All of Botswana was covered by a white Google car without an antenna.
Botswana has white front plates and yellow rear plates, similar to UK-style plates.
Signs in Botswana are usually in English. Most town names, however, are derived from any of the indigenous languages spoken in the country.
The typical Botswana landscape is dry and mostly flat, though a limited amount of elevation can be found in certain regions. Common vegetation includes shrubs, small trees, and occasionally dry, golden grasslands. The soil is arid, sandy and ranges in colour from white to red.
Like the other countries in Southern Africa, outside road lines (if present) are yellow, while centre road lines are white.
Botswana has a unique black-and-yellow striped signpost. More rarely, you can see red-and-white signposts.
Curbs and guardrails are usually striped. Possible colour schemes are black-and-yellow, red-and-white, and black-and-white.
These small red-and-white chevrons can sometimes be found next to the road.
Just like the other Southern African countries, direction signs have a green background.
Some road signs have a blue background. This is an older style of sign that was used before signs with white backgrounds were introduced. They are relatively unique to Botswana.
Typical Botswana houses range from small impoverished shacks to comfortable middle-class bungalows. Some buildings have exposed grey bricks. On occasion, you might find traditional round huts.
Random small blurs are common in Botswana’s coverage. These blurs are similar to the ones found on licence plates and faces, but they cover seemingly random parts of the panorama instead. This is especially noticeable in urban areas, and mostly absent on more rural roads.
Botswana has many unique and distinct regions throughout the country. This image breaks down the main factors that differentiate each distinctive landscape by soil, vegetation and other clues.
Coverage in Botswana is fairly limited due to the country’s sparse road system. In addition to regular paved roads, you can still expect to see some rural unpaved road coverage. The most dense coverage is in the east and near Gaborone. The larger towns have extensive side road coverage.
Most of Botswana is as flat as a pancake. However, every now and then you will find some elevation. If you see hills, you are most likely in one of the two areas indicated on the minimap.
The southeastern region near Gaborone has many semi-arid hills covered in short shrubs. If you see a lot of these, you are likely to be in the area between Gaborone and Lobatse.
The landscape in the eastern pocket north of Francistown is characterised by red soil and a somewhat arid look. The soil in these two areas often looks firm and rocky, rather than sandy or dusty. Trees and bushes with yellowed leaves and other “autumn” colours are common. Many trees are bare and withered. You might see fallen leaves on the ground here and there.
A large region in the middle western part of the country is characterised by very white sandy soil. In addition, the vegetation tends to look very dry.
The A35 is a very recognisable road: there is always a power line to your west. It can also be recognised by its grainy asphalt with faded markings. Many small tracks can be found parallel to the road, disappearing into the bushes.
The A33 is characterised by a landscape that is more lush than usual. Trees have lots of green leaves and the grass is very tall. The more north you go, the more lush the vegetation becomes.
The road that runs along Botswana’s southern border, through the town of Middlepits, has asphalt with a distinct red tint. The landscape is arid. In some sections, slight hills can be seen.
Gaborone is the capital and largest city. It tends to look richer and more developed than the rest of Botswana, though some neighbourhoods may still look impoverished. In some southern parts of the city hills can be seen, but most of the town is flat.
In Francistown, you can often see a lone hill with radio antennas, which is located on the north side of the city. This hill is a good way to distinguish Francistown from Gaborone.
Maun is the only relatively large city in Botswana that has this bright white sandy soil, which is typical for the middle western region of the country.
The western part of the A2 has overcast coverage, making it recognisable.
Chobe Flood Plains National Park in the far north has a lot of small, winding dirt road coverage, with a lot of it being just south of the Chobe River. It has scattered lush bushes on either side, and you will often find wildlife such as elephants and warthogs.
This portion of the A30 has a distinct autumn feel unique to it. Notably, there are trees with orange coloured leaves lining the road in straight rows. In addition, there is often tall grass as opposed to other autumn looking locations.
Salt pans can be found in central-eastern Botswana. Dirt road coverage can be found leading to the pans and has similar soil and grass, but you can also find many trees along the road. They are mainly found around the Nwetwe pan. The salt pans show up as lakes on the map.
Just outside Gaborone, there is a lot of coverage along very rural, small dirt tracks. They can be identified by the orange-red shade of dirt and abundance of green trees and bushes surrounding the road.
The section of the A33 within the Sibuya Forest Reserve and the CT/3 (Tamafupa) Commercial Wildlife Utilisation is under construction. This is most visible by the service road or embankment alongside the road.
The mostly unpaved road north of Maun to Khwai can be identified by extremely white sandy soil and tall green trees surrounding the road. The first section of the road, between Maun and Shorobe, is paved. But that section can still be identified by the trees, faint road markings, and power lines to the west of the road.
The A20 has mostly clean, recent asphalt. Some sections of the road are much thinner than usual. The landscape is characterised by red soil, dry grey-coloured trees, and very little grass
Southeast of Tshabong, the A20 has been recently repainted and has very bright yellow lines and relatively dark asphalt. There is a powerline running alongside it to the northeast, it has orange-tan sandy soil, and you can often find patches of yellow flowers.
The Tsodilo Hills World Heritage Site is memorable due to its large protruding hills with exposed rock faces. The coverage around the hills is entirely on dirt roads.
These distinctive silos are found in Pandamatenga in northeastern Botswana and can be seen all around the town.
Egypt has very sparse coverage. The entirety of the coverage is in Generation 3, made with a trekker camera. Trekkers can be recognized by the fact that the camera is lower to the ground, having smaller blurs, and no car shadow.
Many of the buildings you see in the trekker coverage are made of sandstone.
The official language in Egypt is Arabic. You can occasionally see it on signs in several of the trekkers. Its script can be identified by its lines and dots.
The great pyramids of Giza have trekker coverage
The coverage inside the valley temple of Khafre can be recognised by the rows of massive square pillars.
The Djoser pyramid, which can be recognised by the stair-like sections combined with the scaffolding surrounding it, is located south of Cairo. You can also find some other minor historical excavation sites and some plain desert coverage.
The Cairo Citadel is an enormous fortification with a trekker walking through and around it. It can be recognized by its massive walls that are made of clean-cut sandstone blocks.
Inside the Citadel, you can see the Ottoman-era Mosque of Muhammad Ali. It has light grey domes and very tall minarets.
The trekker in and around the Hanging Church consists of two parts that look fairly different from each other.
At a certain point, the trekker moves from the street into the Hanging Church. Inside, you will see a beautiful courtyard with religious mosaics and two white church spires.
The Qaitbay Citadel consists of a large castle surrounded by thick walls, which are both made of sandstone.
The monastery complex of Saint Mina consists of several large, palace-like buildings in a somewhat modern, Arabic style. Most of the buildings have several spires crowned with Christian crosses.
The Abu Mena Heritage Site is a major excavation area southwest of Alexandria, just south of the Saint Mina monastery. In the middle of the site, you can find a small, yellow wooden chapel.
Eswatini’s landscape is known for its green, wooded hills and tall golden grass.
Poles in Eswatini are made of dark brown wood and follow a simple design. The insulators are mostly mounted on the side.
Roads starting with the letters “MR” are exclusive to Eswatini.
Eswatini typically uses yellow outside lines and occasionally, triple white middle lines.
All of Eswatini was covered by a white Google car without an antenna.
Licence plates in Eswatini are long and green at the bottom.
Concrete bus shelters are a common sight on roads in Eswatini.
Montane grasslands with long golden grass and a mountainous landscape are typical of Western Eswatini.
Pine tree plantations are found in select areas in the West of the country.
This distinct region in the central South of the country, mostly along the MR9, can be recognized by the dark, overwhelming greenness and tall wooded mountains.
You can recognise this region in the east of the country thanks to the unusual flatness and the mountains often visible in the distance.
Sugar cane is grown in several areas along the Eastern border.
The MR3 South of Ngomane can be recognized thanks to flatness, long dry grass and the dirt on the camera.
The MR3 from Manzini to the South African border is divided by metal and stone guardrails, making it recognisable.
The MR8 in Southeastern Eswatini straddling the South African border is recognisable because of this distinct ridge to the east.
You can recognise the Mlawula Nature Reserve thanks to the narrow dirt tracks, tall grass and overall savannah landscape.
If you see Portuguese text in Eswatini, you are most likely in the small town of Lomahasha.
All regular road coverage in Ghana was made with a unique Google car. It has a visible roof rack with a piece of black tape on the right end of the front bar. In addition, the hood of the car is usually visible, showing a street view car wrapping that features a red rectangle and some other recognizable elements. Normally, this unique car is all you need to identify Ghana.
Ghana uses white plates on normal vehicles, and yellow plates for commercial vehicles. They can be long or short. Because commercial vehicles are really common, you will often see a mix of both plate colours.
Ghana is mostly flat with red soil, however hills and mountains can be seen in some regions. Tropical vegetation is very common, and palms are common especially toward the south.
Taxis in Ghana typically have multicoloured body panels. The fenders and quarter panels are always coloured orange-yellow.
Road lines in Ghana are always white. However, many paved roads do not have road lines at all.
Ghana typically uses wooden poles with 3 insulators on a metallic crossbar.
Ghana is a patriotic country, and you can often see things painted in the national flag’s colours: red, yellow, green, and sometimes including the black star.
Black and white striped signposts in Ghana are typically seen in cities. On rural roads, you will mostly see classic, non-painted, metal signposts.
The coverage in Ghana is limited and easy to memorize, as most of it was taken on its main roads and in major cities. The most dense coverage is located in the south, around the cities of Accra and Kumasi.
Ghana features 3 distinct types of tape on the google car:
Northern Ghana features a savannah landscape, which can be identified by its dry soil and less dense vegetation.
Tall mountain ranges in Ghana are typically seen near Lake Volta in the highlighted area.
Dense forests in Ghana are typically found in the southwest and east. You will usually see many naturally occurring palm trees, making the two regions recognizable.
Tall palm trees are commonly found along the coast. Most of them are located in the west.
Most unpaved roads in a dry savannah landscape are found north of Wa, as well as near the town itself.
The road connecting the town of Sawla with the N10 has very crisp, new road lines. Most of the road runs in a general east-west direction, through a lush savannah landscape. The middle line can be solid or dashed.
The Salaga-Tamale road up to Kpalbusi is a dirt road with very moody overcast coverage. The soil tends to be very dark, with a purple or brown tinge to it. The road also has a unique tropical savannah feel. The soil is most dark near the town of Salaga.
The road between Nkwanta and Domanko is unpaved, with a powerline close to the road to your east or northeast. The road itself runs in a general SE-NW direction, through a lush savannah landscape that is typical of central Ghana.
On a section of the N2 east of Lake Volta, you can often see a ridgeline to your southeast, somewhat close to the road. The road itself also has a distinct angle, running in a general SW-NE direction. The sky is very overcast and grey.
The coastal area just east of Accra, especially on the N1, has a distinct landscape: it is very flat and wide open, with significantly less vegetation than the rest of southern Ghana. Some parts can look somewhat dry.
The section of the N1 road near the border town of Elubo is very new: it has dark and unblemished asphalt, a very crisp-looking middle line, and no outer lines. The vegetation is dense and occasionally features palm trees.
The Keta Lagoon in the southeast of Ghana can be seen on the road that runs along it, with the lake being most visible in the northern section. You can sometimes see grey rocks on the side of the road. The soil is quite sandy in comparison to the rest of the country, and it should have a coastal feel.
Several nature reserves and sanctuaries have this unique car. A white car and side mirrors will be visible instead of the regular car, however, the ‘Ghana tape’ will still be there.
The Ankasa Game Reserve has a unique Google car. The entire front of the Google car can be seen, with only the actual camera blurred. The roof of the car will have a street view vinyl and the ‘Ghana tape’ will be present.
The Boabeng Fiema Monkey Sanctuary has a unique Google car. The ‘Ghana tape’ and roof rack will not be visible however, the black right side mirror will be slightly visible just outside the blur.
Kenya has many unique Google cars, almost all of which will have visible car meta. In Generation 3 you will typically see a car with a roof rack and a snorkel. In Generation 4 you will always have a large pickup truck, which will either be white or grey. The grey car comes in two slightly different variations, of which one can either be with or without a snorkel.
On a lot of the coverage you will see a grey Toyota SUV following the Street View car.
Kenya uses long white front licence plates. The rear counterpart is square and yellow.
This mobile network brand named Safaricom is unique to Kenya, and almost every city has one location.
Outer lines in Kenya will always be solid white, while inner lines will be yellow and either solid or dashed.
Directional signs are green with a white border and text. They often display road numbers in white or yellow.
While infrequent, road signs in Kenya will mostly be red and white.
Upon closer inspection of signs, billboards and posters, you will notice that the county name is often written. Therefore, knowledge of Kenyan counties can be extremely useful in region guessing.
These repurposed vans can be found all over Kenya.
Many species of eucalyptus are commonly found in Kenya. They can be identified by their long, often clumped leaves, and smooth bark.
While the vast majority of Kenyan car coverage has a visible Street View car, it is possible to find Generation 3 coverage with no visible car.
Most of the coverage in Kenya outside of the southwest is limited to main roads.
The natural formation of land has great diversity between regions. The east and large portions of the north are extremely flat. In contrast, the further southwest you travel, the higher the elevation becomes on average.
Kenya has distinct regional climates. Some of these include:
This Generation 3 grey car with a large snorkel is mostly found in the west, but can also be found in the Mombasa and Nairobi areas, and regions east of Nairobi near Kitui.
This Generation 3 black car with a small snorkel is mostly found in the east of the country. You can also see it north and south of Nairobi.
Kenya has mostly Generation 4 coverage covered by a large grey Google car, with or without a snorkel. There are many metas regarding Generation 4, too many in fact to break down here.
You can see pieces of white tape on the roof of the Google car in a lot of the coverage north and south of Nairobi.
The A109 between Mombasa and Nairobi has light orange dirt and many hills around the road and in the distance. You will additionally see many transportation trucks delivering various goods.
Mombasa and the other coastal towns are easily identified from the white sandy soil, palm trees and coastal feel.
The far west areas of the country that are northwest and southwest of Kisumu are the most agricultural parts of the country. You will often see farms, grassy hills, and tall eucalyptus trees in this region of the country.
The area around Kitui is semi-arid, usually mountainous, and has light orange, sandy dirt.
The northwest part of the country has very limited coverage, most of which is on the A1 or in Sibiloi National Park. It has faintly tan soil and sparse low trees. A lot of the coverage in this area is very flat, but you can also see hills or mountains.
Kenya has many unique Google cars in and around its National Parks and Reserves. These are still identifiable by the snorkel which is present in almost all of them.
The B9 in the Northeast is entirely unpaved and has bright reddish orange dirt with many trees surrounding the road. Most of it is very flat, but the coverage at the western end of the road can have hills and mountains. The soil also transitions into a more sandy colour.
The A2 between Isiolo and Marsabit has many plants alongside the road and you will often see large mountains in the distance. The stretch going through Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust will have a very large mountain range to the west.
North of Marsabit will be much flatter, with some mountains in the distance. The stretch just north or Marsabit will have mountains visible to the south, while further north, a different range can be seen. It will also have much less vegetation.
The A3 north of Garissa is very unique, with light coloured soil and many green trees on either side of the road.
The western part of the C34 is a flat, east to west road. There are two long, straight sections with an abundance of sugar cane. Furthermore, you will see a large mountain range north along the entire mentioned stretches of road.
This car that is covered in specks of dirt is unique to these stretches of the A3, B9, and the Habaswein-Dadaab Road connecting the two.
A unique blue siren can be seen on this stretch of road between Emali and the Katumani-Machakos junction.
Nairobi is the largest city in the country, and capital of Kenya. It is the only city to have a considerable amount of skyscrapers, and is highly developed. It is densely populated, and is surrounded by small, poor settlements.
In a lot of the coverage north of Mt Kilimanjaro, the mountain is visible to the south, usually obscured by clouds. In the city of Oloitoktok, the mountain will often be visible directly to the south.
Homa Bay has this protruding hill to the east that is often visible.
Mara Triangle has no considerable mountains and most of it is either flat or hilly. It has a white car that can be found in other Kenyan National Parks. Most of the coverage is not within the park, but to the east of it.
Amboseli National Park has a grey car with a small snorkel. It is very flat with tan grass, few trees, and dried up lake beds. You can always see the base of Kilimanjaro to the south, with most of it obscured by clouds.
Aberdare National Park has a grey and brown car that features a large snorkel. Almost all of the coverage is outside of the National Park, with only two roads within the park covered. The main road through the park has these rubber bands on the roof rack, which can only be found in one other National Park in Kenya.
Between Kitale and Mt Elgon, you can find the Aberdare car as well, but it will always have rubber bands, unlike in Aberdare where it will only have them on the main roads through the park. It can be differentiated from Aberdare by its redder dirt, and greener landscape.
The area surrounding and between Kerio and Lodwar uses the same car as the Aberdare National Park, but with a vastly different landscape. It is very sandy, dry, and has little vegetation.
This stretch of the B8 just north of Kibaoni has many succulents on the side of the road.
All coverage in Lesotho is Generation 3. In almost all locations, the back of a white Google car without an antenna is visible.
One of the best ways to identify the country are the characteristic ‘Lesotho mountains’. They are bare and treeless, often have tabletop-like shapes, and recognizable horizontal rocky ridgelines.
Lesotho uses long white licence plates with blue text. If partially unblurred, you may see the Mokorotlo hat symbol on the left.
Lesotho uses yellow outer lines and white inner lines.
Some roads have unique triple middle lines, consisting of two solid lines with a dashed line in between.
Like the three other Southern African countries, Lesotho drives on the left.
In rural areas, you will often see traditional round huts with thatched roofs.
These agave plants are common throughout the countryside and often a good clue for the country.
Grasslands in Lesotho primarily consist of short grass.
Many people in Lesotho wear traditional clothing. Most recognizably, a lot of people can be seen wearing a Basotho woollen blanket.
Lesotho is a very rural society. You will often see a lot of free-roaming livestock on Lesotho’s roads: most commonly cows, but also horses, donkeys, and other farm animals.
Lesotho can be roughly divided into two regions, based on landscape: flat and mountainous.
Conversely, in the mountainous part, the road will usually be directly on the side of the mountain, instead of slightly away from it. The mountains are often large, closer to the road, and covered in green grass.
There are two large man-made water reservoirs in the mountainous part of Lesotho, which can be seen from several road sections.
The section of the A2 between Maseru and Mafeteng has by far the best road quality in all of Lesotho.
On a section of the A25, just east of the big reservoir, the camera is covered in raindrops in one direction.
Several sections of the A5 south of Nyakosoba are under construction. As a result, you will often see a sort of temporary “bollard” next to the road, consisting of a stick that is mostly painted white.
The road going from Ramatsediso to Sehlabathebe NP, in the southeast on the border with South Africa, is very recognizable. Consider guessing there if the following three things are all true for your location:
The only city with a significantly urbanised downtown area is Maseru, the capital. All other towns have a very provincial feel in comparison to Maseru.
Qacha's Nek is a very recognizable town that is located far away from most other towns, on the southeastern border with South Africa.
Street View in Madagascar is very limited, with a mixture of land and boat coverage, most of which is on or near the west coast. It is worth noting that almost all the coverage was taken using trekkers, with only two exceptions, both of which have a visible, unique Street View car.
The climate of Madagascar generally varies from extremely dry in the southern and central parts, to tropical in the north.
The coverage in Ambanja can be recognized by a person wearing a dark blue T-shirt and black sunglasses.
The coverage on the island of Nosy Ambariovato can be recognized by the people, one wearing a blue T-shirt and sunglasses on their forehead, one with a light red T-shirt and one with a darker red tank top. There is also a fourth person in some of the coverage, wearing a light blue T-shirt. The coverage is very hilly and forested.
There is a village by the northern shore of Nosy Ambariovato.
Ambiky can be recognized by the large number of palms combined with the brown, sandy dirt road. In most of the coverage, there is a person walking in front of the trekker with a grey T-shirt and a brown backpack.
A beach west of Ambiky can be recognized by the low trees combined with low mountains to the northwest.
An area with coverage south of Ambiky can be recognized by the large, solitary green bushes combined with a very slight red tinge in the dirt. Certain parts of the coverage are quite wet.
There are three major sections of coverage along the Sambirano river, most of which can be identified with the single person, wearing a dark blue T-shirt and sunglasses on their forehead. The same person is also present on Nosy Ambariovato.
A small section of the coverage by the Sambirano river has two different people present on the coverage; one with a red T-shirt and white cap, and one with a spotted dress.
A couple of atolls on the central west coast can be seen on Street View. The northernmost is the smallest, and is easily recognizable as it only consists of sand and you can always see from one shore to the other.
The other atolls can be recognized by their small size relative to other landmasses and the broad leaved palms which is rarely found anywhere else in the country.
Most of the coverage in Antananarivo was taken on the side of a hill looking out over the city, which leads up to the Queen’s Palace, which can be seen near the top of the hill.
The coverage on the RN8 between Andriamena and Marofandilia can easily be recognized by the large silver roof rack on the Street View car. The coverage is very dry and sandy.
The trekker next to the RN8 can be recognized by its extreme dryness, combined with the four people wearing red, blue, grey and light blue respectively.
Baobab Avenue is easy to recognize by the extremely broad trunked baobab trees along the side of the road.
Morondava is most easily recognized by the bald person wearing either a light green or a light red striped shirt. It is also one of few towns where the trekker walks on a paved road.
Morondava has a very smooth sand beach, with the ocean to the northwest. There are a large number of palms visible.
Belo Sur Mer can be recognized by the large number of palms combined with the blanket of white sand on the ground.
The beach outside Belo Sur Mer can be recognized by the somewhat dirty sand and the curved shoreline with the ocean to the northwest.
Kirindy Mitea National Park can be most easily recognized by having the reddest soil present on Street View in Madagascar.
A car with a barely visible grey metal roof rack can be seen by Manahy. There are some locations where the car is completely blurred out, where the shape of the blur is the best indication of the area.
A piece of coverage, partly taken on a large grassy field, and partly on the side of a sand dune, can be found south of Manahy.
A village with the shore to the east can be found north of Andavadoaka.
A small, very sandy village with the shore to the north can be seen on a small cape north of Andavadoaka. Part of the coverage was taken just outside the shoreline.
The town of Andavadoaka can be recognized by three different people appearing on the coverage; One wearing a greyish hat and a light blue shirt, and two with red and white T-shirts.
The main part of the trekker coverage surrounding Andavadoaka can be recognized by either the person wearing a greyish hat and light blue shirt or a person wearing a yellow T-shirt.
A second Trekker, going to the northeast of Andavadoaka can be recognized by a person with a light blue T-shirt.
A blue cart dragged by a black cow on the left and a brown-white cow on the right can be found south of Andavadoaka.
Another cart dragged by a white cow on the left and a black and white cow on the right can be found just south of Andavadoaka.
A small seaside village, with little to no visible people can be found in the northern end of the bay, south of Andavadoaka.
Coverage on a somewhat rocky ground with no people following the trekker can be found southwest of the bay.
Coverage with multiple different people walking near and around the trekker, and with a small village to the west, can be found in the southeastern part of the bay. Part of the coverage goes through a very shallow body of water.
A cluster of fishing nets can be found in the bay.
The Tsaranoro Massif is a large monolithic mountain with trekker coverage. The steep mountainsides, combined with the mountainous area surrounding the coverage makes it very recognizable. The four people following the trekker can also occasionally be a useful clue.
A small part of the coverage in Tsaranoro was taken inside a forest, which occasionally hides the surrounding mountains. The best way to recognize this area is the relatively dark coverage, combined with the four people following the trekker.
A small settlement is found in the northeastern end of Tsaranoro. The mountains can typically be seen in the background.
Toliara can be recognized as being a generally quite busy-looking town and the only large town on Madagascar with no person following the trekker.
Two pieces of coverage can be recognized by two people following the trekker; one with a yellow tank top and one with a blue T-shirt. The first of these two parts is located in the town of St Augustin.
The second part with the same two people is found to the east of St Augustin, going through a hilly landscape with a lot of shrubs.
A white boat, containing many people, can be found going around the island of Nosy Ambariovato.
A mainly blue boat can be found along the coast south of Nosy Ambariovato.
A row boat containing five people with a wide wooden frame surrounding it can be found northwest of Ambohimena.
A boat going up the Sambirano River can be seen with two people; a tourist with a blue T-shirt and a gondolier with a brown shirt. The northernmost part of the coverage is very dark, as it was taken during sunset.
The boat covering some small atolls along the central parts of the west coast can be recognized by the driver, wearing a white cap and no shirt.
The boat north of Andavadoaka can mostly be recognized by the large sail almost filling up the entire screen and the bow which is painted yellow and blue. Note that the sail is not present in the northern parts of the coverage.
