Satellite map images with missing or unclear data

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Some locations on free, publicly-viewable satellite map services, have missing, incomplete, or unclear map data. In some cases, these regions have been intentionally digitally obscured or blurred.^[1] Westchester County, New York, for example, has asked Google to blur potential terror targets (such as an amusement park, a beach, and parking lots) from its satellite imagery.^[2]

In some cases, censorship of certain sites has been removed. When Google Maps was launched, images of the White House and United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. were blurred out; current versions of Google Maps and Google Earth show these sites uncensored, but with out-of-date imagery.^[3]

Contents 1 Countries in official contact with Google Maps 2 List of map locations with missing or unclear data 2.1 Middle East 2.1.1 Iraq 2.1.2 Pakistan 2.2 East / South Asia 2.3 Europe 2.3.1 France 2.3.2 Germany 2.3.3 The Netherlands 2.3.4 Spain 2.3.5 Portugal 2.4 Russia 2.5 North America 2.5.1 United States 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Countries in official contact with Google Maps

During talks with the Indian government, Google issued a statement saying "Google has been talking and will continue to talk to the Indian government about any security concerns it may have regarding Google Earth."^[4]

The Australian government has decided that images of sensitive areas are not a risk, due to poor level of detail.^[5] It was reported that in the lead-up to the APEC forum in Sydney held in September 2007 certain key locations in images of the city's central business district, where APEC leaders were meeting, might have been intentionally reduced in resolution; however, Google has indicated that the change was unrelated to APEC, while the NSW police said that they knew nothing about the change in Google's images.^[6] As of December 2007^[update], much of inner Sydney still remains blurred.

The government of Malaysia has stated that it will not ask Google to censor sensitive areas because that would identify the locations it deemed to be sensitive.^[7]

[edit] List of map locations with missing or unclear data

[edit] Middle East

[edit] Iraq

Coordinates	Object	Comment	Link
30°34′2″N 47°46′6″E / 30.56722°N 47.76833°E / 30.56722; 47.76833 (Shatt al Arab Hotel)	Shatt al Arab Hotel, Basra[8]	Possibly censored due to security risks after Coalition Forces seized insurgent documents which used maps to plan attacks.[9] No longer censored. Babylon, listed as Babil, is blurred out. There is clear evidence of farming all around the city, yet the city itself is grayed out. [10]	[4]

[edit] Pakistan

Coordinates	Object	Comment	Link
27°51′0″N 65°10′0″E / 27.85°N 65.16667°E / 27.85; 65.16667 (Predator Air Base)	Predator Air Base[11]	Unmanned Predators. Images from 2006 were removed. Images from 2007 have runway markings removed.	[5]

[edit] East / South Asia

Tibet/Xinjiang Province (full) of China (but Lhasa doesn't appear to be), Northern areas of Pakistan (areas include Mansehra (full), Abbottabad (partial), Balakot (full))

Coordinates	Object	Comment	Link
24°17′21″N 153°58′41″E / 24.28917°N 153.97806°E / 24.28917; 153.97806 (Minami Torishima Airport)	Minami Torishima Airport[12]	Easternmost territory in Japan. Runway oversaturated in white. Runway markings invisible.	[6]

[edit] Europe

[edit] France

Ile du Ramier, Toulouse (Link), the location of the National Organization for Powder and Explosives (preparation of Phosgene for the aerospace industry and other form of explosive gas including Sulfur Mustard). The AZF chemical factory is pixelated, but Google Maps feature links to a detailed photo of the factory.

[edit] Germany

Coordinates	Object	Comment	Link
50°57′38″N 6°2′32″E / 50.96056°N 6.04222°E / 50.96056; 6.04222 (NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen)	NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen		[7]
49°26′28″N 7°35′32″E / 49.44111°N 7.59222°E / 49.44111; 7.59222 (Ramstein Air Base)	Ramstein Air Base		[8]

