As well as continuing to use the correct place-name label for the "Gulf of Mexico," MapQuest has also released a fun new tool that lets you participate in Google’s and Apple’s new era of crap maps. MapQuest's Name Your Own Gulf allows you to play at being an appeaser to a corrupt, incompetent U.S. president yourself.

With Name Your Own Gulf, you can spend your whole day renaming the Gulf of Mexico to whatever you want. Just enter a new name, and the interactive map will automatically update to display your latest crazy misnomic place-name label. Feeling lazy (or running out of ideas), then simply press the "Surprise Me" button to see the Gulf of Mexico randomly renamed.

If you want to take your deranged despot cosplay to the next level, you can even head over to X in the middle of the night and send demented tweets containing unique URL links to each of your crazy Gulf of Mexico names.

If you still have a few minutes to kill, you can also play my Where's the Gulf of Mexico? game. This game imagines a world where Google and Apple have taken their new MAGA mapping policy to its logical conclusion - renaming every location in the world "United States." However, the Gulf of Mexico has gone into hiding, still remaining somewhere among the thousands of "United States" place-name labels. You have just 60 seconds to find the Gulf of Mexico and report it to Google's ICE (Imaginary Cartographic Edits) team of enforcement agents.

According to NASA, Asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 2.3% chance of impacting Earth on December 22, 2032. The asteroid is estimated to be between 40 to 90 meters (130 to 300 feet) in diameter.

If you want to know what damage Asteroid 2024 YR4 might cause if it lands in your backyard, you can use Neal.Fun's Asteroid Launcher to find out.

According to Neal.Fun's Asteroid Launcher, if a 200-foot diameter rock asteroid hit Manhattan at 38,000 mph at a 45-degree impact angle, it would cause a fireball almost 1 mile in diameter. As a result of the fireball, 3,671,280 people would die, and an estimated 2,904,736 people would receive third-degree burns. Homes within 8.2 miles of Manhattan would collapse, and nearly all the trees within 8.8 miles would be knocked down.

Neal.Fun's Asteroid Launcher is an interactive map that allows you to visualize the impact and effects of an asteroid hitting the Earth. The map allows you to define the size, composition, speed, and impact angle of an asteroid and then choose where on Earth the asteroid will hit. Once you have chosen an impact location, you can view information on the predicted width and depth of any impact crater, as well as data on the number of people who would be vaporized in the crater or killed by the resulting fireball, shock wave, and wind blast.

While the current estimated impact probability of Asteroid 2024 YR4 is 2.3%, it is important to note that this figure is likely to change as additional observations and data are collected. Continued monitoring and analysis by NASA and other space agencies will help refine the asteroid's trajectory and provide a clearer understanding of any potential threat.

The chances of Asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting your town are very slim - there is probably more chance of a nuclear war. But don't worry, Bomb Blast Bomb Blast can show you the likely effects of a nuclear missile landing on your home.

Outrider's Bomb Blast interactive map allows you to choose from a range of different types of nuclear weapons and select whether you want to detonate it at ground level or as an airburst. You can then view the likely damage of the selected weapon hitting your town, visualized on an interactive map. The map shows the likely radius of the fireball, radiation, shock wave, and heat. It also provides an estimate of the number of fatalities and injuries that the selected nuclear weapon would cause to your chosen target.

Ecotenet is an interactive platform that provides users with a unique map of ecoregions across the globe. The map focuses on ecological boundaries in order to provide users with an understanding of different types of ecoregion and their unique biodiversity.

One of the most compelling aspects of Ecotenet is its emphasis on ecoregions, which are defined by the World Wildlife Fund as a "large unit of land or water that contain distinct species, natural communities, and environmental conditions".

Click on any ecoregion on the map and you can read a general summary of the region's ecological characteristics and history. The ECO-651 Filter can be used to view the global distribution of various animal or plant species. For example the screenshot at the top of this post shows the distribution of the northern giraffe in Africa.

The species distribution data on Ecotenet is sourced from organizations such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, World Wildlife Fund, IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, USDA, and the Ocean Biodiversity Information System. This ensures that the data is both accurate and comprehensive, covering a wide range of species and their habitats.

Also See

• Explore Earth's Bioregions - a map which visualizes the Earth as 185 discrete bioregions
• The Ecoregions Map - a guide to 846 ecoregions around the globe

The Topography Explorer is an interactive map that generates and allows users to explore 3D renderings of the Earth's surface.

Using the application, you can create your own 3D visualizations of watershed areas or predefined regions. The animated GIF at the top of this post is an example of a 3D visualization generated by the Topography Explorer. This animation shows a 3D rendering of Bioko, an island belonging to Equatorial Guinea.

