Interactive GIS maps are based on unique geographic information system (GIS) technology and are integrated with databases of terrestrial objects of various kinds. Their main purpose is to provide cartographic information, which is often supplemented by other georeferenced data. Therefore, they can be useful when searching for a particular point on the ground, as well as for obtaining information about climatic conditions in this point, national and religious features, traffic schedules, information about the location of gas stations, restaurants, hotels, etc. on the proposed route.
The most famous map portals in the world (MapQuest, Yahoo! Maps, MultiMap.com, etc.) contain map data on the USA, Canada, European countries and Australia. They allow you to search for a variety of objects: settlements (by name), addresses (by street name and house number), companies (by name, type of activity, phone number), etc. Success of search depends on a necessary degree of detailed elaboration. If you need to find a city or any other large settlement, any of the online atlases covering the corresponding region is suitable. To start the search process is very simple – you need to specify in the appropriate fields, for example, the name of the country (can be selected from a list) and city, then click the button “Go” or “Find”. As a rule, the found fragment of map can be not only viewed in the desired scale but also printed out and/or sent to the specified e-mail.
But a detailed search with street names and specific addresses is not possible everywhere, since many services often limit this level of detail to specific countries and some of the largest cities. For example, on the service MultiMap.com the most detailed search is of England, where a detailed search with street names and house numbers is possible, and for London there is even an interactive metro scheme. When conducting a detailed search the relevant data is entered in a service specific format, it can be a construction of about the following kind: “London, Russell Square” or “North Main Street Los Angeles, CA 90012”.
Many major mapping services often have not only maps for specific locations, but also aerial photography and/or images taken from space.
When searching for a particular building in a settlement, it is wise to try to find a specialized reference map of the city or region on the Internet. The level of detail in such a map will be higher, as well as the relevance of the information provided. In addition, such maps are often accompanied by schemes of city transport routes and other useful information, which is likely to be absent on a map of regional scale. In addition to the search, online mapping services often allow you to generate the best route from point “A” to point “B” or can offer several possible variants of such routes (service Driving Direction), and also provide a lot of additional information and services that are useful, for example, when planning a trip or moving to a new place of residence. Among the most famous portals with the support of Driving Direction are the resources MapQuest and Yahoo! Maps, which contain automobile atlases and world maps with the possibility of choosing the best route in the interactive mode and getting information about traffic jams. Technically it is easy to find the best route. For example, in MapQuest you need to go to the “Directions” tab, specify the starting and ending points with the desired detail. If necessary, you can open the “Directions Options” section and specify the principle of route calculation (shortest time or shortest distance), whether to avoid highways, toll roads and/or seasonally closed roads. You start the calculation process by clicking on the “Get Direction” button.
If the system manages to find a suitable option, after a while it will give a detailed map of the trip route with all sections of the way (time, duration etc.), but it is possible that the route will still have to be specified if the initial and/or final address was specified with insufficient detail. For example, when forming a route, we had to specify the state for each of the cities additionally. The resulting map can be printed out and/or sent to e-mail or cell phone. The latter will allow you to get information about the direction of travel along the paved route and the need to perform the appropriate maneuvers during the trip.
If you get the idea to create a route outside the U.S. and Canada, the result will be negative, because other countries are not supported by MapQuest Driving Direction service by default. If you want to connect them, which is acceptable for nine European countries (it is clear that Russia does not appear in this list), you should change the US & Canada option to the International option. A more convenient way to choose an itinerary is provided by Expedia.com. Here you can form the optimal route for a trip to European countries (but again, not Russia) or the United States, the description of which will figure all the turns and distances, as well as the time spent on a particular section of the road. If necessary, you can even book in advance a place on the route or at the destination hotels and rent a car. The technology of route formation is also nothing particularly complicated. For the start and end points you need to specify the region and the place, and then click on the link “Get driving directions”. When determining the boundary points of the route you can simply specify a place (say, a city) or enter more detailed data, including zip code.
It is also possible to create a route taking into account sightseeing, shopping centers, educational institutions, sports facilities and to specify the location of gas stations, hotels, restaurants and cafes, banks, etc. on the proposed route. For example, such functionality is available on Map24.com. A list of objects of interest, for example, museums and monuments, will be displayed directly on the route with the exact addresses and telephone numbers of the relevant objects.