The Map of Life

The Map of Life is an impressive attempt to map life on Earth.

Using the application it is possible to click on a Google Map and get a list of all the different types of bird, fish, reptile, amphibian or mammal that live in a set radius around that location. For example, if I click on my address the map returns a list of 168 different types of bird and 32 different types of mammal.

It is also possible to use the map to view the worldwide habitats of different species. If you enter the name of an animal species the map will shade in the areas of the world that the animal inhabits.

Startup Weekend Events on Google Maps

Startup Weekends are weekend meet-ups where entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs come together to share ideas, form teams, build products, and launch startups. The Startup Weekend Upcoming Events map displays upcoming events with the Google Maps API.

The initial map view shows the Startup Weekend events scheduled for the coming month around the world. A control in the map sidebar allows the user to change the month. When the user selects a different month from the sidebar the events for that month are automatically displayed on the map.

The map uses the Styled Maps feature of the Google Maps API to create map tiles that complement the color-scheme of the Startup Weekend website.

How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse

Map of the Dead is a handy Google Maps guide about how to survive the approaching zombie apocalypse.

Once you enter your address into Map the Dead you are presented with a Google Map that shows you the zombie danger zones around your home. The map also displays nearby places that are likely to have resources to help you survive once the zombies begin to take control.

It is highly likely that the internet will not survive the rise of the dead so you are advised to print out your personalised Map of the Dead and store it in a secure location.

Mapping the Fonts of London

London Typographica aims to photographically record publicly available lettering and type throughout London.

The London Typographica iPhone app allows users to take pictures of fonts that they find out on the streets of London and post them to a Google Map. The map itself is a wonderful guide to the fonts used in street signs, on shop-fronts and in graffiti around the capital city.

If you click on a map marker on the map the submitted photograph of a found font appears in the map sidebar.

Strange Strolling with Google Maps

The Strange Stollers is a team of hikers, currently in training for the Oxfam Trailtrekker 2012 challenge. Oxfam Trailtrekker is a 100km trek for teams of four, over 30 hours across the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and takes place 26th-27th May 2012.

The Strange Strollers Training Map is a Google Map being used to record and document the walks that the group are undertaking in their training for the Oxfam Trailtrekker.

Using the GPS tracks, captured with a Garmin Forerunner, the map shows the routes of the group's walks. Each walk contains map markers that reveal photographs taken on the walk, which have been imported with the Instagram API or Tweets that have been imported onto the map using the Twitter API.

New 3D Landmarks on Google Maps

Google has enhanced the quality of more than a thousand 3d landmarks around the world. The new 3d buildings are much more impressive than the basic outlines that they replace.

To showcase some of the best of the 3d buildings in Google Maps I've created a 3d View Slideshow. The slideshow animates through some of my favourite 3d views. The map also uses the Styled Maps feature in the Google Maps API to take away roads and other map features to help the 3d buildings stand out a little more.

Via: Google Lat Long

Commercial Real Estate on Google Maps

42 Floors is a nicely designed commercial real-estate Google Map.

Using the map it is possible to search for commercial properties by location, price and by size. Two slider controls allow the user to select the square feet and price range that they are interested in and the resulting properties are displayed on the map.

If the user clicks on a map marker they can get the full details about the property and even view it on Street View.

Barcelona's Mobile Friendly Websites Map

According to Google if smart-phone users have a poor mobile browsing experience 61% of them won't visit a website again. To coincide with the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Google have partnered with the Barcelona City Council to create Barcelona Go Mobile.

For the initiative Google helped businesses and landmarks in Barcelona optimise their websites for mobile phones. The Barcelona Go Mobile Google Map is a guide to mobile friendly websites in the Catalan capital.

The map allows users to search and find mobile friendly websites via a number of categories (culture, hotels, restaurants etc). If you click on a marker you can view screenshots of the selected website before and after it was optimised for mobile browsing. You can also click on the screenshots to visit the selected location's mobile website.

Via: Technomaps

Interactive Bus Stops on Google Maps

Bus-Tops is a very exciting interactive art project launching in London today. Thirty red and black LED screens have been installed on the roofs of bus shelters around London. Absolutely anyone in the world can create artwork and hopefully get a chance to see their work displayed on one of the screens.

If you want to view the submitted artwork then you will need the Bus-Tops Screen Locations Map. It allows Londoner's to find their nearest Bus-Tops screen. The map also uses the Google Maps Styled Maps feature to give the map an appropriate red and blank design.

MetroCard Use Visualised on Google Maps

The Wall Street Journal created this great data visualisation to show how New Yorkers are using different kinds of MetroCards on the city's public transit network.

Examining MetroCard Usage uses the Google Maps API to present how the 30-Day Unlimited, Pay Per-Ride and Senior Discount MetroCards are used throughout NYC. Heat maps are created for each card type and useful information windows point out specific locations and usage of the cards that the WSJ finds interesting.

