Google doesn’t map things. They take existing maps and then overlay the satellite images. Most likely Indonesia has more detailed Maos of the area than the Papuan side
more detailed Mao Zedongs?
Papua New Guinea sees him merely as Chairman Mao, but Indonesia recognizes the life conditions and personal traits that influenced him in an attempt to understand a human being not merely a world leader.
How do they convert it into a vector rendering though? I’m assuming they start with topo maps?
I assume they take digital maps when possible. Most countries will have digital maps of their territories, be it for military use or research or other. And many companies do to. Digital car navigation existed before google maps and logistics companies for sure had digital maps as well.
For some parts I am pretty sure they just scan paper maps and convert it by hand.
Of course all of that is some sort of “maping”. My previous comment was slightly clickbaity. But the process is still, Maps first, satellite later and not the other way round.
That system of vector maps is in popular use atleast since the 1970s, so when Google maps started, they could just collect existing gis (geographic information systems) maps. I wasn’t born yet, but I expect that countries/companies started digitizing their old maps in the 1970s and 1980s and that paper prints after that were based on those digital versions. And countries without good maps to start from (too large/remote/administratively weak), probably started their digital mapping projects based on aerial photos. And when Papua New Guinea finally starts with a digital mapping project, they can start straight away from satellite photos :)
This is a fairly upstream part of the river, and when it crosses back over into Papua New Guinea further downstream they have mapped it more thoroughly. Open Street Maps and the UK’s Ordnance Survey both have a fuller depiction of this part of the river
Fun fact: Google has to decide what territory belongs to who, even if countries disagree on it. Example: Taiwan
No they don’t. They show one version to one side and another version to the other side.
oh sorry that’s what I meant 😅
Learned it from someone on discord at like 3amThey still have to decide. It just varies.
They could depict regions as contested.
They could. Or they could use the UN consensus.
But they don’t.
Either that or there is a gigantic dam at the border
