Google & Time Inc. Launch Timelapse: See How Any Part Of The World Has Changed Over Time

The new Timelapse site, created by Time Inc. and Google, is a pretty amazing way to see how any part of the world has changed since 1984 through 2012. The site offers amazing animations such as the growth of Las Vegas and the shrinking of the Columbia Glacier, and you can point it at any […]

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Timelapse

The new Timelapse site, created by Time Inc. and Google, is a pretty amazing way to see how any part of the world has changed since 1984 through 2012. The site offers amazing animations such as the growth of Las Vegas and the shrinking of the Columbia Glacier, and you can point it at any part of the world you want.

Google explains more about how it has collected the images with the US Geological Survey since 2009 and sifted through to find those with good quality, and without cloud cover, over every part of the world.

Here are some examples of what you can see. Deforestation in the Amazon:

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The growth of Las Vegas:

Las_Vegas_400

The growth in Dubai:

Dubai_400

The Columbia Glacier shrinking:

Columbia_400

The site itself explains more about these locations plus makes it easy to jump to them and some other dramatic examples through the editors’ picks you’ll see over the Timelapse map:

Timelapse_ Landsat Satellite Images of Climate Change, via Google Earth Engine

Note the last box, with the arrow I’ve inserted pointing at it. That allows you to search for any place in the world. I found it interesting to zoom to UC Irvine, my college, and see how much the campus has grown, since I left. I could also see how parts of Orange County, where I live, has had farmland and hillsides replaced by homes.

Unfortunately, you can’t bookmark and share locations, nor can you create animated GIFs of particular areas using the tool. Both features would have helped with the clear mission of the site, to spread the word about our impact on the planet.

Overall, it’s a great tool, either for exploring the dramatic and sometimes scary changes happening in the world or just to see how much a place you know may have changed or not.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Danny Sullivan
Contributor
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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