The boat in the bay south of Andavadoaka can be recognized by either the somewhat smaller sail than the one north of Andavadoaka, or the person sitting by the bow wearing a red T-shirt with the text “Diesel”. Beware that only one of the two will appear on most of the coverage.
Four people; one dressed in red, one in blue and one in yellow in the back, and one dressed in brown at the front, can be seen on a boat by the town of St Augustin.
Mali has very limited coverage. There are only ten small trekkers, divided over seven locations. Instead of learning a lot of country-specific clues, it is more practical to simply memorise what the trekkers look like.
All this trekker coverage is made with a regular consumer-grade camera on a tripod. This gives all the coverage a very peculiar and recognizable look, which is different from the normal backpack trekkers. It can have a slightly ‘ethereal’ look to it, but it is recommended to simply click on a few of the locations to get a feeling for what it looks like. Objects in the image will usually have motion blur, and slightly saturated colours.
Almost all the tripods focus on showing historical mosques. These tripods usually have an indoor part and an exterior part, which are sometimes not connected to each other.
The exterior parts of the mosque tripods can look like a normal street. These will sometimes have enough information available (when moving) to be included in pinpointable maps, like A Community World.
Mali is generally an arid country. Seeing a sandy, dry landscape can help with immediately distinguishing the Mali tripods from most tripods in other countries.
The Niono mosque is located in a busy area by the side of a wide, sandy and fairly dirty road, with trees right by the walls of the mosque.
The inside of the Niono mosque can be recognized by its fairly detailed “European style” pillars, which is not found in any of the other Malinese mosques with coverage.
The roads around the Sidi Yahiya mosque are a mixture of sand and tiles shaped like slices of bread, which within Mali, is unique to this coverage.
The interior of Sidi Yahiya mosque is recognized by the yellow painted walls combined with the bottom of the walls, which consists of unpainted bricks. The mosque has a courtyard, with walls made of bricks and a floor made of bright, square tiles.
Coverage outside of the Djingareyber mosque in Timbuktu features brick buildings and a paved street with rectangular tiles.
The inside of the Djingareyber mosque can be characterised by yellow painted walls, wide round archways, and red carpet.
The Sankoré Mosque is surrounded by very sandy ground. The mosque itself has a prominent pyramid-shaped tower.
The Sankoré Mosque has richly decorated doors, which are made of wood adorned with metal details.
The interior of the Sankoré Mosque has blue carpet, yellow painted walls, and a fairly low ceiling supported by wooden beams.
The exterior of the mosque in Gao can be recognised by the large desolate space outside the walls, the ground consisting of reddish dirt, and some trees in the background.
The inside of the Gao mosque consists of undecorated corridors with low roofs. You can see the pyramid shaped structure, with a very large number of dry branches sticking out of it, from the courtyard.
The Djenné mosque has a very recognizable front, with some distant trees and a clear sky. The mosque is surrounded by low houses, making the area look fairly open.
The interior of the Djenné mosque is quite dark, with a high roof and narrow corridors with gothic arches. There is also a large courtyard with sandy ground and brown wooden doors along the walls.
The Mopti mosque is similar in style to the Djenne mosque, but has trees growing closer to the walls and a slight amount of clouds in the sky. The streets with coverage around the walls of the mosque also appear more narrow than the ones in Djenne.
The interior of the Mopti mosque can be recognised by the somewhat open space, with a high roof, no arches, and a blue carpet across the entire floor.
In the north west of Bamako, you can find a tripod inside an empty modern mosque. The interior’s light blue walls and pink floor make this location instantly recognizable.
This natural rocky gorge is part of the Bandiagara Escarpment. It features dry trees and bushes following the path. It is located southwest of Sangha Ogol Leye, and is the only completely rural coverage in Mali.
Inside the Sankore mosque coverage in Timbuktu (but not connected to it), there are several misplaced locations: The inside of a tour business actually located in Bamako, a classroom, a couple of streets and some other miscellaneous places.
A visible Street View car is present in most of the coverage, being a pickup truck with the cab and bed visible. The colour of the cab and other features of it varies. In Generation 3, a roof rack is present. You may also find a large blur covering the entire pickup truck.
A police car, most commonly white or black, can almost always be seen following the Street View car. The follow cars may differ slightly from the ones shown in the image.
Nigeria uses short licence plates that appear somewhat green through the blur.
Most Nigerian poles are made of concrete, have indents with a few horizontal supports, and are similar to the ones used in Brazil, but do not have holes through them.
Roads are not always well-maintained in Nigeria, so roads without roadlines or faded roads are common. Potholes, cracked roads and unpaved roads are also relatively common.
Most Nigerian houses are single-storey, with steeply pitched roofs commonly made of metal sheets. Cinder block walls surrounding the houses are also common.
City and state names are often found on storefronts or banners in Nigeria, so knowing them can be quite useful.
Within mainland Africa, Nigeria is currently the only country to have this low-quality coverage, known as official ari, or “shitcam”.
Nigeria is generally a fairly flat country with subtle elevation changes throughout. The south is relatively flat apart from some noticeable hills in the southeast, in Enugu state and in the southwest, between Ife and Lokoja. In the north, more prominent hills and mountains are found from Abuja and Jimeta. The largest mountains are found in the east, making up the Mandara mountain range and the Nigeria-Cameroon border. However, due to little coverage, the mountains are rarely visible.
Shown is a Köppen climate map of Nigeria. The climate ranges from tropical rainforest in the far south, where you can find an abundance of palms with lush, green vegetation, to a more arid, savannah landscape in the centre, with more scattered trees. In the far north, it transitions to an arid steppe where the vegetation becomes even more sparse.NOTE: Due to dry/wet seasons, the coverage may look drastically greener/drier than expected for certain latitudes.
Nigeria is a sparsely covered country, with very few roads in the northwest and east. Most of the coverage is centred around big cities and the highways that connect them.You can click on the image to enlarge it.
The maps above show where each camera generation can be found. Knowing where you can find each camera generation is also very useful. Notably, Generation 3 is not found north of Abuja, Generation 4 is not found in the northwest or far south, and shitcam is not found in the southeast, and only in cities in the east. Shitcam V2, a newer variant of shitcam, is explained further down in step 3.You can click on each of the images to enlarge them.
This map shows states with unique vehicle and tuk tuk colours. If a vehicle is shown, the state will have yellow tuk tuks.NOTE: There may be some rare exceptions to what is shown in the image. Paint jobs in-game may also differ slightly to those shown in the image.You can click on the image to enlarge it.
Nigeria is mainly Christian in the south, and Islamic in the north. As such, seeing women in hijabs and men in muslim attire is more common in the north.
These haystacks are extremely common and are almost exclusively found in Kaduna state.
If you find yourself in an arid, but green, agricultural landscape with an abundance of corn around, you are likely to be in Kano state. It is only covered by shitcam, without any Generation 3 or 4.
Benue state can be recognized by the lush, green grass covered ground, with reddish soil. The vegetation is somewhat scattered, with the grass making way for taller trees. Shorter trees and shrubs between the grass and taller trees are somewhat uncommon. Thatched huts are also common in comparison to other southern states.NOTE: An abundance of palms should make you lean toward the bordering southern states that can look similar.
Niger state is the shitcam equivalent to Benue state. It is almost entirely covered by shitcam, and can be recognized by the scattered trees, reddish soil, and dry grass.
The highways that run through the northwestern states of Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Katsina can be recognized by an even more open and arid landscape compared to Niger state. The tree coverage becomes even more sparse, or there may not be trees at all. These states are entirely covered by shitcam.
A savannah landscape combined with rocky hills can most commonly be seen in the northeast in the states of Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, and the north of Taraba. The hills in the far east and west of this region are typically greener and covered in more vegetation compared to the hills toward the middle of the range.NOTE: Around the city of Gombe, hills composed of softer, clay-like soil can be seen instead.
These monolithic mountains with exposed, weathered rock are common in and around Abuja.
A flat landscape with coastal vegetation and many palms can be seen east of Lekki. The ground is very sandy. Almost all of the coverage is old Generation 3, with a silver follow car.
The A121 can be recognized by the lush, tropical vegetation surrounding the divided highway, with a short, concrete median. Being a major highway, many vehicles, especially trucks, can be seen along it.NOTE: The A232 heading east of Benin City is also divided, however the median is noticeably wider than that of the A121.
A dry, hazy, and somewhat gloomy landscape in Generation 3 combined with sizable mountains in the distance can be found on the road heading north of Takum to Jalingo. This smudge, which gets darker further north, is also seen at the front of the camera.NOTE: The coverage is broken on many parts of the road, so knowing where coverage exists can be helpful. You can view where the coverage is on this site.
The A3 going east of Potiskum to the Borno State border can be recognized by the Generation 4 coverage, mostly open arid landscape, and the highway being divided.
Dark red soil is most commonly found in and around Benin City and Enugu.
The Obudu Plateau road can be recognized by having the tallest mountains in Nigeria with street view coverage. The road winds up lush, green mountains and the coverage is slightly foggy and wet.
This variant of shitcam with a distinct blue tint can be found in these areas.
This new variant of shitcam can be found in these areas. It can be recognized by the dimmer lighting and less vibrant colours. The camera also has a hazy feel to it.NOTE: More of this coverage is being released. The map is accurate as of February 2024.
This map shows where each old Generation 3 follow car can be found. They are uncommon, but can still be useful to know.NOTE: The A121 is not shown on the map as it is recognizable from other clues. This silver Lexus, not shown on the map, can rarely be seen on the highway between Onitsha and Enugu.
Réunion, officially the Department of Réunion, is an overseas department and region of France, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. As such, for country streaks purposes, it is counted as France.
Réunion has a Street View car with visible side mirrors, a roof rack, and black tape at the end of the rear right bar.
Being a French Department, you will see French infrastructure, such as signs, bollards and poles.
Réunion is a mountainous volcanic island in the Indian Ocean on a similar latitude to Queensland, Australia. Most roads are along the coast, with lush green mountains visible close by. Vegetation consists of palms and ferns, pine trees at higher elevation, and flowering plants due to the island’s tropical savanna climate.
Only a handful of roads were covered without a trekker. Learning the general regions with coverage will help you get those extra 10 points.
There are six distinct bus stop designs on Réunion:
Sugarcane plantations on Réunion can be found in two regions: the northeast and the southwest. The southwest is generally more built up and densely populated, meaning you will see more buildings or cars around.
Cilaos is a town inside a caldera. It can be recognized by the wall of mountains surrounding the town with overcast coverage.
You can spot this rectangular blur on the front camera in all the coverage going north of Saint-Louis.
The northwestern section of the N1 is divided, with a distinct ridge to the southeast and the ocean to the northwest.
Route du Volcan can be recognized by the Martian landscape. The only vegetation is scattered shrubs and the soil is a distinct brown-red colour. These white stones lining the road are also a good clue.
La Route Forestière 58 de la Scierie et du Haut des Makes is a winding dirt track that can be recognized by the dense vegetation surrounding it, particularly pine trees and eucalyptus. The track itself is also dark in colour, with grass growing in the middle of it.
The eastern region of Réunion is the least densely populated, evident by the eastern part of the N2, which is a single carriageway passing through somewhat dense vegetation on both sides, or a vast landscape with little to no trees.
The two largest towns in Réunion can be differentiated by their bollards, commonly seen at intersections. Saint Paul uses black bollards, while Saint Denis uses green bollards, often with white balls on top. Saint Denis is also more built up, being the capital.
Rwanda uses long white front and yellow back licence plates.
All the coverage in Rwanda is made with a Generation 4 camera. In most of the coverage, the Google car is entirely visible: it is a big white, black, or brown pickup truck. The camera mount is visible.
Occasionally, the Google car will be covered entirely by a big blur.
The coverage has a noticeable hazy tint to it, which is especially apparent in the sky.
Rwandan architecture features a lot of brick and concrete. Most houses in Rwanda are single family houses, which can have rather steep roofs. Houses also often have fences for protection. The most notable feature of Rwandan architecture are the ‘ventilation bricks,’ which are present in many houses.
Rwanda is generally quite hilly, but not very mountainous.
Most of the soil in Rwanda has a noticeable red tint to it.
Banana plants are common throughout Rwanda.
Rwanda uses multiple different red and white cylindrical bollards.
Rwanda uses various different styles of white concrete waystones.
Streets in Rwanda are noticeably very clean and free of garbage.
Kerbs are often painted with black and white stripes.
Villa neighbourhoods often have a lot of tall security fences and walls.
Rwanda drives on the right.
All motorcyclists in Rwanda are required to wear red vests and helmets.
Rwanda has quite limited coverage: street view is limited to Kigali, and a couple of other patches elsewhere in Rwanda.
Street names often have a two-letter code, which tells you the district you are in.
Lamps are fairly consistent on National Roads in Rwanda, but other designs can be sometimes found on some sections.
Lampposts along many national roads will have the road number painted in black letters. Below that, you will find the lamp number, which generally, but not always, increases the further from Kigali you get.
The black pickup truck can be found in most of Kigali.
The brown pickup truck can be found in many small pockets around Rwanda. The white car will be found everywhere else.
Tea plantations are common in Western Rwanda, and a couple other pockets.
Northeastern Rwanda has less extreme elevation compared to the rest of Rwanda. It more so consists of rolling hills and open agricultural land or undeveloped grassland.
Volcanoes and volcanic rocks can be seen in northwestern Rwanda.
The Akagera national park features a very vegetated yet dry landscape with wide unpaved roads that are reddish-brown in colour.
The Nyungwe Forest National Park goes through a lush and hilly landscape, which has 2 distinct covered roads; The yellow NR10 is paved, with roadlines. French style bollards and green lamp posts can be seen on the sides of the road. The white NR26 going south is mostly paved, except for the southernmost section. No roadlines are present.
The NR11 north of Mabanza uses all white road lines.
The section of NR15 from Muhanga till the Western Province border has very poor pavement, with a lot of potholes and a lack of road lines.
The section of NR15 from the Western Province border to this point is under construction, with no pavement at the moment; making it the only covered National Road to be unpaved for this long. Also, most of the road hugs a steep cliffside made of red dirt.
The NR16 is the only road that predominantly uses dashed outer white lines.
A wide river can be seen along the northeastern border of Kigali City.
Much of the Kigali coverage is in the richer neighbourhoods. You will see a lot of luxury villas.
Many roads in Butare feature cobblestone pavement.
All the coverage was taken with a low quality camera that’s commonly referred to as “Shitcam”. The car will be completely blurred out, with a very large blur covering the back and a somewhat smaller blur covering the front.
Portuguese is the main language used on São Tomé and Príncipe.
On top of the language, the Portuguese influence can also be seen in infrastructure, such as ladder poles and pedestrian signs with the same design as in Portugal.
São Tomé and Príncipe are tropical islands, which are almost completely covered in rainforests. Banana plants are especially common throughout the islands.
Some wooden poles are painted blue on the bottom. You can also read the letters CST on them.
This desaturated and even dimmer variant of shitcam is most common on Príncipe.
You can find oil palm plantations in southern São Tomé.
The town of Trinidade has poles with red and white pole paint.
Senegal is the only African country to use fully blue licence plates. A newer version exists in Generation 4 which looks like the standard European licence plate which is white with a blue strip on the left.
A silver or white truck cab is visible in the Generation 4 coverage. Several variants of each exist, most of which are region or road specific. The most useful and recognizable ones will be shown in the spotlight section. For a complete overview, see this document by Lupus.
A Google Car with a visible roof rack and the right side mirror is seen in Generation 3 coverage. Rifts can also be seen in the sky.
Senegal drives on the right.
Being a former French colony, Senegal uses French infrastructure such as bollards, poles, signs and road lines.
The official and most common language seen in Senegal is French.
The road number and the distance to the nearest towns can be seen on these white kilometre markers with a red top.
Most town entry signs in Senegal are white and feature a thick pink outline. The town is also written in a bold, black font.
These simple black lamps with a solar panel at the top are commonly seen in Senegal.
Yellow-orange taxis with black fenders can commonly be seen in Senegal.
This is a coverage map of Senegal. Most of the coverage is west of Touba, with very few roads apart from main roads covered in the east.
The landscape north of The Gambia and for Senegal generally is a flat, arid, savannah-desert landscape with sparse trees. The trees themselves will be somewhat short and have leaves that are faded in colour.
The vegetation in the region south of The Gambia is more lush and green compared to the rest of Senegal, and palm trees can be seen closer to the coast.
Diourbel Region is the only region in Senegal with extensive rural coverage. The coverage in the region will look like this, with the Google Car driving on a sandy road with sparse trees. Some of the coverage extends to the west in the Thies region up to Babou.
A very slightly rolling landscape consisting of vegetated sand dunes can be seen along the northwestern coast.
A dry landscape with slight hills can mostly be seen around Bakel, but also south to Nayé.
A greener landscape with larger hills can be seen around Kedougou and Mako.
Irrigated rice fields can sometimes be seen in the region between St Louis and Richard Toll.
The silver Generation 4 car with a long antenna at the front left can be seen on many roads, but none past the eastern border of Diourbel Region.
The regular Generation 4 white car is most commonly found south of The Gambia, but can also be found on the northeastern coast and a small region between Kaolack and Saly.
Divided highways are found between Dakar and Touba. The two divided highways are between Dakar and Touba, and between Dakar and Saly.
The N1 between Tambacounda and Nayé generally runs in a northeast east direction. A railway runs parallel to the road. The railway is to the south of the road between Tambacounda to just before Youpe Amadi, and is to the north from Youpe Amadi to Bellé.
Hazy coverage with a low sun through a sometimes agricultural landscape can be seen on the N2 between St. Louis and Richard Toll.
The N2 between Richard Toll and Matam is a wide road going through a flat desert landscape with very sparse trees. It can be recognized by the bright blue skies with no clouds. The road itself goes east-west and northeast-southwest.
Distinct, tall patches of bright yellow grass can be seen along the N3, mostly to the east in the Matam Region.
The road northeast of Kedougou to the Malian border can be recognized by the hazy bushfire coverage. Smoke trails can sometimes be seen in the distance. The road is paved south of Saraya.
A flat, slightly marshy landscape with low vegetation can be seen on a few sections of roads in the Saloum River Delta.
The Kola-Velingara road between Saré Amirou and Badion is a dirt road that can be recognized by the late afternoon to evening coverage. The coverage gets later toward the west.
The white road in the Forest of Thies can be recognized by the dry, slightly hilly landscape with brown vegetation. The road itself is made of bright orange dirt. There is also a noticeably haze in the coverage.
The silver Generation 4 car with a box in the back right of the cab can mainly be seen on the road between Richard Toll and Louga, and the N3 between Tiourene and Matam. It can also be seen on the dirt road hugging the Mauritanian border, from Matam to Gassamberi. Finally, it can be seen on a few roads near Diolotène.
The silver Generation 4 car with a stain at the back left of the cab can be seen on the N2 from Richard Toll to Matam and Bakel to Nayé. It can also be seen on the N1 between Tambacounda and Nayé.
The silver Generation 4 car with a stain at the back left and a dirty roof can mainly be seen on the N1 between Kaffrine and Tambacounda, and the N7 between Tambacounda and Kedougou. It can also be seen between Dahra and Diakhao.
The silver Generation 4 car with a red cloth at the front left can be seen on this eastern road between Ouro Sogui and Bakel.
The white Generation 4 car but with the antenna down, parallel to the car’s roof, can be found on the N6 between Ziguinchor and Kolda.
The white Generation 4 car with a noticeably dirty back can be seen on the road going north of Kolda, up to Katonfara.
Dakar is the largest and capital city of Senegal. It can be recognized by the denseness of the city and taller, more modern buildings.
The infamous Great Mosque of Touba can be recognized by the five tall minarets, which can be seen from afar.
South Africa drives on the left.
On most roads, South Africa utilizes single yellow outer lines and white centre lines.
South Africa occasionally features unique white triple centre lines with 2 solid lines on the outside and a dashed line on the inside.
Generation 2 coverage is quite common in the country.
South Africa has 11 official languages: English, Afrikaans, and various Bantu languages. English is the lingua franca and therefore appears most often on signage.
The most common type of pole in South Africa features 1 to 5 horizontal bars with thin white insulators that resemble rows of birds, which is why they are referred to as “bird poles” in the community.
South Africa uses green directional signs with the road number in yellow.
South Africa utilizes triangular warning signs with a red border and a white background.
South Africa uses white-and-red chevrons. You can find a similar chevron pattern below directional signs.
Suburban houses in and around large cities will often be surrounded by high walls, fences, and gates to deter criminals.
All Generation 4 coverage in South Africa was taken by a blue Street View car with a short antenna.
Each province features a different licence plate design, which can be somewhat visible through the blur. Most notably Free State or KwaZulu-Natal, which have a slight green tint and blue tint respectively.
A map of major highways in South Africa. On road signs, the letter ‘N’ should appear in front of the highway number. On Google Maps, however, the letter ‘N’ will not be present. Instead, a blue pentagon with the number will be displayed.
Most of the R-roads with three-digit road numbers are geographically grouped. However, many roads go through multiple provinces and some, especially the 100s, are spread throughout the whole country. The map shows roughly where you can find each set of R-roads.
Telephone numbers are 10 digits long. The first three digits of landline numbers are the area code. The first digit is always a zero; the second and third digits give you the area. The area codes are geographically grouped, so even learning just the first digit is useful.
Poles with 3 bars forming the letter ‘A’, with the bottom insulators being attached at the edges of a horizontal bar, can be found almost exclusively in Western Cape, and rarely in bordering provinces.
A similar poletop can be found in Eastern Cape, however the A-shape is noticeably wider and the bottom insulators are attached directly to the ‘A’ rather than a horizontal bar.
Trident pole tops are almost unique to KwaZulu-Natal.
Poles with 3 alternating insulators sticking out horizontally at the top are mostly seen in the four northern provinces of Limpopo, Gauteng, North West and Mpumalanga. They can also sometimes be found in Northern Cape. In the rest of the country, these pole tops are exceedingly rare.
Poles with 2 diagonal bars forming a ‘<’ shape can be found mostly in the northeastern provinces, most commonly in Limpopo and North West.
Poles with 1 or 2 metal arms holding up insulators are most commonly seen in Mpumalanga.
You can find this grainy, almost Texas-like pavement with a hint of pink in Limpopo.
Big bird nests on top of poles are commonly seen in the northern part of the Northern Cape Province.
The northeast of the country can look very dry and somewhat barren, with a lot of orange or red soil. You will often see hills or mountains covered in shrubs.
Unique rocky, treeless mountains can be seen in Western Cape, with most of the mountains having tall, steep sides and sharp peaks.
Vineyards are almost exclusively found in Western Cape, mostly in valleys near the coast. You can also commonly find them near Upington, in Northern Cape.
A dry landscape with red soil is typically found in the Northern Cape.
Sugarcane plantations are most commonly seen in KwaZulu-Natal, mostly along the coast. However, they can also be seen in Mpumalanga on the Mozambique border. For an overview, see this map.
Uniquely tall Cook pine trees are found mostly between the cities of East London and Durban along the southeastern coast.
Tree plantations that consist mostly of pine are common to the west of Eswatini, and some to the south in KwaZulu-Natal.
Grassy rolling hills are generally located in the coastal area of Western Cape between Cape Town and George, and just north of Cape Town. Tall ridges are usually visible to the north or east.
The landscape near the Mozambique border in the highlighted area is noticeably flat, with green subtropical vegetation.
A camouflage car with black side mirrors and roof racks can be seen in Kruger National Park, on the Mozambique border.
The landscape around Kruger National Park is generally flat, with a savannah climate and dry vegetation. You will not see any agriculture and the vegetation is mostly made up of grasses, with small trees dotting the landscape. Red soil can also be seen below the grass.
Metropolitan Routes are major roads around cities. They are designated with the letter M.
Traffic lights and pedestrian crossing poles in Johannesburg are encircled by three strips of reflective tape.
While this lamp and arm can be found uncommonly across the country, Durban uniquely has this bump on the top. You may, however, still see the standard lamp and arm.
Poles or any public infrastructure will often be plastered with dodgy adverts for abortion services or penis enlargement pills in and around Gauteng, in particular in Johannesburg and Emalahleni.
The section of the R382 between Port Nolloth and Alexander Bay, near the coast in northwestern Northern Cape Province, has very recognizable coverage: gloomy Generation 2, with overcast weather, a very dark asphalt road, and a dry landscape featuring white sand and low shrubs. The road runs in a general north to south direction.
The section of the R360 north of Bokspits, next to the Botswana border, has asphalt with a recognizable reddish tint. The landscape is arid and features dry greyish trees, shrubs and long golden grass. The road runs in a general north to south direction.
The distinct Table Mountain, located west of Cape Town, can be recognized by its prominent three-kilometre plateau. It is flanked by Devil’s Peak, which is more pyramidal.
Mountains in the Witfontein Nature Reserve, likely George’s Peak, will be visible north from the city of George.
