Easily accessible aerial maps are a recent thing. When Google Earth came out a few years ago, it was big novelty. Now Google Earth is a commonly used application that pretty much everyone with computer access knows about, and stay-at-home sightseeing has never been easier. Satellite and aerial imaging make it possible to see places that are half-way around the world on your computer, and if you look around the internet, you can catch some pretty interesting sights.
Man-made Landmarks and Monuments
One of the most interesting places to see aerial map images of is the city of Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. The entire area is replete with monuments built by the now-dead ex-dictator of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov. Giant palaces and extravagant gardens with statues of the late dictator fill the map, and from an aerial view you can get a feel for the beautiful symmetry and design of the buildings.
You can check out all the wonders of man-made engineering from various different aerial and satellite pictures available from online digital maps like Google Earth. The sheer size of the Great Wall of China, for example, is clear when you look at it from the point of view of an orbiting satellite and realize just how much of the globe the Wall actually covers. You don’t get that sort of scope from ground level pictures.
Natural Landmarks
Natural landmarks are always fun to see from an aerial vantage point. The hugeness of the Rio Grande’s canyon is never more apparent than when you see it from the point of view of a passing survey plane, and the multi-colored hot springs of Yellowstone provide some of the most intriguing compositions.
Google Street View
The great thing about digital aerial maps is their potential for interactivity, which is still being explored and developed. Google, thus far, is leading the way with one of the most popular map applications today: Google Map’s street view, which if you’ve ever used Google Maps you probably already know about. You just pick any city you want, zoom in, drag the street view icon to whatever part of the map you want and then you’re free to wander through the virtualized streets of said city. The shots you see on Google’s street view mode are taken by vehicle-mounted video cameras that work every day to update the images fairly regularly. Some of the shots you can find on street view mode are candidly surprising. There’s everything from people falling into their car trunks to horrible-looking freeway accidents that everyone somehow walked away unscathed from.
To learn more about aerial and elevation maps or elevation data please visit http://www.intermap.com.
Watch the video related to satellite maps
2E0HTS using Radio equipment to track and recieve images from Satellites of weather images and the Earth.
Help answer the question about satellite maps
Satellite Maps?I am looking for a map that I could actually see my house if I put in my address. Is there anything free that I could see all that?
About Author
Ryan Frank is a 23 year writer and blogger living in San Diego, CA.
i don’t think this is a skeleton:)
Every couple of years. 2-3, Google has stated that.