Inspired in part by the great geography game GeoGuessr, I spent some time recently in Google Maps, finding the edges of their Street View image coverage. I've always been drawn to the end of the road, to the edges of where one might be allowed to travel, whether blocked by geographic features, international borders, or simply the lack of any further road. Gathered below is a virtual visit to a few of these road ends around the world -- borders, shorelines, dead ends and overlooks from New Zealand to Svalbard, from Alaska to South Africa.
Sha Tau Kok crossing, New Territories, Hong Kong. This crossing marks the entry into the Frontier Closed Area, a tightly controlled buffer zone between Hong Kong and mainland China. Mapped.#
As far north as the van was allowed to drive in Alaska. A BP checkpoint, on Spine Road, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Construction facilities are visible in the distance at upper right. Mapped.#
Canada to the left, United States to the right, on Henderson Road, British Columbia. The road turns left just ahead, the line cut through the trees at center marks the international border. Mapped.#
A CBC News camera operator at work on the U.S.-Canada border. Gladwyn Road, in British Columbia, dead-ends at the border, the trees in the background are on U.S. soil. Mapped.#
One of the easternmost points along Brazil's Atlantic shoreline (at least as far as Google's Street View team have covered), Avenida Beira Mar, in the town of Paulista. Mapped.#
A view of the Chilkat Range, across Lynn Canal from the borough of Juneau, Alaska, about as far north of the city as one can drive. The capital city has a small road system, but is not connected to any outside roads -- the only way in or out is by air or by sea. Mapped.#
A diving championship in England, Darth Vader on trial in Chile, Manhattanhenge in New York City, a graduation ceremony at West Point, ongoing floods in northern Italy, and much more
The Chelsea Flower Show in England, a scarecrow fair in Italy, a mountain-bike race in Bolivia, a volcanic eruption in Indonesia, the Cannes Film Festival in France, and much more