Tanzania has extremely limited coverage:
On Mount Kilimanjaro, there are a couple of tripods.
The Mount Kilimanjaro tripods show a high altitude landscape, with dark grey rock and in some places eternal snow in the distance. In some panos, you will see mountaineers and tents.
A walking trekker goes through a large part of Gombe National Park. The landscape varies somewhat from place to place.
Higher up on the hills, the forest becomes more open and you will see savannah-like trees around you.
On top of the hills, the trees make way for a bare grassland landscape. Here, you have breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape and Lake Tanganyika.
There is a boat trekker in Lake Tanganyika, that hugs the coast very closely, next to Gombe National Park. The coast is always to your east. You will see hills that are mostly covered in tropical forest, with some bare and grassy hilltops.
There is one more tripod in Tanzania, inside Jane Goodall’s house. It is also located in Gombe National Park, adjacent to the normal Generation 3 trekker coverage.
Tunisian licence plates are black with white text.
One of the best ways to recognize Tunisia is that, in most coverage, the Google car is escorted by a follow car.
The Google car in Tunisia is black with a medium-length, thin antenna.
Tunisia has Mediterranean, dry and semidesert climates.
These olive tree plantations can often be found along roads. They consist of nicely arranged rows of olive trees on an often raked, weedless soil.
Tunisia usually has white road lines. Outer road lines can be dashed or solid.NOTE: A few roads in Sfax have yellow middle lines.
In Tunisia, both French and Arabic are common. The Arabic script can be identified by its lines and dots. You can often see bilingual signs.
Most direction signs have a white background with towns listed in Arabic and Latin script. The font of the Latin script is usually quite distinctive.
Doors, windows, gates and other architectural elements are sometimes painted with this specific traditional shade of blue.
Red and white striped curbs are common in Tunisia.
These white concrete markers with a rounded red or yellow top can be found throughout Tunisia. The top can be red, yellow, or green.
Tunisia has a fairly unique stop sign with Arabic and Latin script.
Coverage is mostly limited to the east coast, between Bizerte in the north and Medinine in the south. Most coverage is in bigger towns and on main roads. The biggest towns and the island of Djerba have quite extensive side road coverage.
This light green Toyota follow car can be found everywhere in the northernmost part of Tunisia. You will never see it south of Hammamet.
The dark green Mazda is the most common follow car in Tunisia. This becomes apparent if you look at the coverage map, it can be found all the way from Hammamet to Djerba. Aside from the darker colour, it can also be recognized by its military licence plate with a red strip on the left.
Locations provided by geohints.com
The city of Kairouan in central-northern Tunisia has this unique follow car, a white Mitsubishi. The dark green follow car can also sometimes be spotted following the Mitsubishi.
The island of Djerba is the only region of Tunisia where you are usually not accompanied by a follow car. Most coverage completely lacks one.
The area north of Tunis has a Mediterranean climate with hilly terrain. The region is very agricultural and at the time the coverage was captured, almost all fields laid fallow.
The area between Tunis and Hammamet looks similar to the area north of Tunis, but the hills tend to be higher and more vegetated.
The large middle region between Hammamet and Gabes is very flat, and more arid. Olive tree plantations are common and the more south you go, the drier the landscape becomes.
South of Gabes is where the landscape changes into something more akin to a desert. A lot more rubbish and small white rocks can be found along the roads. Olive tree plantations are still somewhat common. A mountain range far in the distance is often visible to the southwest.
The island of Djerba can sometimes have a distinct vibe. There tend to be a lot of palm trees. Whitewashed, traditional buildings with blue doors and windows are common.
Bizerte Lake is instantly recognizable due to its teal coloured waters. There are slight hills to its south, with the rest of the area around the lake being flat. The city of Bizerte is located on the northeast side of the lake.
If you see a large amount of palm trees in a single place, you are probably in Gabes.
On the P1 road northwest of Medinine, you can occasionally find sandy hills that look like this. These hills are quite unique, as most coverage in southern Tunisia is in very flat areas.
You can easily recognise the Djerba-Zarzis causeway thanks to the water on both sides and the pipeline that is always present to your west.
Trekkers can be found all over the country, even in places far away from the area with car coverage. Coverage includes archaeological sites, forts, mosques, and a Star Wars set, among other things.
Uganda has very limited coverage, with most of the coverage in the capital city of Kampala and the nearby city of Entebbe. The rest of the coverage is located in the various national parks that will be covered below.
Uganda drives on the left hand side of the road.
Uganda uses white front plates with yellow rear plates. These plates can be long or tall.
In all coverage in Kampala, a unique Google car is visible. This car is white with square side mirrors and a boxy look.
Kampala is a fairly busy-looking city, with many signs, narrow unpaved roads and typically fairly small, one-storey houses. Like many African countries, houses will often be surrounded by tall walls, commonly with barbed wire on top.
Like most of the national park coverage, Kampalan soil is typically very red. Even paved roads normally have a noticeable red, purple or pink tinge.
Kampala is a very hilly city, and as such it is rare to get a round without elevation or noticeable hills.
Throughout Kampala, you will often see these taxi buses, with a blue blocky pattern on the sides. These are a good clue for the city if you are not able to see the Google car.
In the city centre of Kampala, you will see paved roads with black-and-white curbs. In contrast to the rest of the city, the city centre looks richer and very built-up, with lots of multi-storey buildings.
The city of Entebbe, southwest of Kampala, can often be recognized by feeling slightly emptier than most of the capital, with more greenery and somewhat fancier houses. The area also has significantly more street signs than the rest of the capital.
Most coverage in the Ugandan national parks was taken with this Street View car, which is similar to the one seen in Kampala, but with a black bar along the front of the car. The visibility of the car varies greatly, and it is somewhat common for it to not be visible at all.
The National Park is located in the northeastern parts of the country and mostly consists of a large savannah with mountains being visible in most directions. The most recognizable mountain range can be seen to the east and is visible in most of the coverage.
The southern half of the north road in Kidepo is somewhat forested, and as such it may occasionally be hard to see the various mountains.
The northern half of the north road in Kidepo is located in a savannah and can be easily recognised by the wide mountain to the north.
The National Park is located by the northern end of Lake Albert and can commonly be recognized by the low dirt barriers along the side of the roads. A savannah can be seen in the western part, while the eastern parts contain many small trees and bushes. Apart from a fairly low and wide mountain range far away to the west, there are no mountains in the vicinity.
Seeing these palms in Uganda means you are extremely likely to be in the northern parts of Murchison Falls.
The National Park has three types of coverage, the first of which is a very wide dirt road going through a dense, tropical forest. It is by far the widest dirt road in the country outside of Kampala with Street View coverage.
The second type of coverage in Kibale is on a small forest road, which is still large enough to be covered using a car. The forest appears to be quite dense, however it is typically not very dark. The area is mostly flat.
The final type of coverage is a number of tiny forest paths. The coverage is somewhat dark, with the sun shining through every so often.
The park is located west of lake Victoria and has by far the driest coverage in the country. The grass is almost always completely dried out, which is normally enough to recognise it. Bushes and trees along the road also typically look very dry. The area is quite hilly, but not mountainous.
The coverage in the national park consists of two small forest paths running parallel to each other. The forest appears very humid, and on much of the coverage, drops of water can be seen on the camera lens.
The national park is located near the Kenyan border and has two stretches of paths covered, the first of which is in a forest with a fairly steep slope heading upwards to the east. The dirt typically has a very dark red colour.
The eastern stretch of path covered is easily recognized by its small palm-like trees on an open hilly field and a man following the photographer, who is dressed in green and holding a rifle.
Queen Elizabeth National Park, north of Lake Edward, is one of the only places in Uganda where you will commonly see dirt which is not red. Instead, the dirt will typically be either brown or greyish.
On top of the brown dirt, the national park also contains the only cacti found on Street View coverage in the country. The cacti are typically very large, with many branches going almost straight upwards, and can sometimes look very similar to trees.
On the northern coverage, it is common to see large, water-filled craters. Similar craters cannot be found elsewhere in the country.
The only paved road with coverage outside Kampala can be found here. The pavement almost entirely lacks the red tinge which is typical for most roads in the country. The road has white, solid outer lines and a yellow middle line.
Katwe village is the only significant settlement outside of Kampala with Street View coverage.
Most of Antarctica is covered in snow and ice.
The soil will always be dark.
Penguins can be found on parts of the coverage.
Half Moon Island was covered by a tripod. It can also be recognized by the numerous other people in red jackets.
The Deception Island Bay can be recognized by the blue and white ship in the bay, and the abandoned equipment on the beach.
The trekker can be seen walking in a line on Deception Island.
A beach with black sand and many penguins can be seen on Deception Island.
Cuverville Island can be recognised by the overcast weather combined with the coastline to the northwest. You’ll also see a decent number of penguins, particularly toward the east.
Danco Island can be recognised by the beautiful sunset coverage over a snowy fjord.
Petermann Island can be recognized by the layer of snow with patches of exposed rocks, and the overexposed camera.
The coverage at the western tip of Ross Island can typically be recognised by the extremely dark, and mostly barren, rocky soil.
A tripod featuring the exterior and interior of a small wooden cabin with a grey metal roof can be found south of the eastern tip of Ross Island.
McMurdo Station is the largest research station on Antarctica, and can be recognized by the dark brown soil, many buildings, American infrastructure and sunset coverage.
You can also find tripod coverage inside several buildings at McMurdo Station.
On the eastern side of McMurdo Station you can find a small wooden cabin, having a tripod going inside.
Southeast of McMurdo station, the trekker can be seen walking on a layer of ice around various machinery.
The trekker can be seen walking through a fantastical landscape consisting of many desolate valleys on mainland Antarctica, west of Ross Island.
A vast, snowy landscape with spread out hills can be seen south of McMurdo station.
The tripod at the south pole can be recognized by numerous countries’ flags around the tripod, and a sign with ‘Geographic South Pole’ written on it.
The South Pole Observatory has tripod coverage going around and inside of it.
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are a British Overseas Territory east of the Falkland Islands. As such, for country streaks purposes, they are counted as the UK.
Abandoned, rusted machinery can be seen in Grytviken.
A church and another building made of white painted wood can also be seen in Grytviken.
This wide open valley with lightly snow capped mountains can be seen on the west side of South Georgia Island.
Prion Island can be recognized by the wooden walkway, lush green plants and numerous seals which inhabit the island.
This boat trekker in Hercules Bay can be recognized by a man in a red jacket and the MS National Geographic Explorer in the background.
Bangladeshi licence plates are either white, black or turquoise.
The Bengali script features a continuous horizontal line at the top of each word. It has a similar look to Devanagari (Hindi), however it can usually be recognised by the many letters featuring triangular shapes.
In Generation 3 coverage, these three cars can be seen in Bangladesh: the red mirror with bars, classic white and striped white car.
Rickshaws are frequently found all around Bangladesh, especially the green auto rickshaws.
Signposts in Bangladesh often have black-and-white stripes.
Bodies of water and agricultural fields can be often seen beside the streets of Bangladesh.
Streets in Bangladesh are often lined by trees, which sometimes have white paint on the bottom of their trunks.
Bangladesh uses red-and-white concrete bollards throughout the whole country.
Tin roofs are commonly found in Bangladesh.
The Generation 4 coverage in Bangladesh will often have a smoky feel to it.
Map of Generation 3 coverage with the white car in Bangladesh
Map of Generation 3 coverage with the striped white car in Bangladesh
A mountain range is visible to the north in northeastern Bangladesh close to the Indian border.
In the city of Sylhet there will often be a guard at the side of the car visible, usually holding a hayfork.
In the city of Barishal there can also be a guard at the side of the car visible, not to be confused with the Sylhet guard.
Mountain roads in Bangladesh are typically found east of Chattogram.
You can easily recognize the Z1098 west of Himchari National Park in southeastern Bangladesh by the sea in the southwest and the wall in the northeast.
This interesting trekker with a black cover can be found in the city of Khulna.
The trekker with red colour in the mirrors is unique to the island of Nijhum Dwip.
A scooter trekker, where mostly the left mirror and some hair is visible, can be found on Hatiya Island.
A trekker escorted by a security guard is found on Saint Martin's Island.
Licence plates in Bhutan are almost always red and can easily be seen on vehicles.
Coverage in Bhutan was taken by a grey Google car without an antenna.
Bhutan commonly uses these stone blocks as safety barriers on winding rural roads. These blocks are very common and often one of the best ways to recognize rural Bhutan rounds.
The traditional Bhutanese architecture is very distinct. Most of the houses have tin roofs and wooden painted frames, which give them a unique look.
Dzongkha is an official language in Bhutan and has unique-looking letters.
Bhutan is a mountainous country and most of the coverage is located on its main mountain roads.
Prayer flags near the road are typically seen in Bhutan.
Thin metal poles are occasionally found in Bhutan. They are often painted black at the bottom.
These are the Bhutanese road markers, notice the yellow top and the white bottom.
These signs are frequently found in the cities of Bhutan and are often coloured red or blue.
Taxis in Bhutan have yellow licence plates and yellow roofs.
Signposts in Bhutan frequently have black-and-white stripes.
Most of the Bhutanese street view coverage was taken on the main roads and cities.
Two solid white outside lines are only seen in western Bhutan south and close to the capital Thimphu.
Flat landscapes like this in Bhutan can only be found in the south.
Gelephu Airport is the only airport located in the flat south part of Bhutan, making it recognisable.
The Paro International Airport is located in a dry northwest valley and is one of the two northern airports.
While the Paro International Airport is located in a dry northwest valley, the Bumthang Domestic Airport is located in a wet northern valley.
The British Indian Ocean Territory is an United Kingdom overseas territory in the Indian Ocean. As such, it is counted as the UK for country streaks purposes.
Coverage was taken with a Generation 3 trekker.
Coverage is mostly found on small atolls in the northern half of the territory.
A large portion of the coverage is taken on sand beaches. You will typically see many palm trees along the beaches.
Coastal palm forests also comprise a significant portion of the coverage. They almost exclusively consist of coconut palms.
Mangroves can be found on several of the atolls.
Some of the larger islands with coverage have grassy fields surrounded by bushes and palms.
The trekker can occasionally be found walking offshore in the water.
Coin du Mire is a small island with a dark rocky shore and a grassy field with no bushes or palm trees.
A white medium-sized shipwreck can be found on the beach at the eastern tip of Nelsons Island.
Licence plates are white with blue letters. The blue sheen of the letters can be hard to see through the blur, and the plates might appear as plain white.
On the Generation 3 coverage you can find two different Google cars:
Cambodia drives on the right.
Khmer is the official language of Cambodia. It has its own unique script, which is very distinct and recognizable. In most fonts, letters have an intricate, curvy look.
Two types of poles are common:
Cambodia has a variety of different bollards. The most common ones are:
Cambodian road markers are made of stone, with a white-coloured base and a rounded red top. You will find the road number on the narrow side and a town name with a distance on the main side.
Chevrons in Cambodia are black with yellow arrows.
Roads have dashed or solid yellow middle road lines. Outer road lines are somewhat rare, but when present, they are solid white.
Many roads are unpaved. Usually, only main roads and roads in and near urban areas are paved.
Wooden houses on stilts are common. Walls are often made of vertical planks. Many homes have double or triple roofs.
In addition, traditional Cambodian wooden stilt houses tend to have very recognizable colour schemes.
Many traditional homes have tiled orange or red roofs, sometimes with ornaments on the ridges and corners. Corrugated and plain metal roofs are also common.
The majority of Cambodians are Buddhist. Temples are common throughout the country. Temple architecture is highly decorative, with ornamented roofs. You might also see Buddhist flags.
You will see a lot of advertisements for the beer brands Angkor, Anchor, and the very creatively named Cambodia Beer.
Throughout the country, you can find distinct blue signs from the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
Google used a weird, low-quality camera in Cambodia. This camera is known as the official Ari (or “Shitcam”). It has a wide circular car blur and often somewhat brownish colours. A good map will not usually include this coverage, but it is good to be aware of its existence, in order to not be caught off-guard by it.
Street view coverage is somewhat limited. Most of the coverage is located around the cities of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Battambang.
Shitcam in Cambodia is only found in the southwestern half.
The low-lying central plain is home to most agricultural land. The landscape is flat, cultivated, and dotted with villages and farms.
Conversely, the northeast is much more uncultivated: there is less agriculture and more natural vegetation. Some areas are slightly hilly.
The southwest is the area with the most elevation in Cambodia. This region is characterized by hills and low mountains. Some inland roads feature dense forest cover, but the coastal areas in particular are fairly densely populated.
Sandy, white soil is very common in the region southeast of Phnom Penh, as well as around the city itself. The colour can range from bright white to slightly beige.
Near the northern border with Thailand, you can often see a mountainous ridgeline to your north. The soil in this region tends to be red, ranging from a slight reddish tinge to deep dark red.
Rubber tree plantations are found in three places:
Black-and-white bollards in Cambodia are only found on Road 48, between Tatai and the intersection with Road 4.
The road between Road 48 and Kiri Sakor is under construction and only has one paved road side. The unpaved side has red soil.
Several unpaved jungle offroads in the southwest of the country, northeast of Road 48, have a distinct look: red soil, dense jungle, and generally hilly terrain.
The coverage close to Phnum Samkos has a distinct look: overcast weather, and large, prominent mountains that are visible in the distance. The roads are unpaved and consist of brown soil. Wild, very green vegetation can be seen all around you.
Unique triangular bollards with red stripes can be found in three places in Cambodia, all located in the same area in the southwest:
There is another good way to recognize Road 4 between Angk Snuol and Preah Sihanouk: in most sections, it has a distinctive wide, red-brownish shoulder on both sides of the road.
Oil palm plantations can only be found on Road 4, as well as some of its rural offroads, just north of Preah Nob.
Preah Monivong National Park in the south of the country has a unique and recognizable landscape. It is situated on a highland plateau. The soil is white and very rocky. The vegetation consists of stunted, windswept bushes and low trees. The foliage has a distinct dark green tint that contrasts with the white rocks. Some parts of the park are more forested but will still have the same rocky soil.
Road 41, southwest of Phnom Penh, has a recognizable look and road angle:
In the sections of Road 6 west of Siem Reap, to Sisophon, and Road 5, south of Sisophon to Krong Battambang, you can find power lines with unique poles that are found nowhere else in Cambodia. The pole tops have three horizontal beams, with hanging insulators on only one side. The bottom of the poles have indents.
The powerline from the previous tip continues on the section of Road 5 west of Sisophon. However, here the pole tops have insulators on both sides. The rest of the pole is identical however.
The southern section of Road 76, south of Krong Saen Monourom, has recognizable coverage: overcast weather, dark asphalt, the presence of outer road lines, and relatively crisp lines for Cambodian standards. Furthermore, a large part of the eastern half of this road runs through hilly terrain with dense jungle.
Most of the northern section of Road 76, between Lumphat and Mayura Wild Park, is recognizable too: it is a wide, unpaved road, with brown soil, and a semi-open jungle forest all around you.
Around the town of Pech Sreada, in the far east of Cambodia, you can find rubber tree plantations that were covered during the dry season, leading to a distinct look. In addition, the soil is very orange, making it easy to distinguish this area from other regions in Cambodia with rubber tree plantations.
Angkor Wat is a massive temple complex built by the historical Khmer Empire. It is located just north of Siem Reap and has extensive trekker coverage. It can be recognized by its dark, weathered stone buildings. While this location is unlikely to show up in competitive maps, it is extremely common in GeoGuessr’s official Cambodia map.
All official coverage in mainland China is taken with a tripod. Objects in the image will usually have motion blur, and slightly saturated colours.
Chinese writing consists of often complicated symbols made up of several strokes. On mainland China, you’ll typically find simplified Chinese, where the number of strokes of many symbols have been greatly reduced compared to traditional Chinese.
Chinese licence plates are blue with white text.
Coverage in mainland China is limited to several small spots, mainly in or near major urban areas on the east coast. A significant portion of the coverage is considered hidden, which is also shown on this map. Hidden means it won’t show up on Google Maps, however you can still access it in the Map Making App.
A significant portion of the coverage was taken inside museums and can be found in many cities, however a majority of the covered museums are located in and around Beijing and Shanghai.
Ancient cities with coverage can be found along the east coast in Zhoucun, northeast of Xuzhou, in Yangzhou, west of Jiaxing and west of Zhangzhou.
Coverage taken outside in modern urban areas can be found in Beijing, Yangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu.
The Palace Museum (commonly referred to as the Forbidden City) is a massive palace in the centre of Beijing.
By the Today Art Museum in Beijing you can find this modern urban street with several cafes and bars along the road. In front of the museum you can also find this uncanny statue.
The parking area outside Sichuan Museum in Chengdu has a lot of greenery.
The Hubei Museum in Wuhan can be recognised by its palace-like architecture with grey roofs.
The Museum of silk production in Hangzhou can be recognised by the rounded glass facade and the fountain by the front.
Shanghai Long Museum can be recognised by the boxy concrete main building.
Suzhou Museum can be recognised by the white and grey symmetric angular architecture.
The Yangzhou Museum can be recognised by the beige rounded stone building.
The ancient city of Zhoucun is the only pinpointable ancient city in China, and can be recognised by the street going straight north to south.
Hong Kong is located in Southern China, sharing a border with the Guangdong province. It is a Chinese Special Administrative Region, so for country streaks purposes, it is counted as part of China.
Hong Kong has white front licence plates and yellow rear licence plates. The licence plates can be long or short. Some cars have an additional black mainland Chinese licence plate.
Hong Kong drives on the left.
Hong Kong is a densely populated city with millions of inhabitants. In urban areas, modern skyscrapers are common, with busy streets filled with vehicles and pedestrians.
There is also a plethora of rural locations that are harder to identify.
One very striking aspect of Hong Kong architecture are the many extremely tall apartment buildings found throughout the city.
Because of the subtropical climate, air conditioners attached to the walls of apartments are very common in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has two official languages: English and Chinese (legally, no variety is specified, but residents primarily speak Cantonese).
Cylindrical grey lamp posts with a wide base are common. Many lamp posts have a white sticker.
Utility poles will never be seen in urban rounds, however you might see cylindrical wooden poles in rural areas. The poles can be single or double, with electricity counters or transformers attached to them.
In Hong Kong, you will almost never see striped kerbs, which are extremely common in Singapore. In addition, grey pedestrian guardrails are also common.
Hong Kong uses yellow pedestrian crossings. Some intersections have yellow grids.
Hong Kong usually uses white centre lines and white or yellow outer lines. These lines can be single, double or dashed. Roads are also commonly made of concrete. Yellow outer lines are most commonly found on small roads to indicate no-stopping.
Road signs are white and rectangular, with a thick black outline and bilingual text.
Give way signs feature a white upside down triangle with a thick red border and bilingual text.
Distinct weathered rock walls can be seen on the side of mountains. Some of them have nets, to prevent rockslides. In addition, green or blue plaques are a common sight.
Most fire hydrants are red, and usually have circular tops and three protrusions. There is also a pipe-like variant. Some fire hydrants have other colours, so make sure to look at their shape or other clues before guessing.
Yellow bollards with a white arrow in a blue circle are commonly seen at pedestrian crossings, but also elsewhere, indicating where cars should go. There is a flat and a cuboid version.
Distinct bright orange bins can be found on sidewalks.
Hong Kong taxis come in two variants: sedans or station wagons, with the sedans most commonly seen. They can be easily identified by their silver roofs, green stickers on the front and rear bumper, and the taxi sign on the roof.
Buses in Hong Kong are mostly double-decker, with various colour schemes and adverts on the side. Single-decker versions do exist, but are less common. Smaller minibuses can also be seen, with a green or red roof.
Boxy houses that are a few storeys high are a common sight in small villages, mostly to the north of Hong Kong.
A double-decker tram line runs along the north of Hong Kong Island. A full map of the route can be seen here.NOTE: Make sure not to mistake this tram for the red MTR railway line, which has some sections above ground.
Mong Kok and the surrounding districts in Kowloon can be recognized by the crowded, busy, gridded streets, with apartment blocks situated above the shops.
The north-western area near the Mainland China border is mostly flat and features a patchwork of waterlogged rice paddies. The Shenzhen skyline is visible in the distance, to your north.
The Central District can be recognized by the large concentration of modern skyscrapers. The district feels quite busy, affluent and well-kept, with lots of luxury brand stores and ads.
You can use these two skyscrapers to determine whether you are on the Kowloon or Hong Kong Island side. The IFC is on the Hong Kong Island side and the ICC is on the Kowloon side.
Mid-Levels is a residential district that is easily recognized by the non-identical tall modern apartments and hilliness.
The residential district of Sai Wan Ho has a lot of identical white and brown apartment blocks, and tall glass office buildings.
Chek Lap Kok Island and the Boundary Crossing Facilities can be recognized by the various large scale construction works going on in the area. From the outside, it can be identified by the many bridges that connect other parts of Hong Kong to the two islands.