The Topography Explorer includes dynamic URL addresses. For example, here is a direct link to the 3D visualization of the island of Bioko. Currently, the application does not provide the option to download data from created 3D visualizations.

The DEM Net Elevation API can also help you create your very own 3D terrain models for any location on Earth. DEM Net has a fantastic tool that allows you to generate 3D models simply by selecting an area on a map.

To create a 3D model using the DEM Net Elevation API, all you have to do is draw a square on an interactive map around the area you wish to model. Within seconds, DEM Net will generate a 3D model of your selected area. You can then rotate and zoom in & out on your model directly in the browser. Additionally, you can download the model in two different formats.

DEM Net offers several customization options, including:

• A selection of different satellite imagery or map tile sources for your model.
• The ability to adjust the height of your model to exaggerate elevation levels.
• A choice of various elevation models to generate your terrain.

If you’d love to own a 3D model of your own neighborhood, you might want to try Tile Exporter. Unlike the Topography Explorer and DEM Net, this application does not generate topographical representations but instead creates 3D models of urban areas using building footprints from Mapzen maps.

The tool utilizes building height data from Mapzen’s vector map tiles, enabling you to create a 3D map of any neighborhood. Just enter an address into Tile Exporter, and you’ll see a 3D map of the location. You can also use the inset map to adjust the location by selecting adjacent map tiles.

Once you’ve found a 3D scene that you like, simply press the "Download" button to grab the .obj file. This file includes:

• Building height data
• Earth, water, and land-use layers of your selected map tile

Once you’ve downloaded your .obj file, all you need is a 3D printer to bring your model to life!

There is something slightly old-fashioned about Obscure Islands I Find Interesting, which I find very endearing. In essence, it is a simple interactive map with a limited selection of just 16 interesting islands. However, there is a certain charm in its innocent delight in exploring the world—one that reminds me of why I first became obsessed with interactive maps.

Obscure Islands I Find Interesting takes you on a tour of some of the world's most unique and little-known islands. With a selection of just 16 islands, each accompanied by a brief but intriguing description, this site offers a delightful exploration of some of the most isolated and mysterious locations across the globe.

The islands featured on the map range from historical curiosities (like Pheasant Island, which changes sovereignty every six months) to geographical anomalies (such as the recursively nested unnamed island in Canada). Its simplicity is perhaps the map's greatest strength. For example, the minimalist interface, with “Next” and “Previous” buttons, allows for smooth browsing between islands, making it easy for users to navigate through the 16 'interesting' islands with minimal hassle.

One of the islands featured on Obscure Islands I Find Interesting doesn't actually exist. In 2012, scientists from the University of Sydney sailed to Sandy Island, an island that appeared on Google Maps in the Pacific Ocean. However, when they arrived at the location, all they found was open sea. Sandy Island didn't exist - it was a phantom island.

Phantom islands are fake islands that have appeared on maps for a period of time, only to be later removed when proven to be nonexistent. Most of these islands originated from reports by sailors exploring uncharted waters. Presumably, they were a mix of mythical tales and simple cartographic errors in positioning real islands on early maps.

One of the most impressive explorations of these imaginary places is Phantom Islands – A Sonic Atlas, an interactive map that takes users on a journey through some of history’s most famous phantom islands. Each island is marked on the map, and clicking on a location reveals the story behind its creation. You can learn when the island first appeared on an atlas, when it was last recorded on a map, and how it was eventually debunked. Press the "Cruise" button, and you'll be taken on an audio tour of all the phantom islands.

Godview is one of the most promising new AI-powered maps to have emerged in the past 18 months. It is an interactive map that allows users to perform geographical searches using natural language queries.

This week, Godview introduced an exciting new feature called "Discover." This addition enhances the user experience by enabling individuals to click on any location on the map and instantly access AI-generated insights about the area.

Discover

The Discover feature is particularly valuable for a wide range of users, from travelers and researchers to everyday individuals curious about their surroundings. For example, as I plan a trip to southern Italy, Discover should allow me to simply click on towns and cities in Puglia to identify which ones might be most interesting to visit. It could also help me pinpoint must-see attractions in the towns where I eventually decide to stay.

Or Don’t Discover

Unfortunately, Godview appears to be somewhat myopic, and its Discover answers can be geographically imprecise. For example, when I clicked on West Ham in London, I was informed that it was Wanstead—"a generally affluent area." While the two locations are only two miles apart, in a city like London, those two miles can make a world of difference (West Ham actually has one of the highest poverty rates in the UK). 

