We have talked about Burning Man a number of times before (2013, 2011,2010, 2007, 2006).
Burning Man is a cartographer’s nightmare, because it is a city that is built within a matter of days, lasts for a couple weeks, then completely disappears, only to re-emerge the next year in a slightly different place, with a slightly different layout, and altogether new street names.
The official website provides an official map for this year, and for previous years. However, there is an unnofficial version to be found on Google Maps Engine here. When viewed in Google Maps, it is rather clunky unless you deselect most of the points of interest. However, it can be viewed in Google Earth by downloading this KML file.
The Google Maps street map has also been updated to this year’s layout and street names, so remember to turn on the ‘roads’ layer.
Also be sure to check out Google Earth’s historical imagery showing the event in 2006, 2009 (two different days), 2010 (four consecutive days) ,2012 and 2013.
You can also watch a live webcast of Burning Man on USTREAM. (Warning: includes audio and may contain bad language.)
About Timothy Whitehead
Timothy has been using Google Earth since 2004 when it was still called Keyhole before it was renamed Google Earth in 2005 and has been a huge fan ever since. He is a programmer working for Red Wing Aerobatx and lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
Seems this year’s Burning Man was a test of Google’s newly purchased Skybox imaging:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/17/burning-man-satellite-photos/?ncid=fb&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=fb&utm_content=FaceBook
Hi resolution Skybox images were taken several times during the event and this link provides a really cool way to timeline through ultra hi-res sat photos taken various times before, during and after the 2014 Burning Man event:
http://mapsengine.google.com/gallery/mapviewer?id=zK_ghNc0p65g.kaWuvvipHkks&hl=en
Thank you for the coverage, Timothy! We will be doing it again this year, hopefully with more “official” coordinates.