Creators of the Web’s most popular map images website have obliged private and public requests to censor certain photos on Google Maps. Some are not surprising, such as those revealing (or not revealing) the location or makeup of military installations. Others, however, seem to make little sense.

 

Paul Escallier of Maximum PC has put together a list of 18 blurred sites.

 

In the military category, there are the partially-blurred Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland and the National Security Bureau Headquarters in Taiwan. Then there’s the entire nation of North Korea, whose satellite imagery shows lots of roads, cities and buildings, but nothing is labeled.

 

In New York State, the Elmira Correctional Facility shows blank rooftops in Google Maps, perhaps to conceal the size and shape of ventilation ducts which could come in handy for anyone planning a jail break.

 

But the heavy pixilation of the Soestdijk Palace in the Netherlands is puzzling, given that the palace is open to the public and a historical landmark.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Access Denied! 18 Places Google Maps Won't Let You See (by Paul Escallier, Maximum PC)