I encountered similar inaccuracies when clicking on towns and cities in southern Italy. For the large city of Bari, Discover provided an accurate and useful general description. However, for smaller towns in Puglia, the results were more inconsistent. Godview frequently defaulted to a broader description of the Puglia region rather than providing details specific to the town in question. In some cases, it even confused locations with nearby towns.

Final Thoughts

While Godview’s Discover feature has significant potential, it still has room for improvement in accuracy and precision. The issue may stem from imprecise reverse geocoding rather than the AI itself - perhaps the geocoding service Godview relies on is returning overly broad results. Alternatively, the language model (LLM) powering Discover may currently be limited to generating insights in some locations at a broad regional rather than a local level.

This also raises the question of user needs - something Discover does not yet fully address. Different users clicking on Greenwich Village in New York, for example, may be looking for entirely different levels of detail. One might expect a general overview of New York City, another may want specifics on the neighborhood itself, while a third could be interested in insights about a particular block or street.

Tripgeo has kindly agreed to host another of my map games, bringing geography enthusiasts a fresh and exciting challenge. If you love testing your knowledge of world maps and enjoy puzzles, then my latest game, Jumbled Maps, is perfect for you. 

In Jumbled Maps, someone has played a cosmic prank on the world map, and every country place-name label has been randomly displaced. Your mission is simple: restore geographical order by putting each nation back in its rightful place.

To play Jumbled Maps, click on any misplaced country label and type in its correct name. There are 249 countries in total to correct. Country names that you have successfully fixed will be shown with a green outline on the map and will also appear in the map sidebar.

How the Map Works

In essence Jumbled Maps is a very simple game. The game is powered by MapLibre, the flexible and open-source mapping library, with map tiles provided by OpenFreeMap, an open-source platform providing free custom map layers. These map tiles have then been custom styled using Maputnik to remove all country place-name labels from the map layer.

When the map loads, new country place-name labels are displayed on the map in randomly shuffled positions. These labels are retrieved from a GeoJSON dataset. This creates the core challenge of Jumbled Maps, as players must use their geographical knowledge to restore order.

The game also utilizes local storage to track a player’s progress. Any countries that have already been correctly identified are saved and excluded from future shuffles. This means you don’t have to correct all 249 country names in one session - you can return to the game at any time and pick up where you left off!

Also See

If you enjoy Jumbled Maps then you will also love Scrambled Maps, Tripgeo's daily map challenge. Scrambled Map requires you to unscramble the jumbled map tiles of a different city every day.

The Punggol Digital District

The Punggol Digital District (PDD) is a pioneering smart district under development in Singapore. Designed to be a hub for innovation, it will house major technology firms, fintech hubs of banks like OCBC and UOB, and will be seamlessly integrated with the newly opened Punggol Coast MRT station. What sets PDD apart from other smart districts is its Open Digital Platform (ODP) - a centralized system that enables seamless connectivity between various technologies and services across the district.

Building an Open Digital Platform (ODP)

The ODP will serve as the district’s core digital infrastructure, facilitating smooth communication between different systems, including robotics, energy management, security, and public utilities. Acting as the smart city’s "operating system," it will streamline processes such as energy optimization, robotic coordination, and facility management, ensuring greater efficiency and sustainability.

Practical Applications

The ODP promotes interoperability between various smart systems. For example, autonomous food delivery robots and cleaning robots will operate seamlessly within the district using the ODP’s unified communication standard. This will allow robots to access elevators, navigate buildings, and move between designated zones without technical obstacles.

Building a Digital Twin

One of the ODP's key features is its integration with a real-time 3D digital twin of the district. This virtual model allows estate managers to monitor conditions, track footfall, analyze energy consumption, and manage public services efficiently.

Building a Digital Twin of a Digital Twin

The Straits Times has an amazing track record of creating virtual 3D models to illustrate important news stories. Therefore when it came to covering the 3D digital twin of PDD, the Straits Times naturally developed its own scaled-down version of the district to provide a visual representation of its smart systems in action.

In Punggol Digital District: Singapore’s blueprint for future smart districts, the Straits Times uses its very own 3D model of the district to demonstrate how cleaning and delivery robots will navigate the district by using the city's new Open Digital Platform (ODP).

The Straits Times’ 3D virtual model of the Punggol Digital District provides a visual tool that brings the district’s smart systems to life. It perfectly illustrates how the Open Digital Platform (ODP) will help to facilitate seamless interaction between robots, infrastructure, and urban services in Singapore's newest smart district.