The residential district of Caribbean Coast and Tung Chung has identical apartment blocks that face the same direction, almost like a “wall” of buildings. There are a lot of planted palm trees in between and on the side of roads.
The Tsing Ma Bridge can be recognized by being one of three suspension bridges in Hong Kong. The bridge has two ladder-like support towers, and yellow and red guardrails.
Ting Kau Bridge, another suspension bridge connecting Ting Kau and Tsing Yi, can be identified by the generally clean asphalt and newer condition, three cylindrical support towers, hangers coming directly from the towers themselves, and yellow paint seen in the median and on the outsides.
While similar to the Ting Kau Bridge, the Stonecutters Bridge can be identified by the lack of yellow paint, and its box beam guardrail design, as opposed to the cable design seen on the other two bridges.
Lung Wo Road can be recognized by the Hong Kong Island skyline to the south and the Kowloon skyline to the north. The road is also in good condition and the sidewalks are clean.
The Tai Chung Kiu Road is a divided road that runs in a north-east direction, and has views of the Shing Mun River to the west. The median has palm trees. In addition, a bicycle path runs alongside the road. Further north, Route 2 also runs alongside the river, but this road has more lanes.
Fan Kam Road runs in a general north-east direction, and can be recognized by the dense tropical vegetation surrounding the road, and sometimes mountains in the background. The road is also quite narrow and does not have any outer lines. Many small villages branch off of the road, south and north of the country park.
Lam Kam Road is similar to Fan Kam Road, however it runs in a more east-west direction. The road should also feel busier with more cars driving along the road and more houses on the sides of the road. In addition, the road is usually wider and a median containing trees can be seen separating sidewalks near the villages.
The Kai Tak Cruise Terminal can mainly be seen from the Eastern Corridor, north of Tsat Tsz Mui, and from the Kwun Tong bypass south-west of Kwun Tong. The cruise terminal can be recognized by its shiny, cylindrical appearance, with triangular windows along the side.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge can be seen from the South Perimeter Road, on Chek Lap Kok Island. Its length stretches into the horizon, spanning across the ocean. The road itself can be recognized by the black and yellow concrete barriers on either side.
The roads going to Disneyland are divided, with palm trees along the side of the road with teal coloured street lamps.
Between Hong Kong Island and Lantau Island, there are three unique islands: Peng Chau, Cheung Chau and Lamma Island, with trekker coverage. These islands can be identified by the lack of cars, narrow streets, and rural architecture. Lamma Island is also the hilliest of the three.
The Lugard Road trekker around Victoria Peak can be recognized by the distinct black guardrail, view of the skyline and tourists walking along the path.
The vast majority of the coverage in India was taken with what’s commonly referred to as “shitcam”, which is a low-quality camera that can typically be recognised by the brownish colours and often, but not always, by a large circular blur covering the Street View car.
While most of India is covered in shitcam, there is also a significant amount of Generation 3 trekkers throughout the country.
India drives on the left side of the road.
A wide variety of scripts can be found in India. Most of them can be used to narrow down the region.
English is also an official language in India and can be seen on a lot of signage.
Indian licence plates are typically fairly long, with the most common design being white. Commercial vehicles typically use yellow plates, while electric vehicles use green.
India typically has black and white striped signposts.
The most common Indian utility pole is a concrete square pole with a trident pole top.
Hindi is the most common language in India and can be found in many central and northern regions. It uses the Devanagari script, which can be recognised by the line going through the top of each word and the straight vertical lines found in the majority of all letters.
Marathi, found in Maharashtra, also uses the Devanagari script, however it sometimes uses the letter ळ which is not found in Hindi.
Punjabi can be found in Punjab in northwestern India. While the script looks somewhat similar to Hindi, it can generally be differentiated by the softer shape of the letters and the horizontal bar being broken over certain letters. It also has some distinctly different features, such as the letters ਨ, ਲ and ਅ as well as a diacritic in the shape of a soft curve beneath a letter.
Gujarati, found in Gujarat, has a script with several similarities to the Hindi script, however it notably lacks the horizontal line at the top of every word.
Bengali is found in northeastern India and has a similar look to Devanagari (Hindi), however it can usually be recognised by the many letters featuring left-facing triangular shapes.
Assamese, mainly found in Assam, also uses the Bengali script, with the addition of some characters, most notably ৰ and ৱ.
Kannada is found in Karnataka and has a script with a lot of smooth curves and small circles. It is very similar to the Telugu script, with Telugu having one additional feature described in the next tip. Many characters also feature a distinct squiggly tail in the top right corner, which is less common in Telugu.
Telugu, found in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, has a script very similar to Kannada, but you’ll often see diacritics resembling checkmarks at the top of letters.
The Tamil script is found in Tamil Nadu and has a distinct combination of curves, straight lines and 90° angles. Some letters also have diacritics shaped like dots.
The Oriya script is found in Odisha and has a curvy look, with many letters having wide semi-circles covering the top. Many letters have a distinct diacritic in the shape of a wide curve above the top of the letter. A useful mnemonic is that the shape of the characters resembles a skull emoji.
The Malayalam script can be found in Kerala and mostly consists of somewhat simple-looking curvy letters, often containing upside-down U-shapes.
Manipuri, also called Meitei, is the official language of Manipur. It is written using the Meitei script, which can be recognised by its many vertical lines and right angles.
Mizo, found in Mizoram, is the language most commonly found on the Indian coverage other than English, which uses the Latin script.
While English can be found anywhere in India, Meghalaya is the only region which almost exclusively uses English.
Yellow tuk tuks with black roofs are common in the southern Indian states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
Concrete holey poles are unique to Gujarat and the Union territory of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Poles divided in two sections, in a similar fashion to Brazilian poles, are common in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Metal poles with a mesh pattern are commonly found in Sikkim.
Metal holey poles are common in Kerala.
Thin grey metal poles are seen all over northeastern India and in the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. You will commonly see two of these poles in close proximity.
Electricity counters in Punjab are usually mint green with small window-like squares. They can rarely be seen in Haryana.
Small metal poletops in the shape of a window are found in Punjab and Haryana.
In Karnataka, and sometimes in Haryana, you can find trident poletops on concrete poles where the central insulator is attached directly to the top of the pole, while the other two are attached to a horizontal crossbar positioned slightly further down. There is also a variant having several bars instead of one.
In Manipur you can often find trident poletops on poles made entirely out of metal. They sometimes have small bars on the top of the trident.
Upside down triangle poletops placed below the top of the pole are commonly found in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and less commonly in Madhya Pradesh.
Poles in Madhya Pradesh often have a metal bar shaped like an upside down A slightly below the top of the pole.
A connector on the pole which looks like an upside down trapezoid is most common in Chhattisgarh and somewhat common in Meghalaya and Tripura, but can rarely be found in many other states.
A variety of poletops attached to the pole with two vertical bars forming a tall and narrow rectangle can be found in West Bengal.
In West Bengal you may also find poletops containing two crossbars which are connected to each other with thin vertical supports on either side. The lower bar is connected on either side to the pole with diagonal supports.
In the northeast you may find poles with a combination of an even and uneven poletop.
Poles with two diagonal bars forming a ‘<’ shape are common in Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh and occasionally found in Assam.
In Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram you commonly see poles with two crossbars, each with two insulators. If there are more than two bars, you should be in Meghalaya or Mizoram.
Trident poletops with the tip of the middle bar bent at a 90° angle can be found in Assam.
Poletops with a short crossbar above a longer crossbar can be found in Goa.
Markings on poles and trees, consisting of one black stripe in-between two white ones, are common in Tamil Nadu.
Pole paint consisting of five or more thin black and yellow stripes can be found in Delhi.
Pole paint consisting of exactly four thicker black and yellow stripes can be found in Bihar.
In Bihar, and less commonly Jharkhand, you may find trees with four red and white stripes painted near the bottom.
Small yellow pole markings are commonly found in Kerala.
Rounded roof tiles are common in central India. They often appear disorganised and are kept in rows/columns that are not completely straight.
Roofs in southern India are characterised by more organised tiles that are bright orange and flat with a ridge in the middle. It is particularly common in Tamil Nadu.
Flat roof tiles, similar to the ones found in the south, with a small diamond shaped protrusion in the middle, are commonly found in and around West Bengal.
Large hip roofs made of corrugated sheet metal are found in West Bengal and adjacent areas in Bihar and Odisha.
Metal roofs, with a small triangle near the top, are common in Northeast India.
Houses made of square panels separated by thin beams are found in Northeast India.
Houses or huts with thatched roofs are mainly found along the east coast and northern plains. Large hay mounds are also generally more common in this region. Note that thatched roofs from Uttar Pradesh to Odisha tend to be made of fine pieces of hay whereas thatched roofs from Odisha to Tamil Nadu tend to be made of dried palm fans.
Gurdwaras, which can typically be recognised by their white domes and ornate walls, are most common in Punjab. You can also sometimes recognise them by the Sikh Khanda symbol, which represents the religion.
Goa and Kerala are two of the most developed states in India and often have very wealthy and modern homes.
Indonesian licence plates are black with white letters. The letters usually appear as three white sections through the blur.
Indonesia drives on the left.
Indonesia uses white or yellow centre lines. Outer lines will always be white. The centre lines will be solid or dashed.
Poles in Indonesia are typically round and made out of either steel or concrete. Many of the steel poles are painted black, and also feature the Indonesian flag colours on them. The pole tops are usually either even or uneven, depending on the region.
Indonesia commonly uses these black-and-white square or circular bollards, as well as these yellow-and-black ones, which can also have a red reflector. Other designs can also be found.
Usually yellow waystones that are angled towards the road, and have a cutout close to the top are unique to Indonesia. They include shorthand for three cities or towns, with the biggest one being on the top in the cutout section.
Indonesian can look very similar to Malaysian, however Indonesian has been influenced by Dutch, and Malaysian by English. These small changes in spelling may help differentiate the two.
You can find these rows of red and white banners all around Indonesia. Sometimes, more colourful flags can be found.
Cigarette ads can be found all over Indonesia, usually with a black or red colour scheme and around a price of 18,000 Rp. Keep an eye out for illustrated graphic pictures, and the word ‘PERINGATAN’.
Motorcycles in Indonesia have front licence plates, as opposed to other south-east Asian countries which do not.
The official Indonesian currency is the Rupiah (Rp).
The names of 2nd level subdivisions, named ‘Kabupaten’ or ‘Kab’ for short, translating to regency, can be found all over Indonesia on various signs and billboards. Each province is split up into multiple Kabupatens, totalling to 417 which are covered by street view, and therefore applicable in Geoguessr. These are learnable with enough time and patience.
You can find the cardinal directions written on many addresses. They are as follows:
Indonesia uses two types of pole tops: even and uneven. This refers to the bar that holds the insulators and whether it is symmetrical to the pole itself. Knowing where even and uneven poles are most commonly found is useful for region guessing.
You can find these poles with a triangle attachment under the horizontal bar in the following regions.
On the Lesser Sunda Islands (“Nusas”), you can find poles with an extra support on the pole top. Sometimes, two supports can be present.
Trident style pole tops are most commonly found in Central Java and Yogyakarta, and rarely in South and West Kalimantan, and North Sumatra and Riau.
Bali features both even and uneven poles, as well as the Lesser Sunda island variants. You can also find this unique rectangle attachment on the pole tops in Bali.
Pole tops in North and Central Sulawesi, and Gorontalo commonly feature an extra attachment right under the horizontal bar.
You can often see thin, black poles next to regular poles near the East Peninsula of Central Sulawesi. Two pieces of tape can be seen near the top of the poles, usually light blue and green. These can rarely be seen in northern South East Sulawesi.
These poles are almost exclusive to North Sumatra. The bar which holds the insulators is even, but features uneven insulators with one on one side and two on the other.
Satellite dishes can help you determine whether you are north or south of the equator. For example, if the satellite dish points north, you are most likely south of it, and vice versa. The angle of the satellite dish can also tell you how far away from the equator you are. The more levelled it is, the closer you are.
Central Sulawesi features these unique bollards that are painted black on the bottom, white in the middle, and yellow on the top.
These painted fences are typically found on Sulawesi. They will be mostly painted white with blue or red.
Green paint can often be seen on the side of bridges in South and Central Kalimantan.
Within Indonesia, oil palm plantations are mostly concentrated in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Palm plantations can rarely be seen in Sulawesi.
The majority of rice production is concentrated in Java, but can sometimes be found in other provinces, namely South Sulawesi and South Sumatra. They can rarely be found in other provinces as well. For a full overview, see this map.
The Nusas typically look drier than other regions in Indonesia. The islands get especially dry towards the east, especially in Generation 3. Vegetation tends to look less tropical, but instead more brown with a lack of leaves. Sumba Island is also the driest of the Nusas.
This savannah landscape is occasionally seen on North Sumba.
Red soil can often be found on Batam and the Banga Belitung islands, located east of mainland Sumatra.
Tiled roofs are most commonly found on the island of Java, and sometimes nearby regions such as southern Sumatra, the Lesser Sunda Islands, and South Kalimantan.
Plain sheet metal roofs are more commonly found toward the north, where tiled roofs are not found. They are most commonly found on Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Sumatra.
These horizontal slots inside the triangles of the roofs are almost unique to Southern Sulawesi.
You can find these distinct roofs with uniquely high-pitched peaks on Sumba.
Architecture in Bali is unique because it was influenced by old Balinese culture and Hinduism. The most important thing to look for are these crown-like roof pinnacles, found everywhere in Bali. Guardian statues and slit-drum towers are common too. Andesite, a dark, volcanic rock, is a common building material in Bali. You can often see gates, walls, and other intricately carved ornaments built from this material.
West Sumatra features these distinct boat-shaped roofs.
North Sumatra features similarly distinct boat-shaped roofs, however the roofs are less angled upward and they do not feature spires.
On Kalimantan, you can find these unique roofs made out of wooden chips.
Roofs with gable horns can be found most commonly in South Sulawesi, Riau and Central and South Kalimantan.
A small region of South Sulawesi, around the city of Rante Pao, features these very unique houses, called Tongkonan, that have saddle-shaped roofs. The houses themselves are also elevated from the ground.
In the rare case a licence plate is unblurred, knowing regional licence plate codes can be helpful for region guessing. 1 letter codes can only be seen in Java, and are mostly found in the west. 2 letter codes can still be seen on Java, but in the east.
Indonesia is religiously a Muslim majority country, so seeing churches, and other Christian signs, is a good clue for these regions.
In North Kalimantan, you can sometimes see a one-sided blur, having a clear view on one side but a hazy view on the other.
A blurry smudge can be seen on many of these roads in southern Sulawesi.
Generation 3 antenna coverage is most commonly found on Java, but can very rarely be seen on Bali in and around Denpasar. It is most commonly seen in East Java, as most of the antenna coverage in the west has been overwritten by Generation 4.
Black Generation 3 coverage can be found almost everywhere in Indonesia, but is most common in Sulawesi.
The region around Lake Toba, in North Sumatra, can be recognized by mountains surrounding the lake and Samosir Island in the middle. Overcast coverage is also common for the region.
In some of the Generation 4 coverage in the city of Batam, a purple tint and a black blurred object can be seen. Although this camera glitch is most commonly found in Batam, you may spot it in nearby regions such as North Sumatra, around Medan. Make sure to look out for other clues before guessing.
Palu Bay is a unique slightly north-west facing bay just north of Palu city, which features mountains to the west of the bay, and a flat, more urbanised landscape to the east.
A smudge can be seen on the road north of Tesso Nilo National Park, curving south west of Langgam. Many oil palms can also be seen on either side of the road.
Steeply pitched roofs made of palm tree leaves can sometimes be seen on Nias Island, south west of North Sumatra.
This rare car can sometimes be seen on Bali. The car is a white SUV with black bars and a wooden plank on the roof.
This rare car can be seen near Jagasatru. A black cab with men sitting in the truck bed can be seen.
The coverage in Iraq is limited to a single trekker in the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad.
All of the coverage in Iraq is taken by a trekker with a camera similar to Gen 2 but with distinctly worse image quality and colour. This coverage tends to be overexposed, even becoming blindingly so at some points.
The trekker blur has a well-defined, pointed shape.
The only piece of coverage outdoors is a small patio with a diagonal walkway. In this patio you can see many date palms.
The inside of the museum features statues, steles, a variety of artefacts, and a few back rooms.
Israeli licence plates are yellow with a blue strip on the left.
Most Generation 3 coverage was taken by a black Street View car with a long antenna.
You will typically find two languages; Hebrew, which is practically only found in Israel and the West Bank, and Arabic, which is particularly common in the West Bank.
The landscape ranges from a greener Mediterranean landscape in the north, to a very arid landscape in the south.
You will very often see striped kerbs: red and white and fairly commonly black and white.
Most roads feature yellow outer lines with white centre lines.
Utility poles commonly feature these painted black and white striped bottoms.
Chevrons are white on black.
Utility poles with a mesh framework are very common.
You can often find this yellow warning sign on poles.
Kilometre markers are white with a thick red border.
Rather than having a word meaning ‘stop’ written on them, stop signs have a hand painted on them.
This is a coverage map over Israel and the West Bank. Notably, southern Israel and most of the West Bank has very sparse coverage.
Here is a map of area codes in Israel and the West Bank. Note that only the phone codes featured on the map are regional.
Generation 4 coverage is only found in Israel, in the areas marked on the map.
Most of the Generation 4 coverage features a dirty front camera.
Generation 4 coverage with a clean front camera is mostly found in and around Tel Aviv.
Northern Israel is usually far more mountainous and green than the rest of Israel. Throughout the region you will almost always see forested hills and mountains.
Central Israel is usually flat and has several cities. Highways are usually in better condition than roads in the south and north.
Southern Israel and eastern West Bank are extremely dry and sandy.
The area west of Jerusalem can often look deceptively similar to northern Israel, with green forested hills and some agriculture sprinkled across the landscape.
Most of the West Bank has a semi-arid Mediterranean landscape. It is generally greener than southern Israel, drier than northern Israel and west of Jerusalem, and hillier and less agricultural than central Israel.
In Jerusalem and surrounding cities in the West Bank, nearly every building is built with the same type of material, called Jerusalem stone. Beware that the stone will look much smoother on newer buildings.
Date palm plantations can often be seen close to the Jordanian border.
Rock walls put together with cement are found in the north of Israel.
The Dead Sea can easily be recognised by the dryness surrounding it.
Other than the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, the only major body of water is the Sea of Galilee. It is noticeably more vegetated than the Dead Sea, making it easily recognisable.
Mount Carmel is a long mountain ridge, going northwest to southeast, near the city of Haifa. From the northeast, it can easily be recognised by its direction and size.
Mount Gilboa is a very dry looking mountain, which can be seen from far away and from many angles.
You can find these small irrigation canals on the side of the road, in the area around the city of Beit She’an.
Licence plates in the West Bank are often white with green text, often giving blurred plates a slight green tint. On public transport vehicles, such as taxis and buses, the colours will be inverted; green with white text, making blurred plates almost completely green.
A significant portion of the coverage in the West Bank has a visible security follow car. The most extensive of these is a small white Suzuki, which is found in the central and southern regions.
Another follow car is a small dark blue Ford, which is found in the northwest.
This larger white Citroën follow car with a West Bank licence plate can be found in a region surrounding Jerusalem. It is noticeably found in the cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah.
Road 90 is the longest road in Israel, and can often be recognised by its dryness combined with the general north to south angle.
The southern stretch of road 90 will have a dry mountain range to the east. It is also common to see palm trees.
Road 2 can usually be recognised by the Mediterranean sea being visible on the west side of the road.
Mount Tavor is located in the Northern District and can be recognised by its soft, round shape.
Timna National park can be recognised by the complete dryness combined with the mountain ridges in all directions.
These tall, rocky mountains can be found east of Eilat, making the city very easy to recognize.
This mountain range, in the far north of Israel, can be recognised by its shape, somewhat resembling a camel's back.
North of the Hasolelim forest reserve you can see this large reservoir.
Finding parking in Tel Aviv is notoriously difficult, meaning the side of almost every road will be full of parked cars.
These white rectangular signs with a thin blue border are typically found in Jerusalem.
Jericho can commonly be recognised by the date palms in a somewhat sparsely built and poor-looking urban setting.
In the city of Ramallah you will generally see several black water tanks on most houses.
This grey mosaic brick work shaped like towers is unique to the city of Harish.
This white lamp is unique to Nahariya. It has three arms, with round light bulbs on top.
These lamps, shaped similarly to Barad Dûr, are unique to Acre. It can be found in several different colours.
These metal lamps, characterised by one high and one low lamp put together with a very angular look, are unique to Netivot.
Poles with blue and white paint on the bottom are unique to Eilat.
These yellow fences and signposts are unique to Kiryat Motzkin.
This style of blue and white fence is very common to see in Ashdod.
Blue house numbers with the number written with Arabic numerals in the top left and with Eastern Arabic numerals in the bottom right, with a thin diagonal line between them, can be found in Bethlehem. Street signs will generally have the same format.
House numbers in Rosh Haayin are blue, with a G-clef in the bottom left corner.
In Ness Ziona, There is an Israeli flag on house numbers.
Blue, shield-shaped house numbers are unique to the city of Herzliya.
Bnei Brak is the most Jewish city in Israel, so it is really easy to tell only by looking at the people around. There will usually be people who wear Jewish religious clothes.
Roundabout signs which are either very thick or attached to a large cube, can be found in the city of Raanana.
These tall industrial chimneys, by the coast north of Netanya, are visible from far away.
This grey Hyundai follow car is unique to Rahat.
The Israel National Trail goes through the entire country and has one of the longest trekkers in the world. The trail goes through more or less every landscape present in the country, from the rocky desert in the south to lush forests in the north. Along the trail you may find these markings, which will typically be orange, blue and white, but can also feature other colour schemes.
Japan consists of three main terms used to identify land, groupings and borders: Islands, Regions and Prefectures.
The appearance of the standard Japanese Google car is often black and white. You may find it in black or rarely with an antenna.
Japan drives on the left hand side of the road.
Japanese is written with a mixture of three main systems: kanji and two syllabic scripts: hiragana and katakana. Formal signs and texts will mostly use kanji and hiragana. The kanji system is directly borrowed from Chinese and thus looks very similar, while the syllabic scripts are more loosely inspired by Chinese. Hiragana generally looks simpler than Chinese characters, many of the symbols have loops, which are not present in Chinese. The shapes are also typically slightly softer than the shapes present in most kanji.
Katakana is mainly used for loan words, and are thus common to find in commercials. They are generally quite simple, with a lot of geometrical shapes rather than the more artistic shapes present in hiragana and kanji.
On the left hand side you can find the pronunciation and meaning of eight of the most commonly featured kanji in town and city names. Learning to recognise these can make finding cities considerably easier.
Japanese architecture has many distinct and expressive styles, with many unique buildings. These can range from traditional country houses, regional designs, modern large cities, coastal reinforced buildings, and anything in between.
Japan mostly uses these round concrete poles, which have these screw-like extensions. Other information can often be found on or attached to the pole including:
You can find a variety of pole reflectors in Japan. They are typically short and do not touch the ground. Common patterns found all across Japan include:
Japan uses a standard short white licence plate with green text. You will often see a different short yellow version with black text issued to “light automobiles”, otherwise known as Kei Cars.
Japan has three common variations of road lines. They are as follows:
Japan usually uses simple white bollards with circular reflector(s) on the top. However, sometimes these bollards are black, or have other extensions. They can also have the city or prefecture written on it in kanji.
Japan generally uses these simple, white guardrails.
Prefecture roads are identified by their hexagonal-shaped shields. The prefecture is often written under the road number in kanji. While the shield design remains, other variations can be found:
Some frequently seen infrastructure in Japan consists of:
Retaining walls can be an excellent clue for Japan in rural areas with little to no information.
Area codes are commonly found throughout the country and increase to the south.
Every region in Japan features a distinct plate on their utility poles.
The pole reflector pads vary by region in Japan.
You can narrow down the prefecture you are in based on the style of road diamond.
Most Japanese prefectures have unique stickers you can find on their signposts.
Most regions in Japan have unique guy wires.
You may sometimes find an orange arrow located above the top most pole plate in Chugoku.
These orange and black bands wrapped around poles can often be found in Shikoku.
These attachments with an approximately 120-degree angle can commonly be found on poles in Kansai.
These smaller attachments with a 90-degree angle can commonly be found on poles in Shikoku.
The electrical poles in Hokkaido either have this plus-shaped bar attached to the side of the pole, or one transformer mounted on two bars.
The transformers in Tohoku, which often have additional square holding brackets and the logo of the Tohoku Electrical Company, are sometimes mounted on a round plate with a zigzag bar.
The transformers in Kanto, which can have three or two insulators, are often mounted on a wooden plate and two bars, or a round plate and a T-shaped bar.
