Google Earth: New Imagery – August 14

 

Thanks to sharp-eyed GEB reader ‘Andreas’, it seems that Google has just pushed out a fresh imagery update. The full extent of the update is still unknown, but it appears to be quite sizable.

 

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As is usually 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!

[UPDATED – 13-August, 1:52pm EST]

  • China: Beijing, Shenzhen — thanks ‘drone’ and ‘hongxz’
  • Ethiopia: Gode — thanks ‘Snakeye’
  • United States: Arizona (Buckeye, Camp Verde, Casa Grande), California (Bakersfield, Coalinga, Huron, Sacramento, Visalia), Illinois (Harrisburg), Iowa (Des Moines, Sioux City), Missouri (Columbia, Jefferson City, Joplin), Nebraska (Lincoln, Omaha), New Mexico (Carlsbad, Farmington), New York (Rochester), Ohio (Dayton), Oklahoma (Tulsa), Texas (Abilene, Big Spring, Dalhart, Junction, Monahams) — thanks ‘Alex’, ‘Andreas’, ‘Munden’ and ‘Steven’

As ‘Munden’ points out in the comments, the imagery from the tornado that struck Joplin, MO is stunning:

joplin.jpg 

The world’s longest bridge in Google Earth

The world’s longest bridge over water, connecting China’s port city of Quingdoa with an airport on the other side of Jiaozhou Bay, has finally opened. The bridge is 26.4 miles long, making it the longest bridge in the world.

The building of the bridge has generated some amazing statistics:

• It stands on 5,200 pillars.

• It cost around $1.5 billion to build.

• It uses enough steel for almost 65 Eiffel Towers – 450,000 tons, along with 81 million cubic feet of concrete.

• It can withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake, typhoons, or the impact of a 300,000 ton ship.

GEC member TomKjeldsen found the bridge in Google Earth, and added a few paths to show the bridge in the “open water” areas that don’t show anything in there.

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To see it for yourself, you can simply use this KMZ file.

The bridge will hold its title for about 5 years; in 2016, a 30 mile bridge is expected to be completed that links Hong Kong with Macao and Guandong province.

New Google Imagery – Week of May 16th

The Google Earth and Google Maps Imagery Team has just published its latest batch of satellite and aerial imagery, and as always, there are all kinds of fascinating sites and features to check out.

It’s mid-May and summer is just around the corner. That means vacation! And since many of us like to head to the water for our leisure time, we’ve compiled examples of a few coastal areas that have received updated imagery in our latest release.
In the States, premiere beach vacation spots include the coral-sand beaches that line Miami, Florida. Below is a stretch of the world-famous South Beach within the City of Miami Beach’s City Center district. This high-resolution aerial image was taken this past March, during Spring Break.

 

44th St. Beach, Miami, Florida


If hot, crowded beaches aren’t your thing, there are many cooler places (literally) you could spend your leisure time exploring. Below is a high-resolution aerial image from this past April of Bear Glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. In this image, you can see the glacier toe as well as the ice, meltwater, and debris it deposits. This valley outflow glacier is sourced from the Harding Icefield, the largest icefield contained entirely within the United States. If you’re viewing this in Google Earth, be sure to use the Historical Imagery time slider to view how the glacier’s size has changed over time.

Bear Glacier, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

 

Finally, here’s a recent satellite image of the entertainment center in the bustling coastal city of Qingdao, in the Shandong Province, China. The city was named China’s most livable city in 2009, and from the image below you can understand why; there are many places to enjoy such as beaches, sport complexes, and the beautiful public space, Hui Quan Square. Indeed, a nice place to visit and explore on your next summer vacation – whether it’s in-person or online. When viewing this area in Google Earth or Maps, you can also explore other parts of the image, such as the finishing touches being put on the Haiwan Bridge, the world’s largest water bridge, spanning 26.4 miles.

 

Hui Quan Square, Qingdao, China

 

Do you have a place you love for which you’d like to receive a notification when the Earth and Maps Imagery team updates the site? We’ve got just the tool: The Follow Your World application!

As always, these are but 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: Myrtle Beach, Miami, Palm Beach, Lake City, Lynchburg, Lenoir, Dallas, Grand Rapids, Anchorage, Kenai, Tyonek

Countries/Regions receiving High Resolution Satellite Updates:
Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, Gambia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Palmyra Atoll, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Helena, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Svalbard, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Bank, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

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