Google Maps Hack for Extra Zoom!

Google Maps is one of the most popular services on the Internet and this statement is sustained by numerous reports coming from every corner of the world. As you surely know, Google Maps allows users to view satellite maps and other imagery with the Earth directly from a web based interface bundled with powerful features. One of the most interesting functions provided by the service is the zoom in ability that helps users magnify a certain image and view detailed photos of the location.

Although some of the pictures are more detailed by other ones, Google allows you to zoom in only up to a certain level that provides a limited amount of details.

Google Blogoscoped presented an interesting tweak for Google Maps that will return even more zoom than the one allowed by the search giant. Let me present you this hack with a simple example: connect to Google Maps using the official link provided by the search giant. Type “1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043” in the search box and type search maps. As you can see, the maps service shows you the Googleplex, the well known Google headquarters. Click on the satellite view and zoom in as much as Google allows you. The next step is to right click on Link to this page and select Copy Shortcut (for Internet Explorer) or Copy Link Location (for Firefox). You should get the following link:


Open a new window on the browser and paste the link. As you can see, the link contains an element marked as “z=19” that represents the zoom level of the map. Replace 19 with a higher value like 20 or 21. Paste the updated link in the new window and press enter. If Google Maps contains more detailed images, it will provide you magnified photos with the Googleplex. You can view the differences between the original and the tweaked images by comparing the image placed at the beginning of the article with the one placed on the bottom of the article.