Massachusetts is brown because Google is showing the 0.5 meter 2001/2003 aerial photos (orhtophotos) instead of the alternative sattelite imagery for adjacent states. The photos were taken in 2001 for the mainland and 2003 for the islands. Previous black and white 0.5 meter photos were taken 1992-1999, and this spring the entire state was reflown and that 0.5 meter imagery will start to become available in September. The photos are taken after snow melt and before leaf-out so that more building details are available. For more information on the photos see the metadata page at the MassGIS web site: http://www.mass.gov/mgis/colororthos2001.htm
In addition, various online mapping viewers are available at the MassGIS web site: http://www.mass.gov/mgis/mapping.htm including OLIVER, a Java Web Start application. These applications don't allow 3D flying, but they do offer the ability to add and subtract hundreds of map layers, such as zoning, landuse, openspace, roads, wetlands - anything in the MassGIS catalog: http://www.mass.gov/mgis/database.htm
Slashdot Mirror
Massachusetts is brown because Google is showing the 0.5 meter 2001/2003 aerial photos (orhtophotos) instead of the alternative sattelite imagery for adjacent states. The photos were taken in 2001 for the mainland and 2003 for the islands. Previous black and white 0.5 meter photos were taken 1992-1999, and this spring the entire state was reflown and that 0.5 meter imagery will start to become available in September. The photos are taken after snow melt and before leaf-out so that more building details are available. For more information on the photos see the metadata page at the MassGIS web site: http://www.mass.gov/mgis/colororthos2001.htm
In addition, various online mapping viewers are available at the MassGIS web site: http://www.mass.gov/mgis/mapping.htm including OLIVER, a Java Web Start application. These applications don't allow 3D flying, but they do offer the ability to add and subtract hundreds of map layers, such as zoning, landuse, openspace, roads, wetlands - anything in the MassGIS catalog: http://www.mass.gov/mgis/database.htm