In just a few short hours National Geographic's new TOPO! Explorer website will go live for public beta.
Over a year in the making, TOPO! Explorer is the platform for NatGeo's national recreation database - a first of its kind portal that provides outdoor enthusiasts with detailed maps, satellite imagery, up-to-date trails, and recreation information - plus it enables users to post reviews, trip reports, and their own custom maps.
"There's nothing on the web like TOPO! Explorer," stated Paul Glauthier, CTO for National Geographic Maps. "There are sites that provide maps, those that have trail descriptions, and a few that enable community interaction but TOPO! Explorer is the first site designed for and by outdoor enthusiasts that offers all of the above, and better yet freely browsable."
Between Friday and May 30th National Geographic will be adding more features and content to the site, plus getting ready for the launch of the new companion desktop application that will enable users to share their own photos, videos, and trips. At launch users can create their free accounts, build out their profiles, browse maps, post to the forums, and begin providing trip reports to fellow explorers.
Check Back Tomorrow Morning for Part Two: TOPO! Explorer FAQs and Tips and Tricks to Getting Started.
April 23, 2008
TOPO Explorer Goes Live Friday :: Part One
Filed under:
online maps,
TOPO Explorer,
Trails Illustrated
Sphere It!
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2 comments:
I'm anxious for TOPO! Explorer to be released and download some USGS 1:24,000 scale Quad maps to my Magellan Triton 500 GPS. It appears that I will be able to download 25 "SuperQuads" for a fee. I like this idea of downloading only the maps I need, instead of having to buy maps for an entire state.
One feature I've not yet seen is good integration with popular blog software, which really boils down to a good API. As the author of the WordPress Geo Mashup Plugin, I've been keeping my eye out for such a thing...
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