & Earth Outreach
Since our last imagery update post, we’ve been busy as usual, adding more great imagery to Google Earth and Google Maps. Because so many people ask us about the age of our imagery and how often it’s updated, here’s a summary of what we’ve been up to recently.
New 3D imagery: Japan, Portugal and a coverage layer
Since April, we’ve added new high-resolution 3D imagery for 57 cities and metro areas, covering nearly 20 million people! Some of our favorites include the Tōdai-ji Temple in Nara, Japan, and Cape St. Vincent in Sagres, Portugal.
In case you missed it, in May we announced a new layer in Google Earth which shows you the cities and towns where we have 3D imagery available. Check out the 3D Coverage layer in Google Earth.
New satellite imagery: Beaches and Soccer stadiums
Since April, we’ve added enough satellite and aerial (2D) imagery to cover more than 544 million people across the planet. There are new images available in nearly every country, with lots of recent updates in places like Mexico and Central America, Brazil, China, India, Pakistan, and Eastern Europe. Just in time for summer in the northern hemisphere, there are updates for Cape Cod & Nantucket, beaches in southern Spain, and the western tip of Bali.
In preparation for the World Cup happening right now, we updated imagery for many places across Russia. If you haven’t seen them yet, check out the Voyager stories on Russian Soccer Stadiums, previous World Cup Championship stadiums and a tour of other places related to The Beautiful Game. You can also test your soccer/football knowledge with the Football Trivia Quiz.
Are you interested in a deeper understanding of where our 3D imagery comes from, and didn’t see the video in our previous post? Check it out here: Google Earth’s Incredible 3D Imagery, Explained.
Recently updated 3D imagery includes:
- France: Honfleur
- Japan: Kashihara, Nara
- Netherlands: Utrecht
- Poland: Olsztyn
- Portugal: Cape St Vincent, Coimbra
- Spain: Pontevedra, Vigo
- Sweden: Goteborg
- United Kingdom: Bristol, Nottingham
- United States: Decatur AL, Fairfield CA, Destin FL, Gulf Breeze FL, Lake Wales FL, Pace FL, Wright FL, Orland Park IL, Hagerstown MD, Starkville MS, Riverhead NY, Westerville OH, Lufkin TX, and Charlottesville VA
Until next time, keep exploring and enjoy the view!