[edit] The Netherlands

Coordinates	Object	Comment	Link
51°26′54.21″N 03°36′17.60″E / 51.4483917°N 3.6048889°E / 51.4483917; 3.6048889 (Vlissingen oil tanks)	Vlissingen, Oil tanks		[9]
51°27′6.63″N 05°22′48.14″E / 51.4518417°N 5.3800389°E / 51.4518417; 5.3800389 (Eindhoven Airport Air Force Base)	Eindhoven Airport Air Force Base		[10]
51°33′06.45″N 04°56′5.56″E / 51.5517917°N 4.9348778°E / 51.5517917; 4.9348778 (Gilze-Rijen Air Base)	Gilze-Rijen Air Base		[11]
52°05′35.97″N 04°20′39.05″E / 52.093325°N 4.3441806°E / 52.093325; 4.3441806 (Huis ten Bosch)	Huis ten Bosch	residence of the Dutch Royal Family	[12]
52°05′41.95″N 05°8′21.38″E / 52.0949861°N 5.1392722°E / 52.0949861; 5.1392722 (Utrecht centre)	centre of Utrecht	Apparent mistake[13]	[13]
52°06′35.68″N 04°19′35.75″E / 52.1099111°N 4.3265972°E / 52.1099111; 4.3265972 (Nato C3 Agency)	Nato C3 Agency		[14]
52°07′25.94″N 05°21′30.12″E / 52.1238722°N 5.3583667°E / 52.1238722; 5.3583667 (Soestdijk Palace)	Soestdijk Palace	residence of the Dutch Royal Family	[15]
52°04′43″N 4°18′58″E / 52.078589°N 4.315985°E / 52.078589; 4.315985 (Department of Defense)	Department of Defense		[16]
52°08′01.89″N 05°16′23.45″E / 52.1338583°N 5.2731806°E / 52.1338583; 5.2731806 (Kamp Zeist + Soesterberg Air Force Base)	Kamp Zeist (Lockerbie Trials) + Soesterberg Air Force Base		[17]
52°04′51.30″N 04°20′12.98″E / 52.0809167°N 4.3369389°E / 52.0809167; 4.3369389 (New American embassy)	New American embassy location, under construction		[18]
52°08′16.98″N 04°30′46.29″E / 52.13805°N 4.5128583°E / 52.13805; 4.5128583 (Paleis Noordeinde and Royal Stables)	Paleis Noordeinde and Royal Stables	Work palace of the Dutch Queen	[19]
52°14′55.40″N 04°26′22.74″E / 52.2487222°N 4.43965°E / 52.2487222; 4.43965 (ESA)	part of Noordwijk aan Zee		[20]
52°22′28.06″N 04°55′2.06″E / 52.3744611°N 4.9172389°E / 52.3744611; 4.9172389 (Royal Netherlands Navy base)	Amsterdam, Royal Netherlands Navy base		[21]
52°23′31.28″N 05°54′48.83″E / 52.3920222°N 5.9135639°E / 52.3920222; 5.9135639 ('t Harde (1))	't Harde (1), Army exercise area		[22]
52°24′20.49″N 05°53′59.54″E / 52.4056917°N 5.8998722°E / 52.4056917; 5.8998722 ('t Harde (2))	't Harde (2), Army exercise area		[23]
52°57′26.37″N 04°47′26.30″E / 52.957325°N 4.7906389°E / 52.957325; 4.7906389 (Den Helder, Naval installations)	Den Helder, Naval installations		[24]
52°16′29.38″N 06°53′38.11″E / 52.2748278°N 6.8939194°E / 52.2748278; 6.8939194 (Twente Air Force Base)	Twente Air Force Base		[25]
52°26′47.00″N 05°59′40.00″E / 52.4463889°N 5.9944444°E / 52.4463889; 5.9944444 (Prinses Margriet Army Base)	Prinses Margriet Army Base		[26]

[edit] Spain

Coordinates	Object	Comment	Link
41°21′47″N 2°09′52″E / 41.363072638666786°N 2.164306640625°E / 41.363072638666786; 2.164306640625 (Castell de Montjuïc)	Castell de Montjuïc	No longer censored.	[27]
37°39′29″N 1°00′44″W / 37.658157°N 1.012094°W / 37.658157; -1.012094 (Helipuerto de Cartagena)	Helipuerto		[28]

