Guam – The last time the government of Guam updated its official map of the island was 1976, according to the Bureau of Statistics and Plans.
It wasn’t until 1994 that another map was available — the “Guam Atlas,” created and sold by private land surveying company Duenas and Associates.
But residents now can own a free, updated satellite map of the island, thanks to the bureau’s federally funded Guam Coastal Management Program, which spent the past two years completing the “Guam MapBook” project.
The new map combines color satellite pictures of the island — taken within the past year — with names of streets and landmarks.
“The updated maps are an invaluable resource, especially as we work to accommodate the military buildup and other growth in a few short years,” Gov. Felix Camacho said in a written statement.
Free copies of the map are available on disc at Statistics and Plans, which is located at the governor’s complex at Adelup, but supplies are limited, and the bureau has asked residents to bring with them a blank DVD or a thumb drive capable of receiving the map file, which is nearly two gigabytes. It’s a 96-page PDF document.
Several hundred printed copies of the Guam MapBook also were made, using $15,000 in federal grant money, but it is expected that all of those copies will be distributed for government use.
The revised map is intended to help improve the government’s ability to respond to emergencies and to provide other services.
But it’s also neat to check out your neighborhood from the air.
“Ours has street names. Google just shows you streets,” said Statistics and Plans Director Alberto “Tony” Lamorena, who said the maps in the Guam MapBook also are higher resolution than the Guam maps on Google.
The new map is highly detailed, and street names were verified by working with village mayors.
As an example, village baseball fields are outlined and shaded green, bank locations appear as black boxes with dollars signs, and the beach at Asan is marked according to the colored sectors used during the liberation of Guam. Rivers are traced in blue.
The outline of individual homes is visible, but address numbers are not included on the map.
The lower left corner of each map page shows an overall map of Guam, indicating the grid you are viewing, and lists the page numbers of neighboring grids, making it easier to navigate through the map.
