Tons o' Fun with Google Maps
Spaghetti Junction
Last month, I posted about Google Maps, Google's latest astounding innovation. Of course, we're all tempted to type in our home address and try and spot our house on the satellite images. Better yet, someone at work sent me a link for the Buffalo Bills' Ralph Wilson Stadium. Then, 1754blog.com posted an airplane graveyard.
This got me thinking . . . what else was out there to see on Google Maps? Surely someone had gone to some lengths to find some cool stuff. Sure enough, there are a few sites out there already that are dedicated to fun or interesting Google Map finds.
I really could list a dozen good sites there, but I'll limit my selection to one. My favorite site is Virtual Globetrotting, because it simply blows all the other sites away. That site uses screenshots liberally, which is very helpful.
If looking through Google Maps isn't geeky enough for you, you can start playing Scavengeroogle, a sort of scavenger hunt for a google map. They show you an image from Google Maps and give you one hint, and you try and find the image.
Here are a few of my favorite Google Map finds. There are plenty of other neat listings out there, too, but I'll leave it up to you to find them. Most of these were taken from perljam.net's Google Satellite Maps page. It seems to be the best comprehensive listing out there.
Natural Wonders
Man-made Structures
- Alcatraz
- Epcot Center
- Hoover Dam
- Mount Rushmore
- Rikers Island
- Monster Park with a San Francisco 49ers game in progress
- Evaporating Pools in Utah
- Statue of Liberty
- Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch
- WTC Site
- Barbara Streisand's Estate
(Normally I wouldn't post this, but because of the Barbara Streisand debacle I felt obligated.) - Government-related Structures
- FBI HQ
- Congress (Intentionally pixellated)
- Washington Monument
- White House (airbrushed roof)
- NASA's Cape Canaveral Launch Pads
- Area 51
- Nevada Test Site
Curious Sights
- Airplane Graveyard (zoom in)
- Blimp (flying near Clearwater FL)
- Hollywood Sign
- Spaghetti Junction in Atlanta (Intersection of I-85 and I-285)
- Burning Man being set up
- Pac-Man Farm
Google Quirks
- Weather Shift in Utah
The Writing on the Wall
- Oprah Love in Arizona.
- We Honor Those Who Serve America, in Nebraska
- Picture This at the North Carolina Museum of Art
- Phoenix in Apache Junction (the directions are accurate, too!)
- Keep Your Forests Green on the Lucky Peak Dam in Idaho
- Escobar's Dairy Farm
- Dave's tag (and the associated story)
This entry was posted
on Monday, May 2nd, 2005 at 21:12 by Novac and is filed under All, Bleeding Edge, Computers, Education, Fun, Geography, Google, Interesting, Internet, Search Engines, Technology.
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