The Lay of the Land [Quick Tip]

Happy New Year!

Did you notice, in the rush of the holidays, that Google Maps has added a new terrain feature to their site?:



Obviously, this has huge implications for genealogy researchers, for whom an awareness of natural travel barriers like mountains, rivers, etc. can be helpful in determining behaviors of ancestors.

Here's a typical street map view of Belt, Montana, a residence of my great-grandfather Peter Shannon:



Compare the information available through the street map to that available from the new terrain view, and you can see how the terrain view could influence my understanding of Peter's activities and movements around this town:

Pinpoint Addresses in Google Earth [Site Review]

Digital Inspiration presents a potentially handy tool which allows you to identify the address of any place on Google Earth. The tool is as easy to use as Google Maps, has no fuss, no logins, and no frou-frou beyond its job.

I found good use of this tool to get a current town name for the land where my great-grandfather originally homesteaded in Montana:



The tool may also be helpful in determining more exact locations of properties (city or otherwise) that no longer exist, but for which an old map shows a location. Keep in mind you can use coordinates to locate properties via Google Earth.

Try the tool here.

[Via MakeUseOf]