Google is launching an initiative allowing organizations to share their map data with the public via Google Maps. National Geographic announced it is working with Google to bring its own historical cartography to Google Maps as an additional layer on Google’s digital Maps engine. The magazine is using Google Maps Engine platform to bring over 500 of its historical maps with the public, including interactive overlays.
From the maps, you can view how the medieval England looked like, and find out more about the history.
People have collected our magazine fold-out maps for over a hundred years, and many of those maps are sequestered away in attics and garages. The public data program gives us the opportunity to release our amazing map collection to the wider world.
We will also use Maps Engine to overlay our maps with interactive editorial content, so the maps can “tell stories” and raise awareness about environmental issues and historic events. Anyone will be able to access our free public maps, but we also plan to sell or license high-resolution and print versions to raise funds for our nonprofit mission.
All the maps can be found within Google’s Map Engine Directory and also posted maps to Medieval England and Dominican Republic, which you can see using the source link below.
Source: Google Enterprise blog, TechCrunch