The transformers in Hokuriku, which are attached with thin metal bars, often have these small “lamp” shaped insulators. There will never be a bar present except for the attachment mentioned above.
The transformers in Chubu, which often have painted yellow numbers and black “tap” connectors, are either attached with large triangle and horizontal bars, or these thin metal brackets.
The transformers in Kansai have either a straight or zigzag bar mounted on the bottom of a square. The transformer(s) will be mounted on the sides of that same square.
The transformers in Chugoku, which have a cross-shaped bar attached in the middle of the pole, mounted by a full triangle, will have a long horizontal or short vertical insulator(s) at the end.
The transformers in Shikoku, which also have a cross-shaped bar attached in the middle of the pole, mounted by a half triangle, will have “hat shaped” short horizontal insulators at the end.
The transformers in Kyushu, which have a straight bar attached on the side of the pole with three insulators at the end, will have transformers mounted 180-degrees from one another.
Transformers in Okinawa, which have a T-shaped bar attached on the side of the pole, will have transformers mounted on opposite sides of the pole.
These grey “insulator-esque” blocks, which wires are fed through, can be found in the regions of Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku, and very rarely in Hokkaido.
This pole top, with four thicker bars and a circle piece at the top, is common in the Chubu region.
This pole top, with two sides filled in and shaped like a tent, is common in the Hokuriku region.
This pole top, with four thin, skinny bars, is common in the Chugoku region.
This tuning fork pole top, with a long top bar that sticks out each end and horizontal bar(s) below, is found the majority of the time in the Kanto region.
This tuning fork pole top, with a short top bar and horizontal bar below, is found the majority of the time in the Chubu region.
This tuning fork pole top, with a thin wire and horizontal bar below, is common in the Kansai region.
This infrastructural arrow informs drivers of where the shoulder line is when under snow, and is located almost exclusively in Hokkaido.
This flat, white bollard, found on the island of Kyushu and in Yamaguchi Prefecture, will have a series of separated orange reflectors on one side, and the same white on the opposite.
Some bollards on the island of Shikoku can have a black stripe just under the reflector. They can be found normally, attached to guardrails or walls.
This thick, white bollard, found in the Tohoku region, will have an octagonal reflector, and yellow stripe just underneath. In addition, you can find the same bollard, but with a rectangular top.
This bollard, much like Tohoku, will be a thick, white bollard with an octagonal reflector. However, this Akita prefecture variation will have two yellow stripes underneath the reflector.
The Toyama prefecture bollard has one reflector, is extendable and has a red stripe underneath the reflector.NOTE: Be careful: if there is either a second reflector, or a yellow stripe instead of a red one, these are different bollards. These are more common variations found across many prefectures.
This bollard, with an octagonal reflector, and red stripe underneath it, is exclusive to the Okayama prefecture. Additionally, there will be a sloped connection where the base meets the reflector.
This bollard, found in the Aomori prefecture, has two yellow stripes, a single circular reflector, and is extendable. Sometimes, only one thicker stripe near the top may be present.
These striped bollards (which cover over the original) have a thinner top half, and no reflectors, and are common to the Tohoku region. They are especially common in Akita prefecture.
In the northern parts of the Chugoku region, you can primarily find these basic snow poles, with either a thin extended, or thin contracted top. They can also sometimes be found in Iwate.
Green bands on guardrails are most commonly found in Oita and Miyazaki, but can be found on all of Kyushu.
These distinctive yellow guardrails can be found in the Yamaguchi Prefecture.
You can find these chevron-like stickers, or more rarely orange ones, on guardrails in Hokkaido.
Guardrail endings with these red and yellow striped stickers can commonly be found across Chugoku, except in Yamaguchi. They can also rarely be found in Niigata.
Vertical traffic lights can be found in Hokkaido, and along the northwestern coast. The usual horizontal traffic lights can be found everywhere else.
These specific black signs with two yellow circles are found in Kagawa. Other variations can be seen, including them stacked on top of each other, or with an arrow attached above.
Kerosine tanks, otherwise known as “Claymores”, can be found more commonly the further north you go. They are abundant in Hokkaido, but can be found in prefectures south of it, or in high elevation mountainous areas.
Hot water, gas and propane tanks can be found more frequently in northern prefectures or high elevation mountainous areas. Here are a few common variations you can find:
Snow prevention roads, known as ‘Shosetsu’, are found mainly in northwest coastal prefectures. They appear as tiny circles in the pavement, and spray warm underground water to clear snow.
Cycling routes in Ehime use an outside white, with an inside blue line. They are more commonly found along the coast but may be found further inland too.
These unique red-tiled roofs are most commonly found in Chugoku, especially in the prefectures of Hiroshima and Shimane.
The further you are north, roofs generally transition from tiled to level or flat sloped in order to compensate for heavy snowfall. Northern houses often have ladders attached to the side, giving roof access to clear snow.
Okinawa can often be recognised by the white concrete buildings with flat roofs.
Cabbage is abundant in Hokkaido and some northern prefectures. Plants found south of Hokkaido often have smaller leaves. It is often found growing along the roadside.
Green tea plants are often grown in hedged rows. You will often see these fans mounted on poles, which serve the purpose of preventing frost from falling on the plants.
Rice is mainly produced north of Tokyo. During growth, it resembles straws of grass. And when ready for harvest, brown husks are visible. They are also commonly planted in beds of water.
Japanese White Birch grows dominantly in the Chubu and Hokkaido regions, and to a lesser extent in Tohoku. Small areas of white birch can be found throughout Japan, so use this information primarily to help assist your region guess.
In general, bamboo grows more often in the south, and slowly decreases further north. Population size and areas where it grows can vary, so use this information primarily in helping assist your region guess.
Chinese Silver Grass, referred to as Kyushu grass, is indeed very abundant on the island of Kyushu. However, use this tip with caution, as they can be seen outside of this area.
Sugarcane is almost exclusively found on the islands in southern Kyushu and Okinawa.
Hokkaido has very limited winter and snow coverage. Unless you are certain, it is often better not to guess this prefecture. Though, if you do find yourself in Hokkaido, these regions are most likely. Other low amounts of miscellaneous coverage is primarily in the southern half of the island.
Japan is notably a very mountainous country. However, there are some regions that are quite flat, being the Nobi and Kanto plains. While at times they can look very similar, determining that it is one or the other can be very helpful.
You can find these ‘Shisa’ guardian lions and house plaques with these specific characters in Okinawa. The colour and shapes of both can vary.
Agricultural fields with red soil are commonly found on several southern islands, most notably on the islands of Miyakojima and Ishigaki in southern Okinawa.
Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan, with a gradual incline and often snowy summit.
Tokyo City features a nice manhole design, with a 5 petal flower and many small circles on the outside.
Cyrillic can be found on signs in the cities of Wakkanai and Nemuro, in northern Hokkaido.
These artistically painted poles, made to resemble birch trees, are unique to the city of Date in Hokkaido.
There are a variety of trekkers and tripods, covering a vast amount of locations which span over multiple prefectures and regions
Coverage in Jordan was taken by a black Google car, without a red brake light.
Jordanian licence plates are white and can be long or short. Commercial transport vehicles, such as taxis, have a distinctive green strip on the left.
The official language used in Jordan is Arabic and can be identified by its lines and dots.
Roads in Jordan typically feature yellow outside and white middle lines.
Jordanian chevrons are white with red arrows.
These are three common electricity poles that you will find in Jordan. Rounded concrete poles have either a diagonal support or consist of three horizontal Y pole tops. You may additionally see thin, two support metal poles with three vertical coils.
On occasion, the road quality in Jordan is reflective of its age. Roads are well travelled and can be in poor condition. The heat has caused the asphalt to buckle, creating warped cracks in the road.
Jordan only has Street View coverage in the far western part of the country. Coverage is limited to bigger towns and main roads in this area.
Amman is by far the largest city in Jordan with extensive coverage. It is a bustling, developed metropolis with a distinct “big city” feel to it. It is slightly hilly and most of the city consists of medium-sized apartment blocks.
Highway 15 is the longest divided highway with coverage in Jordan. Most of the road is surrounded by desert landscape. It is also surrounded by rocky hills in the south closer to Aqaba.
Highway 35 connecting Amman and Jerash is a divided road surrounded by hills speckled with green vegetation.
Highway 40 is a recognisable divided road surrounded by low, green shrubbery that makes its way west of Amman through the hilly terrain into the sandy area close to the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea can be found directly west along the northern portion of Highway 65.
Highway 65 is a single lane, north to south highway. It features long, sandy stretches of road south of Feifa valley. Now and then, you may encounter overcast coverage on some sections.
Near and in the city of Madaba, you will find flat fields which are sometimes tilled. They uniquely have the characteristic of rich, red soil.
This arid rolling hill valley is located near the almost dried out river of Wadi al Hasa on Highway 35. The rock is rounded and smooth, with a single lane highway running through the center.
For a large majority of Highway 80 and its turns, this divided valley road is surrounded by large, rigid mountains. When turning onto the stretch of road leading to Aqaba, the mountains level off.
This long stretch of jagged mountains can be found on the eastern to southern side of Aqaba.
In Amman, taxis are yellow and green.
In Aqaba, taxis are olive green on the top and black at the bottom.
In Madaba, taxis are yellow with white bumpers.
In some parts of the town of Wadi Musa, unique mountains with distinctive, bulbous rock formations can be seen in the background.
West of the town of Wadi Musa, a collection of trekkers can be found in and around Petra, a rock-cut city from antiquity. This trekker coverage features highly eroded reddish rocks, narrow gorges, and occasionally groups of tourists crowding around the archaeological sites.
When blurred, the standard Kazakh licence plates are mostly white, with a small hint of blue on the left side.
Kazakhstan uses both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets.
All of the coverage in Kazakhstan was taken with a white pickup truck, which can either be fully visible or mostly blurred.
Kazakhstan is a big and diverse country, which features a plethora of distinct landscapes like deserts, grassy steppes, mountain passes, and birch forests.
A lot of Kazakh infrastructure, from pedestrian signs, poles, houses, to bollards, is very similar to what you see in Russia.
Like Russia, Kazakhstan uses yellow and white stripes on their pedestrian crossings. However, unlike Russia the stripes often have white dashes on either side. Sometimes, you can find the dashes without the stripes.
Street Signs in Kazakhstan are often attached to buildings and are blue in colour, with white intricate patterns on the top and bottom. They are usually bilingual or trilingual and can also contain a QR code.
Kazakhstan uses a variety of post-Soviet style bollards, as well as ones that resemble Turkish bollards. Notably, the bollards seemingly consisting of two thin bollards attached at a 90° angle are unique to Kazakhstan.
The bottom of tree trunks are very often painted white.
Unlike neighbouring countries, Kazakhstan primarily uses yellow and black chevrons, except on T Intersections, where you will find the more generic red and white chevrons.
Gas pipes are extremely common in Kazakh cities.
This ornamental pattern known as the koshkar-muiz can be found as part of decorations in all kinds of settings in Kazakhstan.
Many cities and towns in Kazakhstan have these entrance arcs, which are often quite intricate and ornate.
Coverage in Kazakhstan is fairly limited. While most major roads and cities are covered, coverage on small rural roads is fairly uncommon. As such, knowing which roads have coverage can help narrow down the guess.
Kazakhstan can easily be divided into coverage regions based on the season.
Driving directions can help you narrow down your options when you are on a rural road.
Kazakh area codes are useful to learn, and they generally follow an east to west pattern along three horizontal lines.
You can occasionally spot licence plate codes on the back of trucks and buses. The codes themselves follow an alphabetical order, with smaller numbers corresponding to regions that start with earlier letters. Note that cars do travel, and as such not all codes are reliable. Buses and smaller utility vehicles are the most reliable.
While rarely possible, being able to read the letters under a QR code on a street sign will give you the region.
Kazakhstan is a generally flat country, so getting locations that are hilly or mountainous are useful for narrowing the options.
These lush birch forests next to green fields are common in northern Kazakhstan.
Vast grassy green plains are found in northwestern Kazakhstan. They are especially common in Akmola and Kostanay regions.
Sandy and shrubby desert-like landscapes are common in southwestern Kazakhstan.
Tall mountains, which are often snow-capped, can be seen in southeastern Kazakhstan.
The East Kazakhstan Region is hilly and forested. It was covered in october, so you will see fall colours on the vegetation. The town of Ridder itself is flat, but surrounded by hazy mountains.
Snow coverage can be found in southeastern Kazakhstan, especially east of Almaty.
The landscape in southern Kazakhstan near Uzbekistan is hilly and quite dry and shrubby, with a lot of orange looking grass. The landscape consists of dry but grassy rolling hills or dead flat agricultural land near Zhetisay.
Grassy green rolling hills can be found in southern Kazakhstan. They are especially common just north of Bishkek
Around Semey, you can find small clusters or entire forests consisting mostly of pine trees and some deciduous trees, which will have fall colours.
The divided section of the E38 goes southeast to northwest from Shymkent to Kyzylorda. The road is made of asphalt, and it has all white road lines. The landscape varies quite a lot; in the south, it is very green and in the north, it gets dry, sandy, and shrubby.
The section of the M36 going from Karaganda to Almaty can often be recognised by the road being under construction, with a second lane being built. Yellow lines are common. As for the landscape, it’s a wintery dry steppe, which looks noticeably orange-brown.
Between Karaganda and Astana, the M36 is now a divided highway, with yellow outer lines. The landscape consists of a grassy, sometimes hilly, steppe with an occasional row of trees along the road. Note that the general southeast to northwest road angle is important.
The P4/A17 from Astana to Pavlodar is a divided road, generally going east to west, through a hilly steppe landscape similar to the M36, but is generally less vegetated. Most of the road has outer yellow lines.
The roads from Kyzylagash to Druzhba feature a unique hilly landscape, which looks hazy and dead. On most sections, you will see small mountains either south or east of the road.
The A26 goes from Kandyagash to the intersection of M32/E38.
The section of the A1 going from Astana to Shchuchinsk is a 6-lane divided highway. The landscape around is generally quite green, with trees and grassy plains or hills.
The A17 going to Ulytau Region can be recognised by the bad pavement quality, where the edges of the road are almost crumbling away, along with the single white middle road line, which can be dashed or solid. The landscape itself is a grassy steppe, with some fall coloured trees occasionally lining the roads.
The road north of Zhezqazghan has no road lines. The landscape is very dry, desolate, with very limited vegetation and slightly hilly. The soil can look very red or orange at times.
The R260 road is mostly paved, but not in the best condition; many cracks can be seen, and it mostly lacks road lines. The weather is overcast and the landscape is a slightly hilly steppe, consisting of somewhat yellow grass and reddish soil, which is very evident when the road is unpaved.
These regions/cities have the most useful pole paints you can learn.
These pole paints are less useful than the above hint, but still worth learning if you want to master Kazakhstan.
These are the most useful to learn bus stops.
These cities have buses worth learning.
These street signs attached to buildings are generally quite inconsistent, but there are some worth knowing.
Yellow boxes connected to the gas pipes are common outside houses in Shymkent, Turkistan, and Taldykorgan.
Turkistan consistently uses these thin grey lamps with two small light sources near the end.
Lamps in Kulsary have a sizable blue photocell on the top.
Some lamps in Uralsk have this very unique design, with 3 separate lamps in an ascending pattern.
A visible wire in the back of the Street View car can be found in all of western Kazakhstan.
This combination of 3 dots; 2 of which are close together near the back of the roof, and a third one above to the left, can be found in the coverage north of Zhezqazghan, but not in the city itself.
Around Kyzylorda, there is another combination of 3 dots; one on the bottom right, and 2 dots side by side, closer to the middle.
On the P24 between Oskemen and Semey, as well as in both cities, you can spot this “zigzag” shaped smudge on the left side of the car.
In the highlighted coverage east of Almaty, the back of the roof is very dirty.
Between Petropavl and Kokshetau, there is a small smudge slightly to the left on the bottom of the roof.
Between Kokshetau and Atbasar, the car has a thin coating of dirt and dust, which is most visible near the back of the roof.
East of Aktobe, there is a vertical line of dirt on the right side of the roof.
South of Beyneu, there is a faint dot on the middle-right of the roof.
Coverage in dense baltic pine forests can be found north of Shchuchinsk, which is north of Astana.
Parts of Oskemen have hazy forest fire coverage.
In southern Almaty City, there is snow coverage in the mountains.
The Altyn Emel National Park is a barren grassland with snowy mountains in all directions. Some parts are very snowy. And in the eastern section, there is a small curvy mountain pass.
The only May coverage in Kazakhstan is found in the Almaty exclave of Alataou, which is east of Almaty proper. All of the coverage is sunny and the mountains are visible to the south.
A small ridge of hills is visible to the north in a lot of Taldykorgan coverage.
Near the Turkmenistan border in southwest Kazakhstan, you will find this unpaved sandy desert road. The landscape is almost blindingly bright from the sand.
Licence plates in Kyrgyzstan have a red strip on them.
Kyrgyzstan can be recognised from the silver car and four bars that are visible. All coverage is Generation 3.
The Kyrgyz script is similar to Russian. However, the Cyrillic script used for Kyrgyz includes additional characters not found in Russian Cyrillic, such as:
All of Kyrgyzstan was covered during the winter months, so many of the trees will lack leaves, the landscape will be quite drab, and you can see snow in many parts of Kyrgyzstan.
In Kyrgyzstan, you will often see trees and concrete poles that are painted white on the bottom.
Kyrgyzstan uses these simple white bollards with a diagonal black stripe near the top.
These kilometre markers with a red-and white triangle pattern are unique to Kyrgyzstan.
The majority of Kyrgyzstan’s population is Muslim. Hence, you will see a lot of mosques throughout the country.
The coverage in Kyrgyzstan is very limited. So learning which roads are covered will help you improve a lot.
Learning which direction the Google Car is driving on most major roads will help you narrow down your options when guessing.
You can use the Google car’s mirror to region-guess Kyrgyzstan. In the southern region, less of the road is visible on the mirror. The car’s reflection is more diagonal. For comparison, this is what it usually looks like.
Within this southern region, west of the roundabout that takes you up to Jalal-Abad, the mirror will have a varying degree of dirt on it.
If you see a small black dot on the Kyrgyzstan car mirror, you will be in this region.
Divided roads are mostly concentrated in and around the capital, Bishkek. A major divided highway runs from Bishkek to Balykchy in the east.
Lake Issyk Kul is the biggest body of water in Kyrgyzstan. You will often be able to spot it on the roads north and south of the lake. Sometimes it will be obscured by buildings or trees, but the lack of any mountains in the direction of the lake will be a good clue.
These northern roads have a considerable amount of snow, and the sky is generally bright.
As the capital city of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek is by far the most developed city, featuring many taller multi-story buildings you would not see elsewhere. And on the outskirts, you can see fancier buildings as well. There are also mountains south of Bishkek, but these can be hard to see at times.
You can find urban snow coverage in this region of Bishkek.
The coverage south of Bishkek is generally a bit hilly, and you will see the snowy Tian Shan mountains to the south. And as Bishkek has the most polluted air of any city, there will usually be visible smog to the north.
These towns east and west of Bishkek feature these colourful poles with yellow, green, white, and sometimes red on top.
Osh is the second-biggest city in Kyrgyzstan. It is one of several towns that has coverage with the southern mirror. This allows you to easily distinguish it from Bishkek.
You can also distinguish Osh from Bishkek by looking at the trees: most still have their leaves.
Jalal-Abad is the third-biggest city in Kyrgyzstan. Like Osh, its coverage has the southern mirror.
Arslanbob is a snowy town north of Jalal-Abad, with hills and mountains all around. As the town is located in the mountains, you can see a lot of elevation change inside the town.
Uzgen is a slightly snowy town between Osh and Jalal-Abad, which features overcast coverage.
In Talas, most poles are painted white on the bottom, and feature red and yellow stripes.
Karakol is a city located between snow capped mountains to the north and south. The coverage in the city is sunny, and you can see melting snow on the ground.
Naryn features a steep orange ridge to the north, and big snow capped mountains to the south.
The EM-04 is a major road that runs from Bishkek to Osh.
You can notice a distinct sunset on all the coverage from Sokuluk to Kara Balta.
Here, you will see the Tian Shan mountain range to the south. The landscape is otherwise flat. The further away from the mountains you are, the foggier they seem.
The mountains here can be characterised by steep rocky cliffs that can have a slight purple or red tint to them. Not much vegetation grows on these mountains - only some grass and shrubs. A small river also runs alongside the road. You can also spot these brown metallic electricity pylons and curved concrete guardrails on the sides of this road.
On this long stretch of road, you will see plenty of snow all around you, except on the road. The Landscape is generally hilly, except the northeastern and southwestern parts, which are in the mountains.
This section of road goes through mountains that have rocky cliffs. These mountains are a habitat for lots of spruce trees that grow on the cliff sides. A more diverse selection of trees grows next to the river that follows the road. You can see that some mountains still have snow on the peaks. Most signposts along the road are coloured blue.
You can see the mostly dried up part of the Toktogul Reservoir either to the south or north of the road. There are taller mountains quite close on every side. The northern half is more desolate, while the south features more vegetation and buildings as well.
You will usually see the Toktogul Reservoir north of the road in this section. It now resembles an actual lake. The landscape is generally hilly, especially to the south.
The road then runs through a river gorge, with large, rocky mountains on both sides. It features overcast coverage. A sizable river (the Naryn) is usually visible to the north, next to the road.
This southern region has a lot of agriculture and a lot of vegetation on the sides of the roads. The region is generally flat, but the road is very close to the hills that are usually to the north or east. The gaps in the minimap indicate exceptionally hilly spots.
In the south, this stretch of road northwest of Uzgen is characterised by overcast coverage and lots of snow.
The EM-11, which shows up as A365 on Google Maps, runs from Bishkek down to the Chinese border. The coverage ends here.
The beginning section of the divided EM-11 has this grassy median up until Khun-Chi.
From Khun-Chi to the intersection east of Tokmok, the road uses these road lines with a wide gap as a median.
The gap in the road lines gets thinner east of that intersection up until this intersection east of Kemin.
From there onwards, concrete barriers are used as medians.
The road then becomes undivided. This section south of Balykchy is extremely dry, with the landscape mostly consisting of small shrubs, unless you are next to the Chu river. To the north, you can spot these mountains that have clouds hovering above them. Otherwise, there are no clouds in this region.
Further up the road, you enter a dry valley with mountains flanking both sides. There is barely any vegetation - just some shrubs close to the ground. The river next to the road brings some more greenery to the area. In the southern half of this section, you can see this slightly snowy ridge to the north.
Going further south, you will reach this next valley, which seems equally dry, but the mountains are more rocky and have trees growing on them. The road now has very bad pavement, and as such you can see dust clouds.
Once you get out of the valley, you will notice this area is more vegetated, has more buildings, and more animals on the now grassy fields. The landscape is still hilly, with bigger mountains to the north, south, and west. The southern mountains are especially distinct, with them being covered in snow. The hills immediately north of Naryn can get very dry, but look out for snow that you can see in the shade.
The mountains and hills south of Naryn have a unique combination of snow and red soil that make them very distinct.
The At-Bashi Valley has a very distinct mountain range, which you will see to your south from any section on this road. To the north, you can see scattered mountains that do not form a uniform ridge. There is also a big set of hills to the west.
Road EM-9 runs from Balykchy to Karakol in the far east. On many parts of the road, you will be able to see Lake Issyk Kul to your south. The car drives towards the east (and in the last section towards the south).
The section from Balykchy to Cholpon Ata is sunny, with mountains to the north, and a lake to the south.
The section east of Cholpon Ata appears overcast, with mountains to the north, and a lake to the south. Tall tree rows on either side of the road is a common sight.
The vertical stretch of road north of Karakol is mostly flanked by tall tree rows on either side. There are also tall snowy mountains to the north and south.
The EM-10, which also shows up as A363 in Geoguessr, is a beautiful road connecting Karakol to Balykchy. Here, you will often see Lake Issyk Kul again, but this time it is visible to your north. The car drives towards the west.
On the road west of Karakol, you will see a lot of vegetation on the sides of the roads, and long expanses of green and yellow fields beyond them. You will usually be able to see the Tian Shan Mountain Range in the distance to the north. There are big mountains to the south as well, with smaller hills before them.
You will almost always see the Issyk Kul lake, and the Tian Shan mountains on this section. The soil here is sandy and rocky.
The section west of “Fairytale Canyon” has distinct sunset coverage.
You will see a lot of mountains and hills to the south here, but only some hills to the north, with seemingly nothing behind them. You might even see Issyk Kul behind them. There is still a lot of sand on the sides of the roads.
The landscape around the western end of Issyk Kul is drier than the east. The lake itself and the southern hills are further away from the road as well.
The EM-17 runs southeast of Talas.
