I just saw the story on super-close Google map zooms and checked it out.
All you have to do is:
- Select a location and switch to satellite view
- Zoom in as far as you can, and click “link to this page” at the top right
- Now replace the “z” parameter in the URL with a higher value, e.g. 20, 22, or 23, and wait. Some locations will now show more detailed imagery
When I saw this photo of men standing around a well I couldn’t resist adding a caption. There’s one guy looking straight up:
It’s a super-zoom from the country of Chad, in Africa. And perhaps that is someone who the US government suspected of being in cahoots with Osama or Al Quaeda … which is the only reason why satellite image providers would zoom so close.
More info at Ecrans and Geo-trotter.
[tags] google, maps, zoom, hi mom, chad, africa, john koetsier, funny [/tags]