[edit] Portugal

Coordinates	Object	Comment	Link
38°45′40″N 27°05′01″W / 38.761178°N 27.08353°W / 38.761178; -27.08353 (Lajes Field)	Lajes Field	Portuguese Air Force Air Base nº 4. SAR base housing Aerospatiale SA330 Puma and C212 Aviocar aircraft for this purpose. The US Air Force 65th ABW is a detachment colocated here to support transient aircraft to the Middle East, Southwest Asia and Africa. Civilian terminal on west side of field approved for commercial traffic, refuelling and stopover operations.	[29]
38°40′46″N 9°19′19″W / 38.679429°N 9.321814°W / 38.679429; -9.321814 (NATO Base)	NATO Base Joint Command - Atlantic	NATO Headquarters in Oeiras near Lisbon	[30]
38°39′52″N 9°08′53″W / 38.664452°N 9.148028°W / 38.664452; -9.148028 (Base Naval do Alfeite)	Base Naval do Alfeite	Portuguese Navy Base, near Lisbon. Partial digital censorship.	[31]
38°42′29″N 9°02′03″W / 38.708170°N 9.03416°W / 38.708170; -9.03416 (Montijo Base Aerea #6 (Air Base))	Montijo Air Base	Used by Portuguese Air Force mainly for SAR and Transport purposes. AW101, C130 and C295 Base.See more info under Força Aérea Portuguesa	[32]
38°33′05″N 9°06′08″W / 38.55139°N 9.10211°W / 38.55139; -9.10211 (Nato Depot)	Nato Fernão Ferro	Former Nato ammunition depot	[33]
38°33′36″N 9°10′59″W / 38.5601°N 9.18314°W / 38.5601; -9.18314 (Armada Centro de recepção de Comunicações Fonte da Telha)	Armada Fonte da Telha	Navy Communications Center - Partially visible - Google's error ?	[34]
38°42′15″N 9°12′24″W / 38.7042°N 9.20677°W / 38.7042; -9.20677 (Ministério da Defesa)	Ministério da Defesa	Defense Ministry Offices Lisbon	[35]

[edit] Russia

Coordinates	Object	Comment	Link
66°16′0″N 179°15′0″E / 66.26667°N 179.25°E / 66.26667; 179.25 (Egvekinot)	Possibly a Russian ICBM Complex, near town Egvekinot, Russia [36]	also appears to have been modified on www.mcfly.org. maps.live.com displays a duplicate spliced image of an area to the southeast.	[37]