This section of EM-17 is very snowy. The hills and mountains around the road are almost fully covered in snow. Unlike the other snowy roads, this road is often covered in uncleared slush or melted snow.
Going further west, only the hills to the south will have snow on them. The landscape is generally dry, with hills to the north and south of the road.
The EM-13 is a small gravel road, which sadly only has small bits of coverage.
The road going east of Kazarman is an unpaved gravel road, between two hilly ridges on either side. The ridge to the north is further away, and has a bigger set of mountains visible behind it. The mountain ridge has a unique mountain that towers above the rest.
The eastern side of EM-13 closely resembles the road going west of Naryn. (See tip below) This road, however, is an unpaved gravel road in the middle of the Naryn valley, so the hills to the north are now closer. The Landscape is filled with bushes, shrubs, and grass.
This road going west of Naryn is situated south in the dry Naryn valley. You will typically see hills close to the road on the southern side. There are also bigger mountains not too far behind. While to the north, there is a wide plain, with hills and mountains in the distance. Many parts of the road also have a pavement with a salt and pepper-like quality.
The road going east of Naryn is also in the Naryn Valley. Here you will also see hills close to the road in the south, and then further away to the north. The plains north of the road are however smaller. This side is also more built up, except the road, which is unpaved at certain parts. Here, the hills south also have small amounts of snow on them.
The M-082 is a unique road, with only a small section being covered, from the shore of Song-Kul to the mountains right south of it.
Song-Kul is the second major lake in Kyrgyzstan. The surrounding area features dry rolling hills, with patches of snow. The only covered road is made of gravel.
The road in the mountains south of Song-Kul is the only unpaved road this high up in the mountains. You can see the clouds below you, down in the valleys below. The mountains have rugged peaks, and snowy cliff sides. Many of the mountains also have spruce trees growing on them.
The M-118 takes you from the resort town Arslanbob down into the fertile Fergana Valley.
On this road, you should be able to see the Kara Darya river to the east in the valley below the road. The region is generally hilly and green. To the north, you can see some low-lying mountains in the distance, they have some snow on them. The hills east of the river have snow on the top as well.
There will generally be some snow on the ground on this road. You will see more snow depending on how north you are. You will often see the massive Gora Babash-Ata mountain to the north.
The M-107 is a pretty road connecting Taskomur to Kerben. Only the first half is covered.
This section of M-107 is dry and rocky. There are a lot of mountains around, but this one ridge specifically can be seen from most of this section.
Going further west, you will encounter a very hilly landscape. The landscape features a lot of vegetation - tall grass, trees, bushes. This road uses these concrete barriers as guardrails, notice the cement above the gaps.
This road going all the way to Sary-Chelek lake is one of the most unique roads in Kyrgyzstan.
This valley is full of vegetation. This area also has a lot of buildings and fences near the road. Most of the road is in poor shape, with it being unpaved and potholes littering parts of it. To the north, you can see some darker clouds, and closer to Arkit, the weather will get cloudier, and there are more dead trees.
This section near Arkit has a lot of snow everywhere and low broad leafed trees all around. This already unique landscape paired with the south to north driving direction makes it very easy to recognise.
This section of the M-010 is surrounded by beautiful spruce covered snowy mountains. Some snow has also gathered on the sides of the road.
This rocky dirt road going to Chunkurchak is mostly high up in the snowy hills south of Bishkek. Some of the soil here has a red tint to it. On the northern part of the road, you can only see the snowy hills to the south. Also pay attention to the red-and-white bollards on the sides of the roads.
There is another road with coverage to the east of the Chunkurchak road: it goes through a very rocky valley, with a variety of plants growing on the mountainsides, of which only some have small amounts of snow. You can also see some snow in the valley, and more so towards the south.
You can easily recognise this side road, labelled as A367 on the map, from the snow covered mountain ranges in every direction. The sun to the south is almost blinding.
This divided road north of Bishkek, that leads up to the international airport, uses unique yellow-and-black curbs on the median, which consists of mostly grass. Some sections have small planted trees, and poles with red-and-yellow paint on the bottom. The horizontal section west of the airport has a lot more trees.
This slightly northeast-bound road north of Bishkek can easily be recognised from the sunset coverage.
The road south of Jeti Oguz goes through a valley. The general landscape in this valley is very green by Kyrgyzstan standards, there are plenty of trees and bushes growing in the valley and on the hills. You can see small patches of snow still on the ground. From most of the valley, you can still see the Tian Shan mountains to the north, and other snowy mountains to the south. The valley also contains these unique orange rock formations.
The road north of Grigorievka goes through a stunning river valley. This is one of the most unique roads in Kyrgyzstan. You can easily recognise it from the spruce covered mountains in this rocky valley. The lack of snow is also notable.
There is a side road north of the Orto Tokoy Reservoir that has very broken coverage. This road is well maintained, and it passes through dry mountains. The only vegetation around is grass and shrubs. To the west, you can see this mountain which has little snow left. To the north, the mountains are dark, similar to silhouettes, and on the southern portion of the road, you will see the reservoir.
This remote gravel road southwest of Naryn passes through a dry and desolate valley. Despite the river, there is nothing but some shrubs on the ground. Many of the mountains in the valley have steep, rocky cliff sides. You will also find snow here, but more so in the south.
Street View coverage in Laos is very limited. Only five cities are covered: Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, Savannakhet, and Pakse.
In all cities except for the capital, Vientiane, this Google car will be visible. It is silver-coloured, with a roof rack with two metal bars and black side mirrors.
Laos drives on the right hand side of the road.
Laotian licence plates are short and yellow. This distinguishes them from nearby Thailand and Cambodia, who both use white plates on non-commercial vehicles.
Lao script is compact and curvy, with some diacritics on top and below characters.
Laos is a majority Buddhist country. Buddhist temples are a common sight. They can be recognized by their ornate decorations, often with gold leaf detailing.
Striped curbs of various colours, such as red, yellow, or black with white, can be seen throughout Laos.
Stop signs feature the Lao script. Sometimes, the sign features the word ‘stop’ in Latin script below the Lao script.
Laos uses square concrete poles, with small pinholes on the sides in a row from top to bottom.
Laos uses square concrete black and white bollards with one or more black bands.
Some lamp posts have diagonal red and white striped markings that do not go down to the base.
A red and white painted cuboid concrete bollard can sometimes be seen a few metres off the side of the road.
Laos has a communist government. You can sometimes see red hammer and sickle flags.
Luang Prabang is located on the Mekong River and surrounded by low mountains and hills (not always visible).
Palm trees are common in Luang Prabang.
Luang Prabang is the former royal capital of Laos and a UNESCO heritage site. The city has a lot of historical architecture, including several temples. Many buildings make use of traditional dark wooden architectural elements. There are also some buildings dating back to French colonial rule of Laos.
Within Laos, blue sign backs are only found in Luang Prabang.
This rugged mountain range can be seen from almost any point in Vang Vieng, and is the most reliable way of recognizing it.
Vang Vieng is also very touristic: you will see a lot of signs for hotels, guesthouses, and other tourism-related enterprises. In the (very few) rounds that the distinct mountains are blocked by buildings, this is a good way to recognize the town.
As previously mentioned, the Vientiane area is the only part of Laos where the Google car is not visible. It also has a considerable amount of rural coverage, especially to its southeast.
Road 450 east of Vientiane is made entirely of concrete blocks. It is also one of the very few divided highways in Laos with coverage.
The divided highway that passes through Nong Beuak can be easily recognized by these street lamps that line the sides of the road.
The road that goes through the conservation area features uniquely hilly terrain for Laos. Landscape around the road is also very dry, and mostly forested. Additionally, the road is in good condition with coloured curbs and dashed outer lines.
The only trekker in Laos is a view of the monumental Patuxai arch, a massive war memorial in the middle of Vientiane. Some of the coverage is made with a normal trekker, and some with a tripod.
Savannakhet is very flat: the only mountains that are visible are on the other side of the Mekong river, in Thailand.
The southern city of Pakse is easily recognizable thanks to the distinct red soil.
This 1380-metre long bridge crosses the Mekong River next to the city of Pakse. It is the only major bridge in Laos with coverage.
Standard Lebanese licence plates are either long with a blue strip on the left, similar to most licence plates in Europe, or short with a similar blue strip. Licence plates on taxis are notably deep red. You may also find licence plates with other colours.
The official language of Lebanon is Arabic, however English and French are also common to see.
Lebanon is currently the only Middle Eastern country that has official shitcam coverage.
Apart from the shitcam, all of the Lebanese coverage was taken with a Generation 3 trekker.
Lebanon has a Mediterranean landscape, with a lot of hills and rocky cliffs.
Lebanon uses a variety of metallic mesh poles, which are sometimes painted bright yellow. Generic-looking wooden poles are common too.
While several types of architecture can be found on the Lebanese coverage, it is worth mentioning that many buildings are made of sandstone bricks.
Most of the coverage is concentrated near the west coast, north of Beirut.
The region around Zahle has flat agricultural fields, with mountains visible to the northwest.
Coverage where snow is visible on mountain tops, or on the ground, is found in the northeastern mountains, east of Tripoli.
Northern Lebanon is very flat and agricultural. You might see the mountains to the southeast.
A visible black car can be found in and around Zahle.
The Generation 3 trekker coverage in Lebanon is extremely limited, mostly being found around tourist attractions, university campuses and trails. Note that due to the large number of distinct trekkers, this guide will only cover those that are considered pinpointable.
Beirut is the capital of Lebanon and the only covered city with many modern high-rise buildings. While the city might not be clearly visible from all parts of the coverage, you will almost always be able to see urban buildings or infrastructure in the background.
Coverage was taken along parts of the promenade in Beirut, with a grey brick pavement and a large number of fan palms.
Université Saint Joseph, southeast of central Beirut can be recognised by the old, grand-looking sandstone building.
Campus Debbieh of the Beirut Arab University consists of somewhat sparsely built large modern sandstone buildings on top of a forested hill. The ocean can typically be seen far away to the west.
The Lebanese International University (LIU) can be recognised by the many large stone buildings having unpainted bottom floors while the floors above are painted beige.
The University of Balamand has a lot of modern white painted buildings. The buildings often have a very cubic look.
The Lebanese American University, east of Byblos, has a very urban look, with a lot of construction work and large modern buildings.
The ancient city of Byblos is one of the oldest cities in the world and can be recognised by the many old historical buildings, almost all built out of the same type of unpainted stone bricks.
The trekker near Bsharri can be recognised by the large canyon to the south.
In Baalbek you can find a large complex of Roman ruins.
The Mseilha fortress can be found southwest of Tripoli and is built on a monolithic limestone rock.
The only rural coastal road with trekker coverage in Lebanon can be found southwest of Tripoli.
Macau is a Special Administrative Region of China, so for country streaks purposes, it is counted as China.
Coverage in Macau is limited to Generation 2.
Macau uses black licence plates with white text. Licence plates can either be long or square.
Cylindrical grey lamp posts with a black painted bottom can be seen in Macau.
Due to Macau’s history as a Portuguese colony, Portuguese language can commonly be seen, especially on storefronts, along with Chinese.
These white street signs with a blue border around the Chinese and Portuguese text are unique to Macau.
Gambling is legal in Macau and its biggest source of revenue (50% of its GDP). As a result, you will see a lot of casinos and advertisements for gambling. The casinos often have very extravagant, kitsch designs.
Dense apartment buildings with gridded, narrow streets and cars parked on both sides can be found in this region in the northern half of Macau.
A hilly, rural region of Macau can be found in the south. Roads are narrow, winding up hills with trees on both sides. A helpful clue are the lamp posts, which are commonly seen.
The Sai Van Bridge can be recognized by these unique cuboid towers with arches in them.
Red guardrails can be seen on the Amizade Bridge.
Malaysian licence plates are black and generally have two white sections. These are visible even when blurred.
Malaysia frequently uses double white centre lines on its two-lane roads. It is the only Southeast Asian country to do so.
These thick yellow bars are also almost exclusive to Malaysia.
Electricity poles in Malaysia often have black or white stickers on them.
BERHENTI stop signs and BERI LALUAN yield signs are both unique to Malaysia.
Malaysian bollards will often have the colours black, white, grey and red. Here are three examples of typical Malaysian bollards.
This is a typical Malaysian directional sign. Hexagonal yellow highway shields are unique to Malaysia.
Malaysian kilometre markers have a unique white-and-blue colour scheme. Note that the hexagon shields are often visible.
The Malay language uses the Latin script. It is very closely related to Indonesian. These two languages are practically indistinguishable for people who do not speak either.
In contrast to neighbouring Indonesia, Chinese characters are often seen in Malaysia. In fact, 24.6% of the Malaysian population is of Chinese descent.
Signposts in Malaysia almost always have black-and-white stripes.
Black-and-white curbs are commonly found in Malaysia.
Generation 4 coverage is only found in the peninsular part of Malaysia. The Borneo side features only Generation 3 coverage.
Each Malaysian state, excluding the three federal territories, has its own road numbering system with a unique letter at the start of the road number.
Black pole stickers are only found on electricity poles in mainland Malaysia.
White pole stickers are only found on electricity poles on the island of Borneo, in Sarawak.
Lamp posts with two small circles on the support are mainly found on mainland Malaysia.
Lamp posts with a triangular metal support are mainly found on mainland Malaysia.
Electricity poles on the Borneo side typically have a 2-1 insulator configuration, and a long diagonal wooden support. They are exclusive to the Sarawak region of the island.
Thin metal poles with two parallel pole tops are exclusive to the Sabah region of Borneo.
This lamp post with a supporting piece of sheet metal resembling a boomerang is found in Sarawak.
Trash bins with a logo resembling an ‘S’ are found in the states of Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor.
Trash bins with a logo resembling leaves are found in Perlis and Kedah.
Trash bins with this logo featuring a sunny landscape, saying ‘Alam Flora’ are found in Pahang, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. The logo will occasionally be absent, and it will just say ‘Alam Flora’.
Yellow street name signs are specific to the state of Johor.
Green street signs that form an arrow shape and have a yellow hexagonal symbol with the letters JKR on the left side are found in Sabah.
Assuming you are on Borneo: the state of Sabah is very mountainous, and much of the coverage is on mountain roads like this one.
These isolated rock formations, rising abruptly from an otherwise flat landscape, can be found near the Thai border in Perlis state.
Urban areas in Labuan are dotted with blue cylindrical containers.
This unique grey car with a long front antenna can be found in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak.
Mongolian licence plates are mostly white with a hint of red on the left side from the Soyombo symbol.
Mongolia primarily uses Cyrillic script, though Latin and traditional Mongolian script can also occasionally be seen. Mongolian Cyrillic contains the letters Ɵ and Ү, which do not exist in the Russian alphabet. Additionally, the use of double vowels, such as aa, ƟƟ or ЭЭ, is common in Mongolian.
Mongolia very often has a visible Street View car as all of Mongolian coverage was driven with a large pickup truck. The truck can have several features such as a tent on top, red side-view mirrors, a snorkel, and roof-racks. All of these can be of help in identifying Mongolia.
Mongolia can typically be identified by the steppe biomes found across the country. While some forested areas are found in Mongolia, most of the country features empty grasslands or deserts with a characteristic lack of trees. It is not uncommon to find rugged, rocky or rolling hills as well as rivers and lakes across Mongolia.
Mongolia uniquely features white bowling-pin shaped bollards with two red stripes around the top.
Mongolian infrastructure has clear Russian influence. Wooden poles with supporting stone blocks, white lamp posts, and three-striped pedestrian crossing signs are common to see.
Mongolian neighbourhoods are very frequently separated by dirt alleys and wooden fences.
White, round yurts are the traditional dwelling of nomadic families in Mongolia, and are often seen all around the country.
It is very common to see large herds of animals in Mongolia, including horses, yaks, cows, sheep, goats, and camels.
Mongolia has very limited coverage, mainly along highways and in large towns. Learning which roads and towns have coverage can be very useful. The highest coverage density can be found around the capital of Ulaanbaatar.
Driving directions can be a very useful clue for narrowing down your location in Mongolia. In general, the driving direction tends to be away from Ulaanbaatar.
Mongolia has a very flat landscape in the east and in the south, with rolling hills in the north, and large mountains and rocky hills being common in the west.
Recently released Generation 4 coverage in Mongolia currently can only be found in Ulaanbaatar and throughout western Mongolia.
You can find forests, typically surrounded by grassy fields, all around northern Mongolia. Generally these will be Siberian Larches, with pines and birches being common as well.
Small dirt tracks within flat, vast grassy fields are mainly found in far eastern Mongolia.
There are several areas with off-road desert coverage in southern Mongolia. Most of this coverage is directly south or east of the town of Mandalgovi.
There are a couple of paved desert roads in southern Mongolia.
You can find arid steppe rangeland, characterised by the coarse soil, patchy grass, and small shrubs, throughout southwestern Mongolia.
These dry, rugged hills and mountains are common to see in far western Mongolia.
Lakes and rivers are much more common in western Mongolia.
Snow coverage is mostly found around Ulaanbaatar.
Fall coverage in Mongolia gives rise to very distinct orange-coloured trees and grass, and can only be found in a few areas; mostly between the towns of Lun and Hatgal, with some fall coverage around Ulaanbaatar. Trees are more commonly seen the further north you are.
Around the town of Bugant is a large forest that stands out for having narrow dirt trails with close trees, typically on both sides, in a way that can appear quite Russian. Additionally, it is very common to see birches around this area.Keep in mind that the dirt trails in this forest do not appear on the map.
Due to Mongolia’s harsh climate and terrain, crop fields are rare, but they do occasionally appear in the subdivisions of Selenge and Töv, near Ulaanbaatar.
The capital city, Ulaanbaatar, is by far the biggest city in Mongolia, with about 50% of the entire country's population living in it. As such, its urban development and sheer size is unlike anywhere else in Mongolia. The cityscape is bustling with many high rise buildings, chain stores, travelling cars, buses, and pedestrians, as well as clean roads and sidewalks. Meanwhile, the suburbs can be recognized from the vast yurt districts in hilly areas. Generation 4 coverage is common, however Generation 3 winter coverage is also common to see in the suburbs.
The Choir Highway is the longest covered paved road in Mongolia, running from Nalaikh down to Zamiin-Uud on the Chinese border, and is mostly desert. The dry brown soil, lack of vegetation, clear skies, and general flatness are all characteristic of this road. Additionally, a railroad runs along the entire highway, which can be seen west of the highway north of Sainshand, and east of the highway south of Sainshand. Between the towns of Sainshand and Erdene there is some overcast coverage.
The other main desert highway in Mongolia runs through Mandalgovi, and can be differentiated from the Choir Highway by its cloudy skies, darker pavement, and deep blue tent instead of the tentless car.
The Mandalgovi Highway runs south of the capital and was covered during a blizzard, making it extremely snowy and foggy. It also has a deep blue tent, which is found along this entire road, and a flat landscape which can differentiate it from other snowy roads.
The Millenium Road runs just west of the town of Lun, and has late fall coverage, combined with a dry climate that gives it characteristic orange short grass. The silver tent, clear skies, and general flatness with low rolling hills also help in identifying this road. The sun gradually sets as the car continues west until it becomes sunset at the end of the road.
The Darkhan-Erdenet highway can be identified by the low rolling hills, tall transmission towers, and occasional crop fields in the area. Additionally, most of the highway has winter coverage with the tentless car, light snow, and yellow grass. Beware that summer coverage can occasionally appear in the eastern half of the road.
The highway connecting the towns of Chinggis and Baruun-Urt stands out as one of the only paved highways in the east. It is considerably cloudy and the road seems freshly paved, making it a very dark road, combined with a mostly flat landscape.
A railroad can be seen along almost the entire road to the town of Khuder in the north. It is usually very close to the road, but can occasionally be quite far away, in which case it can still be identified by the mound it is built upon. In the western half of this road, the river to the south can also be seen.
The roof racks of the Street View car are very useful as they can effectively split Mongolia in half. The presence of rubber inlays in the roof racks are generally found in the west, while empty roof racks are generally found in the east.
You can split Mongolia into 4 zones based on the spare tire in the back right of the Street View car:
In the eastern grasslands, the Street View car has a light blue tent and a forward-facing snorkel.
The eastern region can be further divided into several smaller areas based on the layout of the orange roof rack straps. These straps can be seen by looking straight down.
The tent will have red tensioner straps at the front around the city of Chinggis.
North of Ulaanbaatar you can find this car, which has the same blue tent as the eastern tent, but with a backwards-facing snorkel. The snorkel can sometimes be difficult to see, so use other additional clues such as rolling hills and forests to confirm the region.
A Street View car with no tent can be seen in and around the capital city. It is generally found on a northwest diagonal going through Ulaanbaatar. Southeast of Ulaanbaatar, on the Choir highway, the car will have a double mirror on the left as well as a backward facing snorkel.
A Street View car with a bright silver tent is generally found in central and northwestern Mongolia.
A Street View car with a grey tent and hooks on the tent can only be found in western Mongolia. It is the most common car to have the netted spare tire.
If the grey tent has hook straps angled downwards, you should be in southwestern Mongolia.
If the grey tent has no hooks on the left side and is billowing from the wind, you will be on the road between Khovd and Ölgii or around the town of Tugrug.
A Street View car with a cage on top of the roof instead of a tent can be seen near Ulaanbaatar. West of Ulaanbaatar, the car will have a green camouflage sleeping bag on top of the cage (coverage highlighted in green). Additionally, all coverage with this car was taken during winter, with most of it being in snowy areas.
Generation 4 coverage in the capital uses a silver truck with an ornate blue & white roof decal, with a snorkel and long antenna on the front right. While the unique roof can be seen in most locations, some locations blur most of the car, leaving only the snorkel and antenna visible. This car can only be found around Ulaanbaatar.
Generation 4 coverage in western Mongolia uses a silver pick-up truck with a big light blue tent. Different variations of the tent can be useful for narrowing down the region.
The tent with 2 straps and a single knot in the straps covers most of northwestern Mongolia.
The tent with a knot on both straps covers most of southwestern Mongolia.
The tent with the lower strap in a clump covers most of central-southern Mongolia, along the road from Ulaanbaatar to Altai.
The tent with 4 straps covers most of central-northern Mongolia.
You can find a tent with an open zipper in central Mongolia, near the town of Khorgo.
Erdenet is the second largest city in Mongolia. As such, it has many multistory buildings that can be seen from across town, a large stadium, and a ferris wheel in the south of the city. It is surrounded by large barren hills to the south and to the north, and was covered on a cloudy day in the winter, meaning all vegetation is dead.
The city of Darkhan in northern Mongolia can be recognized by its distinct snow coverage. It is the third largest city in Mongolia and as such has many high-rising buildings and travelling cars.
Sukhbaatar and Altanbulag are two neighbouring towns in the north near the Russian border. They have dry, forested hills all around and heavy overcast coverage. Sukhbaatar is completely overcast while Altanbulag is slightly less cloudy.
Chinggis is a major town in the east with red straps on the front of the tent. It is a fairly dry and flat town with small hills to the north, and somewhat cloudy skies.
Choibalsan is the only major city to have several concrete roads. In most parts of the city there is a visible smoke stack, which is in the southeast corner of the city. It appears to have just rained as the roads are slightly wet and the sky is overcast. Additionally, you may occasionally find unique pedestrian signs with a short figure over three stripes.
Baruun-Urt can be identified by the towering building under construction in the centre of town (on the map its POI is called “Smile”) combined with the dry landscape.NOTE: Similar buildings under construction can be found in other towns such as Chinggis but they are not as large and do not feature an orange tower crane like the Smile building.
The town of Khalkhgol in far east Mongolia can be recognized by its flat, green landscape with low rolling hills and a giant sword statue visible in the distance.
The town of Dariganga can be recognized by the distinctive hill present to the northwest of the town in an otherwise flat landscape.
Sainshand is the largest town in the desert region and it has a dry climate, many buildings, and paved roads. A dry ridge separates the northern and southern parts of the town, distinguishing Sainshand from other desert towns that are mostly flat. In the downtown area you can find a miniature pink eiffel tower.
The desert town of Zamiin-Uud on the border with China has unique sailboat lamp posts featuring a golden flower pot around them. Often, white signs with Mongolian folded script can be seen attached to these lamp posts.
Mandalgovi is a large desert town with notably cloudy coverage. It’s the only large desert town apart from Dalanzadgad which is not on the Choir Highway, and it has a deep blue tent instead of the tentless car.
Dalanzadgad can be easily recognised by its distinct sunset coverage. Additionally it has a dry climate, fall-coloured grass, rocky hills to the south, some smoke stacks, and a unique loose tent cover on the left side.
Arvaikheer is a large central town recognizable by the warm, green, and grassy landscape in gen 4, with low rolling hills in every direction. Often you can see the town’s ferris wheel in a park in the centre of town.
