Photo Map: 99 Percent of Earth

"New map shows 99 percent of Earth's terrain"
CNN (July 1, 2009)

"NASA and Japan improved our world view this week, or at least our view of the world."

"The American space agency and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry have released a new digital topographic map of Earth that accurately portrays more of our planet than ever before."

"The new map consists of 1.3 million images taken by NASA's Terra satellite that have been pieced together...."

The new map is, essentially, a huge composite photo of Earth's surface. Aside from the 'gee whiz' factor, this map should be useful for people who want or need detailed information about a location.

For example, I've used satellite imagery from Google Maps to plan a trip to another town: Conventional maps are fine for getting from town to town, but they don't show details like where the parking lots are.