[edit] North America

[edit] United States

Coordinates	Object	Comment	Link
37°58′47.19″N 84°25′7.97″W / 37.979775°N 84.4188806°W / 37.979775; -84.4188806 (Home of William Hurt)	Two houses blurred by missing data. Falsely reported as the home of actor William Hurt.	Visible on maps.live.com and Google Street View	[38]
38°53′51.61″N 77°02′11.58″W / 38.8976694°N 77.03655°W / 38.8976694; -77.03655 (White House and environs)T	The White House and environs.	Superimposed low resolution imagery from an earlier date in Google.	[39]
38°53′22.99″N 77°0′01″W / 38.8897194°N 77.00028°W / 38.8897194; -77.00028 (U.S. Capital and environs)T	The U.S. Capital and environs.	Superimposed low resolution imagery from an earlier date in Google.	[40]
38°55′16.64″N 77°04′01″W / 38.9212889°N 77.06694°W / 38.9212889; -77.06694 (Naval Observatory/Residence of Vice President Dick Cheney)	Number One Observatory Circle/Residence of the Vice President of the United States	Superimposed low resolution imagery from an earlier date in Google.	[41]
39°27′24.7″N 76°09′13.7″W / 39.456861°N 76.153806°W / 39.456861; -76.153806 (Aberdeen Proving Ground)	Aberdeen Proving Ground	Lower resolution than surrounding areas, with irregular boundaries.	[42]
39°29′50.31″N 74°22′36.63″W / 39.4973083°N 74.3768417°W / 39.4973083; -74.3768417 (Section of Great Bay)	Section of Great Bay, near New Jersey.	Visible on maps.live.com and Map24 - Visible on Google Earth as of February 2008[update].	[43]
40°52′4.20″N 72°52′25.28″W / 40.8678333°N 72.8736889°W / 40.8678333; -72.8736889 (Brookhaven National Laboratory)	Brookhaven National Laboratory - Upton, New York	Blurred on Google maps	[44]
40°54′58.42″N 73°07′24.98″W / 40.9162278°N 73.1236056°W / 40.9162278; -73.1236056 (Stony Brook University)	Stony Brook University	Visible on maps.live.com on both aerial and bird's eye view with high resolution. Blurred on Google.	[45]
41°01′58.78″N 73°46′25.74″W / 41.0329944°N 73.7738167°W / 41.0329944; -73.7738167 (White Plains train station)	White Plains train station	Visible on maps.live.com on both aerial and bird's eye view with high resolution. Blurred on Google	[46]
41°15′25.23″N 73°58′48.94″W / 41.2570083°N 73.9802611°W / 41.2570083; -73.9802611 (Tomkins Cove (quarry?))	Tomkins Cove		[47]
41°04′06.76″N 73°42′14.14″W / 41.0685444°N 73.7039278°W / 41.0685444; -73.7039278 (Westchester County Airport)	Westchester County Airport, White Plains, New York		[48]
41°10′43.30″N 72°12′23.99″W / 41.1786944°N 72.2066639°W / 41.1786944; -72.2066639 (Plum Island Animal Disease Center)	Plum Island Animal Disease Center	Blurred on Google.	[49]
40°57′39.86″N 72°51′52.83″W / 40.9610722°N 72.864675°W / 40.9610722; -72.864675 (Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant)	Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, Wading River, New York	Decommissioned	[50]
41°16′11.08″N 73°57′08.40″W / 41.2697444°N 73.952333°W / 41.2697444; -73.952333 (Indian Point Energy Center)	Indian Point Energy Center, Westchester, New York		[51]
41°21′22.48″N 74°03′13.63″W / 41.3562444°N 74.0537861°W / 41.3562444; -74.0537861 (Camp Buckner Summer Installation)	United States Military Academy Camp Buckner Summer Installation		[52]
41°21′22.48″N 74°03′13.63″W / 41.3562444°N 74.0537861°W / 41.3562444; -74.0537861 (Downstate Correctional Facility)	New York State DOCS Downstate Correctional Facility		[53]
41°21′22.48″N 74°03′13.63″W / 41.3562444°N 74.0537861°W / 41.3562444; -74.0537861 (Beacon/Fishkill Correctional Facility)	New York State DOCS Beacon/Fishkill Correctional Facility		[54]
41°45′08.33″N 70°32′16.49″W / 41.7523139°N 70.5379139°W / 41.7523139; -70.5379139 (Cape Cod Radar)	Cape Cod AFS - PAVE PAWS Radar, Massachusetts		[55]
41°56′39.53″N 70°34′40.09″W / 41.9443139°N 70.5778028°W / 41.9443139; -70.5778028 (Pilgrim Nuclear Station)	Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station, Plymouth, Massachusetts	No longer censored	[56]
42°06′53.032″N 76°49′44.638″W / 42.11473111°N 76.82906611°W / 42.11473111; -76.82906611 (Elmira Correctional Facility)	Elmira Correctional Facility (maximum security prison), Elmira, New York		[57]
42°23′09.97″N 71°02′37.60″W / 42.3861028°N 71.0437778°W / 42.3861028; -71.0437778 (Liquid Natural Gas Terminal)	Liquid Natural Gas Terminal, Chelsea, Massachusetts	No longer censored	[58]
