I miss TERRASERVER.COM. You could look at topo map AND aerial photos for a given area.
Gmap4 is like Terraserver only better. It uses a Google map interface and shows:
* Google aerials (select Satellite or Hybrid)
* High resolution topographic maps for the USA (select “t4 Topo High)
* Vector topographic maps for Canada (select “t5 Canada”)
Full disclosure time. I am the developer of Gmap4. This project is part of my way of ‘paying it forward’. Translation: Gmap4 is free for non-commercial use.
The following link opens Gmap4 and displays a zoomed in topo map (with variable hill shading) for Windy Hill State Park just west of Denver:
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Click the “t4 Topo High” button in the upper right corner to change the base map.
Rightclick the map to see coordinates (in various forms) for the spot you clicked and to get draggable directions.
Play with the Menu button. You can search, overlay a UTM grid, get the current magnetic declination, draw on the map and save a GPX file and more. The search tool accepts addresses, many place names and most reasonable ways to write a latitude longitude (WGS84 datum).
Anyone can make a link that opens Gmap4 with any basemap and shows any location. Simply use zoom/pan or Menu==>Search to make the map look the way you want it to look. Then click Menu ==> “Link to this map”. The link that is displayed will reproduce the same map you see on your screen. You can email that link, include it in a forum post, put it on a blog or website, etc.
You can build a Gmap4 link that will display KML, KMZ, GPX, TPO files. It can also display Google “My Places”maps and a delimited text file format I designed. The files can be hosted almost anywhere online. During Sandy the weather service published several KMZ files. I made Gmap4 links to display those files and posted those links here and there. People could simply click the link and see the forecast storm track, wind forecast, surge forecast, etc. Those links were extremely popular.
For example, the following link displays a KML file that shows trails in the vicinity of Groton, MA. The map opens with the UTM grid turned on.
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Gmap4 understands about a dozen link parameters. Each one has a default value. If a link parameter is going to use its default value then you can shorten your Gmap4 link by not including that parameter in the link.
Gmap4 is a browser app (not a native app) and runs in most browsers on most devices from desktops to smartphones and everything in between. The browser has to be online. Gmap4 does not have any offline capability. Gmap4 automatically senses when it is running on a smartphone and displays phone friendly buttons.
Gmap4 is based on the latest version of the Google Map API (Application Program Interface). That API is supported on the following browsers:
IE 7.0+ (Windows) *
Firefox 3.0+ (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux)
Safari 4+ (Mac OS X, iOS)
Chrome (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux)
Android
BlackBerry 6
Dolfin 2.0+ (Samsung Bada)
The Gmap4 homepage has a FAQ, examples, quick start info (in the Help file) and more to quickly get you up to speed. The latest beta code lets Gmap4 work more like a dedicated GPS. Click “Beta” on the homepage menu bar for more info and a link to the beta version.
Gmap4 default map:
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Gmap4 homepage:
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Joseph, the Gmap4 guy
Redmond, WA