The town of Bayankhongor, in central Mongolia, has an overall dry landscape and can be recognized from the nearby large dry hill to the east, with the Soyombo symbol inscribed onto it.
In the central town of Tsetserleg, you will see these distinct rocky, rugged hills, with small trees growing on them to the north. It has very clear skies and the neighbourhoods can often be seen on the hilly slopes.
Murun is a town in the north built on a north-south grid with a large jagged hill nearby to the north. It has a lot of alley coverage with dark cloudy skies and muddy, unpaved roads.
Hatgal is a small lake town on the Khuvsgul Lake. It can be recognized from its fall coverage with orange trees and grass, and the large lake in the northeast, where the Khuvsgul Ice Festival is held every year.
The small, hilly town of Tosontsengel, frequently has red-tinted roads and uses these unique lamp posts that have a wavy design.
Uliastai is a central-western Mongolian town, surrounded by large, green nearby hills. It is common to see a decent amount of trees or the river that runs through the town. In the centre of town, you can find a small hill with the Soyombo symbol inscribed on it.
In the town of Altai, you can see a range of dark, distant hills to the south and west and low rolling hills to the north and east. Additionally, it is common to see wet roads, as most of the coverage occurred after heavy rain.
Khovd is a large, dry and shrubby town, in western Mongolia, that can be identified by the very distinct rocky, red-tinted hills, present to the north of town.
Ölgii is a large town in the west, that is surrounded by close, dry rocky mountains. Towards the south end of town, there is a tall red & white radio tower, that can be seen from all across town and is quite distinct to Ölgii.
Ulaangom is a northwestern town with large, distant, dark mountains to the southwest. Additionally, these distinct double lamp posts with a blue or green painted base can frequently be seen in Ulaangom.
In the westmost part of Mongolia, there is some very remote coverage showcasing the tallest mountains in Mongolia where you can see glaciers and snow-capped peaks. This area also has a unique Street View car with a green or black bag above the right side roof racks.
East of Uvs lake, you can find a lot of these small shrubs and patchy grass in a somewhat flat landscape.
Khan Khokhii is a national park in northwestern Mongolia with some of the most dense forests in the country. It has partially cloudy skies, dark soil, and the western grey tent.
The Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park, in the far south of Mongolia, features bright orange sand and sand dunes. There are two separate spots covered in the park: one in the middle just north of Sevrei, which has distant southern mountains, and the other in the far southwest corner of the park, which has a Jeep follow car.
Yolyn Am Valley is located just west of Dalanzadgad and can be identified by the extremely foggy coverage, and having dark coloured soil and hills.
This beautiful river valley, just west of Lake Hatgal in the Khoridol Saridag mountains, is very recognizable from the surrounding rocky cliffs and forests, and the ground that is completely covered in pebbles.
Mongolia has four main areas of nighttime coverage. Those areas are:
The vast majority of coverage in Nepal is walking trekkers. This means that the camera often will look noticeably low, and the coverage is mainly taken on trails inaccessible by car. There are also official tripod trekkers.
All of the Nepalese coverage was taken within the extraordinary Himalayan mountains. You will always see either forested or completely barren mountains in all directions.
Most Nepalese buildings are built with the same type of grey brick, with colourful metal roofs. Nicer houses will often have colourfully painted details around the windows and on the higher floors. It is also common to see decorated, Chinese-style gates.
Nepal has an extreme amount of rock walls, particularly near settlements.
This type of white-painted buddhist stupa, sometimes with painted eyes on the sides, are only found in Nepal.
Coverage in Nepal is limited to the northeast of the country, in the general area southwest of Mount Everest.
Green forests and trees are found in the southern parts of the Nepalese coverage.
Barren mountain trails are found in the northern parts of the coverage.
A lot of the coverage in the vicinity of Namche Bazar can be summarised as being sunny, with the trails going close to the treeline, meaning you will be either near the top of or just above a forest for most of this coverage. You will generally see barren or snowy mountains in some direction.
Namche Bazar is by far the largest and most densely populated settlement with coverage in Nepal. There is also some coverage looking down on the town.
The southernmost coverage in Nepal is situated in the town of Lukla, which can be recognised by the narrow street with relatively large buildings, combined with the extremely dark coverage.
Khumjung village, situated just north of Namche Bazar, can be recognised by the jagged mountain towering above the village. Almost every house in the village has a green roof.
Pangboche is a fairly large settlement with fairly bright coverage. The surrounding landscape mainly consists of forested mountains nearby and some taller mountains in the distance.
Phorste is a fairly scarcely built settlement with a massive recognizable mountain close by. There are a lot of dead-looking trees surrounding the village.
Around the southern tip of the Nepalese coverage, you will get this dark, overcast coverage inside a forested valley.
North of Phakding you will get more overcast coverage in the same forest valley, however here the coverage is far brighter.
The coverage from Monjo up to Namche Bazar is also within the same valley, however here the coverage is mostly sunny and bright.
The valley by Thamu can be recognised by the generally forested mountainsides, combined with the angle of the valley, going northwest to southeast.
Next to the village of Thame you can see this snowy, and shining bright mountain range.
Northeast of Namche Bazar, you can find this semi-green river valley with clouds covering all mountains surrounding it.
On a section north of Phorste, you get a view of the mountain Tobuche, covered in a blanket of clouds.
Further north, the cloud blanket is replaced by small, spotty clouds somewhat resembling smoke coming out of chimneys.
Even further north, the clouds disappear completely, and you get a clear view of the Tobuche peak.
Leaving Tobuche behind, you will find this small, ice-covered lake, right by Gokyo, with jagged mountains as a backdrop.
North of the icy lake, you reach a barren landscape, with a trail going to the north-north-west.
East of Gokyo, you reach this dried out glacial valley, with bright grey rocks as far as you can see.
East of the glacial valley, you get to a somewhat red-coloured, rugged mountainside right next to the trail.
Leaving the red mountainside behind, you enter a somewhat U-shaped valley, going firmly upwards.
Above the U-shaped valley, you get a view of this spiky mountain range. While there are some clouds around the peaks, they are mostly clearly visible.
As you lose sight of the spiky mountains, you cross over a glacier, which is the largest patch of snow covered ground with coverage in the country.
The area east of the glacier can be recognised by the many irregular clouds spread across the sky and covering various mountain peaks.
Further along the trail, you get this stunning view over Tobuche from the eastern side. The mountains get increasingly covered in clouds to the west.
Closing in on the final trek toward Everest, you get a view of this wide, high-altitude river valley.
Slightly east of Namche Bazar, you can find this very overcast trail following the mountainside. There are still some trees around, and the trail is noticeably higher above the valley than other overcast sections with trees.
East of the POI called ‘Deboche’, you get this very overcast forest coverage. The dirt here is very bright and sandy, which can help differentiate it from the southern trail.
You can recognise the trail between Pangboche and Dingboche by the massive mountains, combined with the sun looking somewhat hazy.
North of Dingboche, you reach a high-altitude valley with very low clouds covering the sky and most of the surrounding mountains.
Closing in on Everest, you get this completely barren landscape, with the trail going to the north-north-east.
Reaching the endpoint of the coverage, you finally get a stunning view of the world's tallest mountain, Mount Everest.
Coverage in Pakistan was mainly taken with a Generation 3 trekker camera.
While many languages are spoken in Pakistan, Urdu is considered the National language and most commonly found on signage. It is written in the Urdu alphabet, which is closely related to the Arabic alphabet and may appear almost indistinguishable, however Urdu often uses softer and curvier fonts.
Pakistan uses short licence plates and each region has its unique design. However, as all of the coverage was taken in Punjab, most plates will have the Punjab design, with a green strip on the left side. Fully green plates are also fairly common.
A significant portion of the Pakistani coverage was taken in large, well ordered gardens, often surrounded by stone walls and in combination with old temples or fortresses. This type of garden is typically referred to as a Mughal garden.
Typically brightly coloured, baggy pants are very common in Pakistan.
Coverage in Pakistan is extremely limited, only being found in Punjab around major temples and tourist attractions.
You may find this grey car, with a visible right side, driving around Lahore Fort in the north of Lahore.
Just south of Lahore Fort you can find a trekker walking around some narrow urban streets that are typically very busy.
Lahore Fort is a large fortress in Lahore, with the Alamgiri Gate being one of the most iconic monuments in Pakistan.
Inside Lahore Fort you may find this road completely surrounded by tall red brick walls on both sides.
The Government College University of Lahore can be recognised by its gothic architecture.
The Patiala Block of King Edward Medical University in Lahore is a large white colonial building with large white domes having black lines going around them.
Kinnaird College for Women University is mainly made up of traditional Pakistani red brick buildings, often combined with red brick paths.
The coverage in Jallo, an eastern suburb of Lahore, can be recognised by the semi-urban coverage in a fairly poor-looking neighbourhood, with a very thick haze.
Bahria Grand Hotel, in the southwestern suburbs of Lahore, can be recognised by the minigolf course in front of the hotel. There is also a statue of a cow by the entrance to the hotel grounds.
West of Sahiwal, just northwest of Harappa, you can find a trekker starting in the south at Harappa Museum. This trekker can be recognised by most of the coverage being taken on a very narrow path made of concrete.
Hiran Minar is a small temple, completely surrounded by a small lake with a single bridge connecting it to land, can be found just northwest of the city of Sheikhupura.
The coverage around the shrine of Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah, in western Kasur, can typically be recognised by the mosque with a large green dome, and two smaller green domes on top of the minarets. While the mosque itself isn’t visible from all of the coverage, the minarets can be seen from most spots.
In Pākpattan you can find a busy market street with a roof made of rugs.
Just west of the market street in Pākpattan you can find a very busy-looking urban street.
You can also find this narrow alleyway in Pākpattan, just north of the market street.
Rohtas Fort, west of Jhelum, can typically be recognised by the almost black fortress walls. While the walls aren’t always nearby, they can usually be seen in the distance.
The coverage in Katas, north of Sargodha, can be recognised by the hazy sky combined with the hilliness.
Patriata, northeast of Islamabad can be recognised by the hilly forests, mainly consisting of tall pine trees. Interestingly, parts of the coverage were taken from an aerial lift.
The coverage in Changa Manga Forest Park can be recognised by the path angle being northeastern, and the narrow channel closely following the path, either on the northern or southern side.
Concrete roads are extremely common in the Philippines.
The Philippines drives on the right.
Standard white licence plates with black text are used for passenger vehicles. You can also find many that are privately issued, which are recognizable due to their green tint.
Octagonal metal poles are quite common in the Philippines.
You will often see a single insulator at the top of a vertical bar which is attached to the side of a utility pole.
Middle road lines in the Philippines can be either yellow or white. In particular, you will often see combined yellow and white middle lines, which is not common in any other East Asian country.
These tall, square yellow road stones are unique to the Philippines.
Chevrons are typically red on white.
Sign posts are often painted red, orange or yellow.
Tuk-tuks, also referred to as tricycles, are extremely common in the Philippines, in many areas they are more common than typical cars.
Although Filipino is the official language of the Philippines, English is extremely common to find on signs. It is the only major Southeast Asian country where you’re likely to come across English.
In Generation 3 you can come across a white Street View car with the black roof clearly visible.
It is somewhat common to see grains being spread out on roads to dry.
These black or white boxes are commonly seen on utility poles. Most of the time they feature a three letter abbreviation of the municipality you are in. The abbreviations will either have all three letters stand for the municipality, or the first two letters will abbreviate the municipality while the third letter indicates the province.
The Philippines have several different tuk-tuk and tricycle designs, roughly distributed as shown in this infographic.
Province names are very common to find on signs and can thus be very useful. However, they do not appear on the map, meaning they’re necessary to memorise in order to use them.
Landlines will start with a 0 followed by the area code. Mobile phone numbers start with 09.
Motorcycles in the Philippines have regional colour-coded plates as seen on this map. Notably, the northern half of the country has the coloured strip at the top, while the southern half has it on the bottom of the plate.
The forested mountain range in Northern Luzon is characterised by somewhat dry mountainsides and an abundance of pine trees. You may rarely come across a similar landscape on high-altitude roads in Mindanao.
While corn can be found in most of the country, it is most common on northern Luzon and on Mindanao.
The vast majority of Oil palm plantations are found on Mindanao.
The majority of sugarcane in the Philippines can be found on the islands of Negros and Panay.
Pineapple plantations are mostly found on Mindanao.
Banana plantations are almost exclusively found in central and southern Mindanao.
Moluccan albizia are trees with light coloured trunks and pinnate leaves near the top of the tree. They are mainly found on Mindanao and are especially common in the eastern and central regions of the island.
Houses built with amakan walls, a traditionally woven bamboo mat, with a diamond pattern are almost exclusively found in the southern half of the country.
Houses built with amakan walls (referred to as Sawali in the north) with a diagonally woven pattern are mostly found on the island of Palawan, but can also be found throughout the northern half of the country.
In the Cordillera Administrative Region you can find yellow and black striped concrete guardrails.
White guardrails with three recurring black stripes are unique to the region of Bicol in southern Luzon.
Square concrete poles with an indent on both side, similar to the poles found in Chile, are mainly found north of Manila and in and around the city of Bacolod on the island of Negros.
A poletop made up of two tall vertical metal bars having an L-shaped cross-section which are connected via several thin wires, making it resemble a ladder, is unique to Manila and the surrounding area.
Square metal mesh poles are found on Mindanao, mainly on the Zamboanga peninsula.
While most of the Philippines is strongly christian, a region of western Mindanao is majority muslim.
Decorations made of neon-green Mountain Dew bottles are commonly found in the north, particularly on northern Luzon.
This type of tractor, called a kuliglig, is mostly found on the plains around Cauayan on northern Luzon.
On central Bohol you can find these distinct round grassy hills. The hills generally have dark brown soil beneath the grass, earning them the name of Chocolate Hills.
The Arayat Volcano can be recognised by being completely surrounded by flat agricultural fields.
The Mayon Volcano is one of the tallest mountains in the Philippines and can be recognised by its almost perfect smooth cone shape. Beware that it will very often be covered in clouds.
In and around the city of Marawi, Mindanao you can find many destroyed houses and ruins from the Marawi siege in 2017.
These large decorated white waystones, commemorating the Bataan Death March, can be seen along roads going from Mariveles and Bagac in the south to San Fernando in the north.
The highway going south from Puerto Princesa on Palawan can be characterised by being very wide, often featuring six lanes, while simultaneously having very little traffic.
Lamp posts on Siquijor are typically painted yellow, with black stripes at the bottom.
Images and statues of ancient Roman soldiers can be found on the island of Marinduque.
You may find this black Street View car with a visible roof rack in and around the city of General Santos.
In northwestern Bohol you can find this Street View car with tape on the back.
An orange Street View car with visible side mirrors can be found on Corregidor Island.
This vehicle with several thick black bars can be found just south of the Mayon Volcano.
Regular cars in Qatar have long, white licence plates with a maroon strip on the left. Trucks have square, black licence plates and police plates are blue.
The Google car will usually be blurred, with only the antenna on the left and a sliver of the car visible. Sometimes the entire white pickup truck can be visible. Rusty clips can be seen on the crossbar.
Qatar's landscape is predominantly desert, with arid, and mostly flat expanses of sand as far as the eye can see. You will often not see a lot of trees or other greenery.
Qatar typically uses solid outer white lines with either white or yellow in the middle. More rarely, you can also find outer yellow lines too.
Qatar uses round poles with 3 insulators on the pole top, with the middle one being slightly higher. The crossbar also has 2 diagonal bars connecting it to the pole.
Qatar uses white on red and white on blue chevrons.
Since some coverage was taken before the 2022 World Cup took place, many banners can be seen mentioning the event.
Qatari crossing signs feature a man in a thobe.
Qatar is pretty well covered, with almost every main road and some side roads having coverage. Only the south and west lack coverage at the moment.
Qatar is divided into municipalities, further divided into numbered zones, which can be seen on street signs. This infographic shows which number corresponds to each zone.
This very short antenna is found in northern Qatar.
This fairly long antenna is found in and around Doha.
And this long antenna is mostly found in southwestern Qatar.
Bollards in Qatar are only found on a few roads, and you can easily tell them apart.
Al Bayt Stadium can be recognized by the black and white horizontal stripes on the stadium along with the tent-like roof.
Lusail Stadium, in Lusail, can be recognized by its golden bowl-like shape.
Four towers, resembling a screw thread, can be seen from almost every point in Lusail.
A structure resembling a gahfiya can be seen around the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, in Rawdat Al Jahhaniya district.
The Mall of Qatar in Rawdat Al Jahhaniya can be recognized by the boxy appearance with many ads on the side of the building. Large car parks are also seen next to the mall.
Education City Stadium can be recognized by the large, grey cladding with a diamond pattern.
Education City features distinct black-tiled roads.
Brown street signs, often fixed to the ground, are seen in Education City.
Khalifa International Stadium can be recognized by the dual arches shaped like a wide open mouth.
The Torch Tower can be seen from almost every point in the Baaya District, and can be recognized by its hyperboloid structure, along with it being the tallest building in Qatar.
This cardboard box in the right side of the bed is seen in Lusail. The rusty clips will also be visible.
This black box on the left side of the bed is seen southeast of Ar-Rayyan, around the green area.
The black box on the right side of the bed is seen in Al Khor, and in the green area around The Torch Tower and Khalifa International Stadium.
A tripod was used to capture the interior of the Hamad International Airport. A unique tripod that captured the inside of a plane can also be seen here.
Singapore is a highly developed city-state, characterised by an overall cleanliness and orderliness.
All street name signs in Singapore follow this unique format. They are green, with rounded edges and a distinct white font.
Most Singaporean licence plates are black, with white text. Occasionally, you will be able to see the British style white-and-yellow plates and very rarely red plates.
Directional signs are also green, with white letters and English writing.
Road signs in Singapore are unique in that they are always set on a square white background.
Rain trees are seen all around Singapore, and are often planted along main roads.
Warnings are often written on the road in large letters, such as the famous “HUMP AHEAD”.
Singaporean buses are mostly lime-green, making them easily recognisable. Other designs can also be found, for example the white-and-purple SBS Transit variants.
Moreover, all bus stops are protected by concrete bollards with unique black-and-yellow warning bands.
In addition to the concrete bollards on bus stops, Singapore sometimes has a unique and yellow bus-leaving box with an arrow on the street.
Almost all Singaporean traffic lights follow this design and are supported by a curved sheet of metal containing several holes.
Many streets are named after the neighbourhood they are in, especially in the suburbs.
The Tuas planning area is an industrial area that is characterised by straight roads, industrial complexes, cranes and shipping containers, making it recognisable.
You can easily recognise the island of Sentosa thanks to the green signposts, winding roads and general resort feel. Occasionally you might see a green lane like this as well.
The Generation 3 trekker on Pulau Ubin can be identified by the unusually rural forest coverage and the camouflage-type hat sometimes visible when looking down.
You can recognise St John and Lazarus Islands thanks to the Generation 3 trekker, the smooth asphalt roads and the sea almost always nearby.
The miniscule Kusu Island is easily identifiable because of the red paving stones used for the entire pathway.
South Korea uses a variety of different licence plates.
Almost all road coverage in South Korea is made with a Generation 3 camera.
A considerable amount of the coverage was made during autumn and winter.
The Korean writing system (Hangul) is very unique and recognizable. One of its standout features is the presence of circles in many of its letters. This sets it apart from most other East Asian writing systems.
Utility poles almost always have these pole markings near the bottom, consisting of black and yellow diagonal stripes.
Most poles have a tapered “spike” on top.
South Korea drives on the right.
Roads have yellow middle lines and white outer lines.
You can sometimes see red block markings on the road.
Triangular warning signs have a yellow background.
Street signs will be blue, arrow-shaped and commonly hanging from a metal bar mounted to utility poles.
Direction signs in South Korea have white text on a green background.
Pedestrian crossings are often yellow and white.
South Korean pedestrian crossing signs can be easily recognised from the distinct pentagonal shape combined with the blue background.
Korean buildings have very distinctive house numbers. They are blue and usually are shaped quite literally like a house. The full address of the building is written on them, in both Hangul and Latin script.
You will sometimes see these black and white wedge-shaped bollards. They have a round yellow reflector on the front, and a grey one on the back.
The South Korean landscape is predominantly mountainous. It is very rare to not see at least some hills or mountains in the distance. Even in the flat areas, you can almost always see elevation on the horizon.
Red brick is a very common building material in South Korea.
Many buildings have traditional tiled roofs like these. These often have decorative elements on the corners, and tend to have sides that curve slightly upwards. Blue roofs are quite common.
South Korea has fairly limited and very spotty coverage. Other than large highways, most of the coverage is concentrated in and around major cities.
Area codes in South Korea increase to the south, from 02 in the north, to 064 on Jeju. It is also notable that Seoul has the only two-digit area code in the country.
Generation 2 coverage is almost exclusively found in Seoul and Busan. It can also be found on a couple of highways outside the cities, however almost all of that coverage has been overwritten.
A small camera can be seen mounted above the brake light on the Street View car on coverage northeast of Seoul and around Pohang.
Jeju is a volcanic island with a lot of dark volcanic dirt, where you can also often see volcanoes in the distance.
Jeju also has a lot of rock walls, made of dark volcanic rocks.
The area around Gimje can be recognised by being one of the only completely flat areas of South Korea, combined with the open, yellow-green fields along almost every road in the area.
House numbers in the Hampyeong region can be recognised from the large white section at the top of the sign.
Vehicles in Sri Lanka have long white front plates and short yellow rear plates.
In most Generation 3 coverage, you will be able to see the front of the Google car partially through the blur: it is visible as blue-white-red patches, reminiscent of the French flag. The red patch is usually most visually distinct.
All Generation 4 coverage is low-cam. This means that the camera on the Google car is intentionally set up lower than in most other countries. This can be recognized in two ways:
In Sri Lanka, you will see two scripts: Sinhala and Tamil. You will also sometimes see English, written in Latin script.
Sri Lanka typically uses concrete utility poles. Two pole types are common and distinctive:
These short, wide stone bollards are unique to Sri Lanka. They have a tapered shape, with a black base and a white top.
Sri Lanka commonly uses black and white striped signposts.
Rural roads often have outside lines, but no middle lines. In the absence of other clues, this can sometimes be a way to decide a tough 50-50.
Sri Lanka is a tropical country. It usually has very lush, green vegetation. It is densely populated and many parts are covered in a patchwork of agricultural fields.
Many parts of Sri Lanka have reddish soil.
Palm trees are very common in Sri Lanka, more so than many other Asian countries.
Houses often have orange or red tiled roofs. Due to wear and tear, these tiles often have an almost brown tint to them.
The country is majority Buddhist: 70% of the population practise this religion. Throughout the country, you will often see signs of the religion, including temples, Buddha statues, stupas and the Buddhist flag.
A substantial minority of the population adhere to other religions: Hinduism (13%), Islam (10%) and Christianity (7%). These religions have strong regional distribution patterns; see the region-guessing section for more information.
This style of tuktuk is common in Sri Lanka: it has a bulky shape and a black roof. They are usually coloured green, yellow or red, though other colours appear as well.
Google used a weird, low-quality camera in Sri Lanka. This camera is known as the official Ari (or “Shitcam”). It has a wide circular car blur and often somewhat brownish colours. A good map will not usually include this coverage, but it is good to be aware of its existence, in order to not be caught off-guard by it.
Sri Lankan telephone numbers have 10 digits.
These maps shows the distribution of each of Sri Lanka’s four main religions. This can help with region-guessing when you spot a house of worship or other symbol associated with one of the religions.
The presence of the Tamil script is strongly correlated with the distribution of Hinduism (though not all Tamils are Hindu and vice versa).
This map shows Sri Lanka’s topography. Hills and mountains are strongly concentrated in the central-southern part of the country.
The southwest of Sri Lanka has a more wet climate that is characterised by lush, dense vegetation. Deep green tones dominate the landscape.
Conversely, the rest of the country has a slightly more dry climate. The vegetation is often lower and more open. The landscape usually has a mix of brown and green tones.
Tea plantations are found in the central and southwestern parts of the country. They are most common in the area just west of Nuwara Eliya.
Horton Plains National Park has a very distinct and bait landscape, consisting of hilly plains covered in long grass. In the distance, you can see forests, but most of the park’s roads meander through a wide open landscape.
Taiwan uses Traditional Chinese. It is one of the most complex scripts visible on street view, with intricate characters that consist of many strokes.
Poles almost always feature these black and yellow diagonal-striped markings that run all the way to the bottom.
Taiwan drives on the right side of the road.
Roads in Taiwan generally feature double yellow middle lines with single white outer lines. Thinner roads sometimes use single dashed yellow lines instead.
Roads with outside white road lines and no middle lines at all are common. In the absence of better clues, this type of road line can be a very good way to identify Taiwan.
Red outer lines that indicate no parking are common in Taiwan, especially in cities. This is essentially unique to the country.
Taiwan uses black on yellow chevrons.