The visualisation also presents data taken after the 12/30/2010 fare increases to examine how usage of the different MetroCards may have changed after the fare rises.

Maps of SOPA & PIPA Supporting Senators

Spatial Situation has created two maps to show congressional support (and opposition) for H.R. 3261 (SOPA) and S. 968 (PIPA).

The Map of Congressional Support for PIPA shows which senators are known to support and which senators oppose PIPA. The Map of Congressional Support for SOPA shows known congressional supporters and opponents of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

Both maps also include a pop-up form to contact your congressman about the two acts.

The SOPA Map

SOPA Map is attempting to map congressional supporters and opponents of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

Known congressional supporters of the act are displayed on the map with a red map marker, opponents to the bill are indicated with a green marker. Each congressman's political allegiance is also displayed by colored polygons on the map.

The map also includes a pop-up form to contact your congressman about the Stop Online Piracy Act.

A Google Map of Towing Spots

More than 200,000 vehicles were towed away in Boston between April 2009 and October 2011. Boston.com has created a Google Map to show where, why and when cars were towed in the city.

A heat map of the city gives a visual guide to the towing hot-spots in Boston. Users can mouse-over the map to view the total number of tows for any location. To aid users in navigation Boston.com have added to the map the names of major stores around the city.

Have You Met Gemma?

Gemma (short for Geospatial Engine for Mass Mapping Applications) allows you to create Google Maps with data from a number of different sources.

It is possible to create maps with gemma with layers from MapTube, SurveyMapper, OpenStreetMap and from your own data. Gemma even has an accompanying iPhone app that lets you record observations on the go and then upload them to a gemma map.

Gemma was created by the University College London - Centre for Spatial Analysis. It is not surprising then that it works very well with CASA's own SurveyMapper (a geographic survey and polling tool) and with MapTube.

Google Maps - Your Vacation Photo Album

Travelogic is an experimental website by Gabe Morton-Cook. Gabe says the project "is intended to bring together three of my passions: Travel, Photography and Interactive Design/Development".

The application plots Gabe's travels on a styled Google Map. If you click on any of the map markers for a trip you can view a selection of beautiful photographs taken at that location and Gabe's blog post about the journey.

The map includes forward and back buttons to help the user navigate through each journey and also includes a handy time-line below the map.

Via: TNW

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The Google Map of Your Twitter Followers

Have you ever wondered where your Twitter followers live? Wonder no more - let TweepsMap provide you with the answer.

There are a number of applications that use Google Maps to show you the locations of your Twitter followers. TweetsMaps however can show you the percentage of users you have in different countries. It even allows you to drill down and see how many followers you have in each state and in each city.

TweetsMap also allows you to view the data in list form and in a pie chart.

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Throw a Dart at Google Maps & Take a Snap

In April 2011 over 250 creative St. Louisans gathered to throw darts at a huge map of the City of St. Louis. Participants then had one month to visit the area where their dart landed and take a photograph.

DART St. Louis 2011 is a Google Map of the resulting collection of photographs. It provides a wonderful snapshot of St. Louis as it is today, one random block at a time.

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The Cable Map Guy

TeleGeography's Submarine Cable Map is a real thing of beauty.

The map depicts 188 active and planned submarine cable systems and their landing stations around the world. Both the cables and their landing points on the map are interactive. Clicking a cable provides access to data about the cable, including the cable’s name, ready-for-service (RFS) date, length, owners, website, and landing points. Clicking a landing point reveals a list of all submarine cables landing at that station.

The map makes great use of Google Map styles and custom info windows to create a map that is both functional and great to look at.

Also See

Greg's Cable Map

Hat-tip: Street View Funny

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New York Evacuation Zones on Google Maps

The New York Times' Hurricane Irene Tracking Map is probably the only map of Hurricane Irene that you will need.



This Google Map shows the projected path of the hurricane with forecasted wind speeds along the path. It is also possible to overlay the latest satellite pictures of the hurricane on top of the map.





WYNC are also using Google Maps, in their case to display New York City Evacuation Zones.



The map shows three zones in the city:

• Zone A - with the highest risk of flooding from ANY hurricane near NYC.
• Zone B - potential flooding from a Category 2+ hurricanes.
• Zone C - potential flooding from a Category 3-4 hurricane hitting just south of NYC.

The map includes links to the latest official information and to WYNC's own Google Map of Hurricane Irene's projected path.



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Guess the Country Game

Country Explorer uses Google Maps Styles to create a very simple but effective game with Google Maps. Using the game you can test your knowledge of the countries of the world by guessing the name of a country and clicking on the map to see if your guess is correct.



Using Map Styles a Google Map has been created without country or other administrative labels. When the map user clicks on the map the Google Maps API geocoder is used to determine which country the user clicks on. The map then loads the name of the country and the country's flag.



The game could be developed a little more by prompting the user to find a particular country and keeping a score of correct guesses. A timer could also be added for each guess to rack up the tension a little.



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