42°23′24.69″N 71°03′34.84″W / 42.3901917°N 71.0596778°W / 42.3901917; -71.0596778 (Industrial port area)	Chelsea, Massachusetts - Large portion of an industrial port area in Boston.	No longer censored	[59]
42°27′34.56″N 71°16′01.63″W / 42.4596°N 71.2671194°W / 42.4596; -71.2671194 (MIT Lincoln Laboratory)	MIT Lincoln Laboratory	No longer censored as of February 2009	[60]
42°27′47.18″N 71°16′58.87″W / 42.4631056°N 71.2830194°W / 42.4631056; -71.2830194 (Hanscom Air Force Base)	Hanscom Field and Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts		[61]
42°31′35.71″N 70°52′35.86″W / 42.5265861°N 70.8766278°W / 42.5265861; -70.8766278 (Salem Harbor Power Station)	Salem Harbor Power Station	No longer censored	[62]
42°49′29.24″N 73°52′11.88″W / 42.8247889°N 73.8699667°W / 42.8247889; -73.8699667 (Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory)	Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and General Electric World Research Laboratories, Schenectady, New York	Available in high resolution at Microsoft Live Maps; dam on Mohawk River slightly downstream also blurred in Google Maps.	[63]
42°53′54.07″N 70°51′08.14″W / 42.8983528°N 70.8522611°W / 42.8983528; -70.8522611 (Seabrook Nuclear Power Station)	Seabrook Nuclear Power Station - Seabrook, New Hampshire		[64]
43°06′49.45″N 76°06′41.05″W / 43.1137361°N 76.1114028°W / 43.1137361; -76.1114028 (Syracuse Hancock International Airport)	Syracuse Hancock International Airport - Syracuse, New York		[65]
34°47′38.52″N 82°53′44.69″W / 34.7940333°N 82.8957472°W / 34.7940333; -82.8957472 (Oconee Nuclear Station)	Oconee Nuclear Station Oconee County, South Carolina		[66]
	University of Massachusetts Lowell Nuclear Research Reactor		[67]
43°08′32″N 79°02′21″W / 43.14222°N 79.03917°W / 43.14222; -79.03917 (Niagara Falls dams)	Hydro-electric dams and supporting waterways near Niagara Falls, NY and Niagara Falls, ON CA.		[68]
	Central/Eastern village of Yona on the Pacific Island Territory of Guam, "Where America's Day Begins".		[69]
	MasterCard Corporate Offices/Manhattanville College, Dammann and Tenney Dormitories - Purchase, NY		[70]
35°35′53.2″N 80°58′1.08″W / 35.598111°N 80.9669667°W / 35.598111; -80.9669667 (Marshall Steam Station)	Marshall Steam Station, Terrell, North Carolina	Visible on maps.yahoo.com, probably mistakenly blurred for nearby McGuire Nuclear Generating Station	[71]
	Greater Rochester International Airport - Rochester, New York		[72]
	General Electric Main Plant - Schenectady, NY		[73]
40°55′37.08″N 73°51′14.38″W / 40.9269667°N 73.8539944°W / 40.9269667; -73.8539944 (Cross County Mall)	Cross County Mall - Yonkers, NY	Visible on maps.yahoo.com, maps.live.com, and map24.com. The mall, neighborhood and streets have been watercolored in Google Maps.	[74]
	Pennsylvania State University and surrounding area, State College, PA	Home to one of the U.S. Navy's top civilian research facilities[14]	[75]
42°9′36″N 76°53′30″W / 42.16°N 76.89167°W / 42.16; -76.89167 (Elmira-Corning Regional Airport)	Elmira-Corning Regional Airport, Big Flats, NY	Facility blurred in Google, but not Live.com	[76]
40°54′43.24″N 73°46′48.41″W / 40.9120111°N 73.7801139°W / 40.9120111; -73.7801139 (Downtown New Rochelle, NY)	Downtown New Rochelle, NY		[77]
42°26′32.69″N 76°28′26.04″W / 42.4424139°N 76.4739°W / 42.4424139; -76.4739 (Cornell University, Ithaca, NY)	A section of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY	Facility blurred in Google, but not Live.com	[78]
41°05′45.00″N 73°57′31.00″W / 41.0958333°N 73.9586111°W / 41.0958333; -73.9586111 (Palisades Center Mall, Nanuet, NY)	Palisades Center in Nanuet, NY.		[79]
40°57′57″N 73°40′26″W / 40.96583°N 73.67389°W / 40.96583; -73.67389 (Playland Park, Rye, NY)	Playland Park in Rye, NY	Facility blurred in Google, but not Live.com	[80]
41°30′16″N 71°24′01″W / 41.50444°N 71.40028°W / 41.50444; -71.40028 (Dutch Island, Jamestown, RI)	Dutch Island Jamestown (Rhode Island) in Narragansett Bay, RI	Island completely missing in Google	[81]
42°51′46.71″N 78°49′48.83″W / 42.862975°N 78.8302306°W / 42.862975; -78.8302306 (Buffalo, NY)	Industrial area blurred near Buffalo River in Buffalo, NY	Blurred on Google maps	[82]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Map of Blurred Places
• Verboden plekken in Nederland A list in Dutch of 54 blurred locations in the Netherlands under the heading "Onherkenbaar"