
I’m a sucker for maps—subway maps, network maps, geographic-features maps. So I’ve been wasting a bit of the company time playing with Google Mars, an interactive map of everyone’s favorite Red Planet. Especially intriguing is the default “elevation” setting, which helps you grasp the terrain in ways that are difficult to do from satellite images. Clicking on “mountains” or “valleys” makes it easier to find your way to Olympus Mons or Valle Marineris (respectively, the highest mountain and largest canyon in the solar system) or any other nifty Martian geologic feature. Also cool: this animated video fly-through of Valle Marineris. —Martha Harbison
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