New imagery on Google maps show Muscat and Sohar clearly
I like the layout and the ease of being able to zoom scales in and out which enable me both to find the details of a location and to see the approach routes in a regional context. It's also, at least on broadband in UK, very fast.
If you use Google Maps, you will know that you can use it as a straightforward map, as a satellite base, and as a hybrid of the two, so that you can relate your road map to the surroundings.
This morning, I discovered that the imagery covering Muscat and Sohar has been updated. I worked out that the imagery must have been taken since 2000, since the roundabouts and roads approaching Ministry Street are revealed. I think it predates large development in Madinat al Sultan Qaboos. There is a wonderful wealth of detail. The largest scale that I was able to zoom in on was of the order of 1:2000.
For instance, I can see ten aircraft parked at Seeb International Airport, some of which are attended by fuel and baggage vans and the 'shadows' of other planes which are not in position.
Then there's the seawater desalination and the power plant at Al Ghubrah, where the seawater intakes and brine outlets are highly visible, as well as the pipework and the powerhouse.
Seeing as I started out as a geologist with a research degree in remote sensing, I stepped back, so to speak, to view the magnificent arc of the Hajar Mountains extending behind the Batinah coast across northern Oman. Al Khoudh dam was very conspicuous, with the volume of silt impounded against it showing very brightly on the screen, although the imagery was older and degraded compared with that now showing for Muscat. Google obviously updates its imagery as and when it becomes available.
Finally, I thought I'd try to find Sohar. And there it is. The new port looks very impressive.
Still, some things have not changed. I was not able to obtain a map overlay for any of these scenes. Does the National Survey Authority's ban on exporting maps from the country still prevail?
Comments
bowsher wrote:
newsbriefs wrote:
Yes, thanks for that. I went to the site, and it certainly has street maps of Muscat. The working of the site relies on Java and I found it a bit unsteady compared with Google, which uses Javascript and Ajax, but it responds fast and offers '3D views'. The detail thins out once you leave Muscat. I wondered where they'd got their base data from and suspect that they used Ann Malin's Gazetteer of Muscat which she and her small band of employees sweated over for years. As for the detail outside of Muscat, that could have come from the small scale NSA map which has been offered on sale for a long time. Google's satellite imagery of Muscat and Sohar is far superior, but otherwise is probably the same used by Map 24. It got a bit confused looking for my home in England. Definitely worth looking at.
For maps try:
http://www.map24.org