Google Maps is being redesigned to make it easier to distinguish between natural features in the environment, whether they’re mountainous ice caps, deserts, beaches, or dense forests. Google says the new maps will be available in the 220 countries and territories currently supported by Google Maps, “from the biggest metropolitan areas to small, rural towns.” Google says that street maps are also getting more detailed in select cities.
Here’s an example map of Iceland. The old version used a shade of green to highlight national parks. The replacement, meanwhile, retains that information while also explaining where the island’s ice caps are.
Along with the changes it’s made to the natural world, Google is also making its street maps more detailed in select cities. While previously its maps simply showed the streets themselves, in New York, San Francisco, and London, they’ll soon distinguish between different street features like roadways, sidewalks, crosswalks, and pedestrian islands. Google says the new design shows the shape and width of any given road “to scale.”