These mirrors with orange hoods are frequently featured in intersections and bends.
Taiwan uses these bollards with either two or three circular reflectors on a black rectangle.
Concrete drainage ditches are commonly found on the side of roads.
These distribution transformers that look like boxes are frequently found in Taiwan, especially in urban areas.They are mostly painted in dark green or grey.
Architecture in Taiwan varies in designs, ranging from cramped, multiple-story housing to flat, single-story houses with backyards. Many residential buildings have a very boxy look. A lot of walls are covered in tiles, usually white. Sheds made out of tin are also featured, commonly painted in a light green colour.
In Generation 3 coverage, you can find this black car with a long antenna and a red brake light in the middle, similar to the one you can see in Russia.
You can also find this Generation 3 car with a very large blur that covers the entire car and almost looks like low-cam.
This is a map of the counties of Taiwan. Importantly, Taiwan has a couple of smaller islands and island groups with coverage that are fairly far away from the main island. It is important to be aware of these, as they often catch beginning players off-guard. These include:
Taiwan telephone numbers are 10 digits, with the first two digits indicating the area code. Area codes range from 02 to 08, increasing as you go south.
Taiwan’s National Freeway system is organised so that odd numbers represent north-south roads and even numbers represent east-west. Generally, numbers also increase moving west to east and north to south. The 1 and the 3 are by far the longest, running across the west coast.
These signs indicate Township roads, with the character written before or above the road number indicating the county.
Many poles in Taiwan feature these blue plaques with strings of letters and numbers that act as precise coordinates.
The central western plain of Taiwan mainly consists of flat to low rolling plains. It is common to find crops and other farmland in this area.
The central-eastern region that covers two-thirds of Taiwan consists of forested mountains.
The Hualien-Taitung Valley is a thin and long valley located on the east coast of the island passing from Hualien City at the north to Taitung City at the south. It is very recognizable as it consists of flat gentle plains surrounded by densely-forested mountains to the east and west.
The Yilan Plain is easily identifiable by the mountain ranges that are seen in the north, west, and south. Rice paddies are also extremely common as well as houses built right next to these fields.
The island of Kinmen can be recognized by these trees with fuzzy leaves lining the road and red-tinged soil.
Miaoli and Hsinchu share a landscape of low rolling hills and winding roads as well as sparse farmland with vegetation that can look messy and unkempt.
Similarly, Taichung features these open plains surrounded by low mountains that are often in the distance.
Areca catechu, also known as areca palms or betel nut palms, are extensively found in central and southern Taiwan.
Coconut palms (Cocos nucifera) are primarily found in the southern-half of the island, toward the coast.
Norfolk island pines (Araucaria heterophylla) are extremely common in the county of Penghu, especially in tightly-packed rows next to roads.
These leafless trees are most frequently seen in Penghu.
Cultivated fish farms are mostly found right next to the coast in the western counties.They are generally seen in the southern-half of the island, anywhere from Changhua to Pingtung, but predominantly found in the counties of Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, and Kaohsiung.
Tea plantations are generally seen in mountainous areas all over Taiwan. You can find them commonly in Chiayi, Nantou, Hsinchu, and Miaoli.
These areca palm plantations are mostly found in the county of Pingtung.
Old and disorganised housing units as well as tall dingy-looking apartment blocks are frequently seen in the urban areas of northern Taiwan.
Taoyuan features these red brick and sometimes red tile apartment buildings.
In Yilan, you can find these rich multiple-story villas.They come in all types of designs and are often gated.
White-tinged cream coloured houses are frequently seen in Penghu.
You can find these small, traditional-looking houses in Kinmen.
Similar to the blue plaques found on utility poles, Taiwan also features stickers to ID the locations of lamps. These can be found on both lampposts and utility poles with lamps attached to them.
Pavement with white speckles is commonly found along the east coast.
Kinmen often features lampposts with red and white diagonal stripes.
Similarly, lampposts with red and white diagonal stripes on a trapezoidal base are frequently found in Kaohsiung City.
In Yunlin, you can find poles with a thicker support below the pole top.
These green square stickers are typically seen on every pole in Chiayi City.
These bent sign and chevron holders with two black and yellow-striped stickers are only found in Pingtung, Kaohsiung, and Taitung.
Distribution transformers raised by a dark green holder are mostly found in New Taipei City and Keelung City.
Blue outer lines are almost entirely exclusive to Penghu.
The islands east of Taitung, Green Island and Orchid Island, are distinct due to the more tropical climate, abundance of coconut palms, and lush cliffs. Additionally, it is common to find run-down, concrete pavement.
Lienchiang County, also referred to as the Matsu Islands, is recognizable from the hilly landscape and frequent use of concrete roads. The coverage is overcast and this pavement can also commonly be found.
The Provincial Highway 8 that runs from Taichung to Hualien is very recognizable, specifically in the Hualien part, due to the yellow guardrail that can be found all throughout the western half of the road in the county.
The Provincial Highway 20, specifically the part that runs through Yushan National Park, features tall mountains covered with coniferous trees. The road also utilises these tube-like double guardrails.
The road that leads up to Taipingshan National Forest in Yilan is distinct due to it often being very foggy when covered. Other features of this road include the coniferous trees and a guardrail with red legs.
This open landscape with forests of short trees surrounding a narrow grassy road can be found in Hualien in the flat parts of Guangfu and Fenglin. This area can be distinguished due to it being commonly covered in Generation 2; however, you can find similar landscapes in Generation 3 and 4.
A green train car can be found in east Chiayi around Alishan National Forest.
A blue pickup truck can be seen in a few of the riverside parks in Taipei City.
Thailand uses large, white licence plates on passenger vehicles, and yellow ones on commercial vehicles.
Thailand drives on the left hand side of the road.
The Thai bollard is square shaped with a pointed top, and has black-and-white stripes.
Signposts in Thailand are square and bulky in shape, usually white, and often have the bottom painted black.
Concrete roads are common in Thailand. They often have a large square shaped pattern.
Thai poles are square and have small holes running vertically up the pole.
Thai script is compact and in many fonts has tiny circles within most letters.
Thailand has yellow middle lines. These middle lines are either solid or dashed lines.
Street light poles have red-and-black or black-and-white stripes on the bottom.
Thailand has very distinct long, thin lamp posts that hang over the side of the road.
Directional signs on smaller roads are white, and are composed of two signs: one with an arrow at the bottom, and one with the information at the top. These can have place names. When they do not, you will see them as just the road number with a Garuda. Moreover, highway signs are green, and frequently feature the place names in Latin script below the Thai name.
These two road markers are generally found in Thailand. They will either have a white or a black Garuda on them.
Thailand often has many flags lining the side of its streets. Aside from the national flag, you can often see royal flags, which are usually yellow.
These distinctive green signs can be found all around Thailand, often in small villages.
Thai landline phone numbers have 9 digits. The first digits of phone numbers are the area code. The Bangkok area code is 02, the other area codes have three digits. The area codes are grouped, so even just learning the first digit is useful.
Thailand has two regions that are relatively flat and dry compared to other areas. One north of Bangkok, the other more east.
Tall mountains are most often seen in northwestern Thailand.
Over 90% of the palm oil in Thailand is produced in the south. This means that palm plantations are most often seen in southern Thailand.
Dark red soil is commonly seen near the city of Vientiane in Laos.
Rubber wood plantations are typically seen in Thailand. Most of them are located in the south. You can recognize them by the small, black taps on the bottom of the tree's trunk.
A majority of Thailand’s rice cultivation occurs within the highlighted area.
You will often see these nets on poles in the highlighted areas, especially the darker regions. Not all poles will have them, but a lot of them will. They are especially common in flatter coastal regions. This specifically applies to wire nets, not metal or plastic ones, which can be found elsewhere.
If you see insulators with 7 or 8 ridges, you will most likely be in the state of Chiang Rai or the southern half of the peninsula (Red and Light Red). In the southernmost provinces, you may even see 10 or 11 ridges (Light Red).
This rare Google car with a visible mirror is only found in far southern Thailand.
This rare Google car is only found on the island of Ko Sichang. It is recognizable due to the bar(s) protruding out of the blur.
Turkey uses the same licence plates as most of Europe: they are long and white, with a blue strip on the left.
The Turkish language has a fairly unique look. It uses the following special characters:
Turkish bollards have a simple design: rectangular, plain white, and with a red reflector on the front. They are thin when seen from the side.
The colour of Turkish road lines is somewhat inconsistent. Most roads simply have white road lines. However, it is not uncommon to see yellow road lines. These roads can have fully yellow lines, or a combination of yellow and white lines.
Many roads have pavement with a grainy “salt and pepper” texture.
Divided highways are extremely common, especially compared to other Mediterranean countries.
Turkish chevrons are typically red on white. Beware that there are some other regional variants.
On intersections, you can often find this distinctive black and yellow chevron, with multiple arrows that point upward.
Sometimes, you can see these narrow chevrons that have a red and white colour scheme.
Direction signs use a very distinct font that can often be recognised by the noticeably wide letter spaces.
Snow poles usually feature a colour sequence of black-orange-black-white from top to bottom, with small red reflectors.
Stop signs have the word “DUR” written on them. This is unique to Turkey.
Turkey uses both main types of guardrails:
Metal poles, either in the shape of a ladder or with a mesh pattern, are extremely common in Turkey.
In the Generation 3 coverage, the Google car never has an antenna.
The Generation 4 coverage in Turkey typically features a white Google car. Usually, only a tiny sliver of the back of the car is visible. The car can have a short antenna, or no antenna at all.
A grey pickup truck can be found in some Generation 4 coverage.
The Turkish landscape ranges from arid in the southeast to a Mediterranean landscape in the southwest. In the north you will often find a more forested and lush landscape. The most typical landscape is semi-arid, either rolling or flat, with vast agricultural fields, containing very limited vegetation other than crops.
Tall and somewhat square apartment blocks are very common in Turkey.
Turkey is a muslim country, and as such mosques can be found in most towns. In particular, tall minarets are extremely common and a good clue for the country.
Brick pavement is very common in urban areas, and the bricks will typically have the shape shown in the image.
Turkish area codes follow a fairly easy to learn pattern and can be very useful to get the general region. Most notably, the first digit of area codes are ordered from 2 in the west to 4 in the east.
Turkey has three main types of numbered roads. The largest type are the O-roads, which on kilometre markers feature an O followed by a hyphen and the road number. The second largest type are the D-roads, which omit the “D” on kilometre markers and instead only feature a 3-digit road number, followed by the road section number on the top and the kilometre at the bottom. The section number will generally increase to the southeast.
The third type of roads are provincial roads. While these generally aren’t labelled on the map, they can still be used to regionguess since the kilometre markers feature the provincial code as the first two digits on the sign. These codes generally increase alphabetically from 01 to 76 with some newer regions being unordered. Shown in the image is a road from the Afyon Province (03).
Northern Turkey tends to be significantly lusher and more forested than the rest of the country.
In the northeast you will find uncultivated grasslands in valleys surrounded by round hills. Trees are very limited in the region. In Generation 3 the area has an extremely distinct look, with deep green grass covering the hills. It is significantly more difficult to recognise in Generation 4, where the grass has a more arid look.
Turkish pines (pinus brutia) are mainly found near the Mediterranean coast.
Tea plantations are common in the province of Rize.
Olive trees are mainly found on the Mediterranean coast.
Sunflowers are mainly found in northwestern Turkey.
A majority of all vineyards in Turkey can be found in a region east of Izmir.
Cotton is mainly found in the region surrounding the city of Şanlıurfa.
Lake Van is by far the biggest lake in Turkey and has a semi-arid landscape, being surrounded by dry grassy hills and occasional trees and agricultural fields near the shore.
Dark, volcanic rocks are commonly found between the cities of Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır.
River valleys surrounded by steep, barren and rocky cliff sides can be found between the cities of Erzurum and Artvin and in the southeast near the city of Hakkâri.
Tiled roofs are mostly found in the western two thirds of the country.
Flat roofs are mostly found in the southeast and to a lesser extent along the south coast.
Metal roofs are most common in the east.
Sheet metal roofs shaped like low pyramids are mainly found far east, particularly in the general area surrounding Lake Van.
Many buildings in the Nevşehir Province are built by large, light and unevenly coloured, sandstone bricks.
Yellow on black chevrons are mainly found in and around the Balıkesir Province in the west and in the Kars Province in the far east. Beware that you may very rarely find them elsewhere.
Black on yellow chevrons are mainly found north of Izmir.
Four-lane divided highways with no divider, other than double middle road lines, are almost exclusively found in the eastern half of the country.
Vertical water tanks can be found in most of Turkey, but are notably uncommon along the south and west coast.
Horizontal water tanks placed on top of vertical water tanks are primarily found in a line following the south coast and going up to Elâzığ.
Square water tanks with angled corners are found in the south, approximately from İskenderun to Sanliurfa.
White spherical water tanks can be found in the southeast, mainly south of Batman.
Street signs in the Ankara Province are blue with a small round top. Similar street signs can very rarely be found in Giresun.
Street signs in the Izmir Province are dark blue, noticeably bulge outwards and very commonly have the emblem of Izmir in white at the top of the sign.
If you find yourself surrounded by greenhouses, you are likely to be along the south coast west of Adana.
Around the city of Bodrum you will commonly find this type of whitewashed buildings with flat roofs, often combined with blue details or unpainted stone walls.
Generation 4 snow coverage can be found south of Kayseri and in and around Erzurum. The easiest way to tell them apart is that the area around Kayseri is either mountainous or hilly, while Erzurum is flat, with a mountain range to the south.
Göreme, west of Kayseri, can be recognised by the tall sandstone monoliths with ancient dwellings carved into them.
Mount Ararat, labelled as Ağrı Dağı on Google Maps, is a dormant volcano in far eastern Turkey and the tallest mountain in the country. It is often seen together with Küçük Ağrı, a smaller volcano to the southeast.
Banana plants are found around the city of Alanya.
Road E99 south of Şanlıurfa is a divided highway which can be recognised by the slightly hazy Generation 4 sunrise coverage combined with the flat agricultural landscape and general south-north road angle.
Road D525 south of Söke is a completely straight road going south-south-west to north-north-east with winter Generation 3 coverage. Along the road you will typically find a large amount of reed.
Along the western shore of Lake Beyşehir and Lake Eğirdir you can find this small single lane road with jagged, exposed rock and Turkish pines to the west. These two can be differentiated by the road west of Lake Eğirdir having a middle road line.
These light blue and grey touristic signs which are either arrow shaped or rectangular with a half circle on the top can be found on the island of Bozcaada.
Red street signs with a coloured bottom strip are found in several cities. In the bottom right corner, you can find a white arrow and some numbers. If this arrow is pointing in both directions and has a single arrowhead, rather than double, then you are almost certainly in Istanbul.
Street signs in Trabzon and Yalvaç are red and oval-shaped. House numbers also feature the same design.
Street signs in Bursa are green, and generally have slightly extruded letters, meaning the signs are not completely flat.
Street signs in Bolu are also green, but are completely flat and lack any kind of border.
The UAE typically features a flat desert landscape.
Outer roadlines are yellow, middle lines either white or yellow.
In almost all Generation 3 coverage, a white car with visible black roof racks was used.
In Generation 4 coverage, a white pickup truck with a trekker camera was used. In a lot of the coverage, the truck is completely blurred out.
You can also find regular Generation 4 coverage taken with a black car. The brake light is commonly visible.
The official language in the UAE is Arabic. Its script can be identified by its lines and dots.
Houses in residential areas are typically made of light-coloured stone. Reddish stones are often used for sidewalks.
Many signposts in the UAE have black-and-white stripes.
Similarly, almost all curbs are striped. They can be either black-and-white, or black-and-yellow.
Divided roads and roundabouts are both very commonly seen in the UAE.
Electricity poles in the UAE are mostly made of dark brown wood. The pole tops consist of three insulators, symmetrically attached to a horizontal metal bar.
Although the UAE is a wealthy country, it is not uncommon for residential roads to be unpaved.
Rifts can occasionally be found in the UAE.
Coverage in the UAE is mostly limited to the Northeastern part of the country.
The skyline of Dubai is dominated by numerous skyscrapers, including the iconic Burj Khalifa.
Mountains are only found in the far east of the country.
You can easily recognise the Northern part of the emirate of Ras al Khaimah thanks to the light-coloured mountains visible to the east.
If you see mountains to the west, and flatness to the east, you are likely near the Gulf of Oman, in the extreme East of the country.
This rare white Google car with visible side mirrors and sparse vegetation is found on Sir Baniyas Island.
In some parts of Dubai, including the old town, a Generation 4 sidewalk trekker was used. Sometimes, the employee’s black hair is visible.
These blue street name signs, with a narrow metal border, are specific to Dubai.
The city of Al Ain has several trekkers, far away from the area with car coverage: two forts (Qasr Al Muwaiji and Al Jahili) and a zoo.
This racetrack coverage is found slightly east of Abu Dhabi.
Remote trekkers, with sand dunes all around, can be found in the far south of the country, between the towns of Taraq and Alyhyali.
Albanian licence plates either have blue strips on both sides or a single red strip on the left side.
‘Rifts’ can commonly be seen in Albanian coverage, due to poor stitching.
Albanian bollards have a black top with a red and grey reflector. The bottom is painted white.
These pole tops, with an upside down triangle shape, are a good clue for Albania.
Other, more simple Albanian pole tops will often have horizontal bars.
Albanian chevrons are white on black.
The backs of road signs are often painted black.
The “S” on Albanian stop signs feature a distinct shape; the ends of the S are quite short and have the same angle as the middle, rather than being vertical. This is also sometimes seen on directional signs.
The numbers on speed signs are written in a bold font.
These flat and wide guardrail endings that bend away from the road can often be found in Albania.
Albanian is not very closely related to any other European languages, and therefore has a fairly distinct look.
The Albanian word for street is rruga.
Albania is generally a mountainous country, with a Mediterranean climate and vegetation. In between the hills and mountains, you can sometimes find more flat, agricultural valleys. The mountains are usually quite green, sometimes with patches of exposed rock visible.
Albania has a lot of exposed red soil next to roads.
You will see a lot of cylinder-shaped water tanks on the roofs of buildings.
Albania has a lot of Italian-style buildings: pastel colours, orange tiled roofs, and blocky shapes with lots of balconies.
Mercedes is the most popular car brand in Albania, by quite a margin. The specific style of sedan pictured here is particularly common.
Coverage in Albania is limited. Generally only the larger towns have extensive side-road coverage.
There are two types of car and camera meta in Albania:
Albania is generally a very mountainous country. This map shows the elevation and relief.
The road leading into Theth National Park can typically be recognised by the tall, jagged mountains, often with bare mountainsides.
The road by the eastern part of the Montenegrin border goes in a valley with tall, fully exposed cliff sides along the road.
Maja e Papingut is a massive mountain in the south of Albania, with an almost completely vertical cliffside near the top. It can be seen from several nearby roads.
A wide, almost dried out river valley going southeast to northwest, can be seen along the SH71 between Pishaj and Kokel.
The large Bay of Vlorë can be seen on many parts of the SH4 between Vlorë and Orikum. It can be recognized by the large Karaburun peninsula jutting out into the ocean from the south, and the small Sazan island just to its north.
A couple of small roads northwest of Vlorë can be recognised by the very coastal-looking Aleppo pine forest.
On the SH4 between Levan and Tepelenë and right by the Greek border, you may see double outer road lines with a wide gap between them.
On this section of the E86 near the Greek border, you will sometimes see these unique bollards. They have a round shape and a simple red reflector. They look superficially similar to the flatter Turkish bollard.
There are three sections of road in Albania with yellow centre lines. The first is on the E86 near lake Ohrid with the lake in the east, making it easily recognisable.
The second is the SH97 which goes through a fairly hilly landscape. It also goes through some smaller valleys.
The final road with a yellow centre line is the SH1 north of Tirana. It goes through a wide valley with fairly tall mountains on either side.
Albania only has a few divided highways covered on Street View. All of these and how to differentiate them will be covered in the tips below.
The sections of the SH2 between Durrës and Tirana and of the SH4 between Lushnjë and Rrogozhinë are both divided by simple concrete blocks.
In Tirana, Durrës and on the A3 and SH3 south of Tirana you can find highways which are divided by concrete blocks, with grass and greenery in between.
Most of the SH4 between Durrës and Fier is divided by a basic double guardrail. The road does not go through any mountains.
The E851 is the only divided road with a basic double guardrail that goes directly through mountains.
The A2 north of Vlorë can be recognised by the fairly flat surroundings combined with the double guardrail with an extra tall fence dividing the highway.
The city of Lezhë can often be recognised by the old castle at the top of a tall hill.
Gjirokaster is a city situated on the western hillside of a wide valley.
Andorran licence plates have an orange dot on the left side and can be regularly found throughout the country.
Andorra only has Generation 2 and Generation 3 coverage. In all Generation 3 coverage, a medium-short antenna is visible on the Google car.
All the Generation 3 coverage was taken in October, meaning that many deciduous trees have autumn colours.
Andorra has a lot of these stone buildings. They can be seen almost everywhere in the country.
Andorran snow poles are made out of wood and can have a variety of colours on them.
Catalan is the main language in Andorra. It is a Romance language that is closely related to Spanish and French.
The Catalan word for street is “carrer”.
These kilometre markers with CG and CS road numbers are found in Andorra.
Andorra uses yellow reflectors on its guardrails.
The Andorran bollard has an orange reflector and can be occasionally found on the main highways.
Yellow and turquoise-green traffic cones are used in the whole country.
Pedestrian signs have 8 stripes.
Andorra has a lot of Generation 2 snow trekkers, especially on ski resorts.
Andorra la Vella is a capital city surrounded by high mountains, making it recognisable.
In the capital Andorra la Vella you can often see the Caldea tower and the sky wheel.
Pas de la Casa, a touristy city in eastern Andorra, can be easily recognized by the plethora of shops and hotels. As it is located at an altitude of 2080 metres, there are no trees visible on the mountains surrounding it.
Austria has long, white licence plates with the standard blue EU strip on the left.
Austria uses white bollards, with a black top. The colour of the reflector is (dark) red or dark grey.
Austria uses two colour schemes for chevrons:
Round wooden poles are the most common type of pole found in Austria.
Most of Austria is mountainous and covered in forests. However, some areas in the east and northeast are much more flat and agricultural.
Alpine architecture is common in Austria and other countries in the Alps. Houses commonly have distinct light coloured walls, with wooden elements such as balconies or panelling around the top floor, with dark-coloured wooden roofs that extend outward. The roofs can sometimes be angled downward at the front and back. In addition, houses are also often multi-storeyed.
The official language of Austria is German. The German language uses the special letters Ä, Ö, Ü and ß.
You can tell the three German-speaking countries apart by camera meta alone:
Direction signs have a white background, a blue outline, and a unique font.
Similar white signs with a blue outline and unique font can also be seen at the entrance of towns.
Green signs can commonly be seen, giving directions to different local facilities.
Pedestrian signs have a unique design: instead of zebra stripes, they have two horizontal dashed lines.
Road signs in Austria are sometimes mounted by four metal clips,  which is unique within central Europe. However, plenty of Austrian signs are attached in other ways.
Road markers are blue with white numbers. They have one decimal separated by a comma, making them very recognizable.
Austrian bus stop signs contain a yellow and green circle with the letter H.
These one-way traffic signs, with the word ‘EINBAHN’ written on them, are unique to Austria.
“No Stopping” and “No Waiting” signs in Austria will often have the words “Anfang” or “Ende” (meaning “beginning” and “end”) written on, or below, them.
These yellow natural gas poles, which resemble snow poles, are unique to Austria.
Elevation is very important when region-guessing Austria based on landscape alone.
A map of Austrian A-roads can be seen here, following the general trend of increasing in number from east to west.
Austrian B-roads, indicated by white text inside of a blue rectangle, also follow the general trend of increasing in number from east to west.
Each Austrian state has its own unique flag, shown in the image.
Each Austrian state has its own unique bus company, the logo of which can be seen on the side of buses.
Vineyards are limited to the far eastern part of the country.
The highest parts of the Alps are found in the west and central parts of the country.
This unique tin foil antenna can be found in western Austria, mostly near the Swiss border.
Vienna street signs are extremely recognizable dark blue plaques with a traditional-looking white serif font. The number at the start will indicate which district you are in (see the map).
Most other major cities in Austria also have their own unique street signs.
Poles in Vienna and Innsbruck feature these red-and-white pieces of tape that look like the Austrian flag. They can be differentiated by the fact that the tapes in Vienna are thinner, and there are typically two on each pole.
Lake Constance (known in German as the Bodensee) is a large lake on the western border of Austria. It can be recognized by its vastness, which is not seen in other lakes within the mountainous part of the country.
Since the Azores is an autonomous region of Portugal, you will often come across various types of Portuguese infrastructure, such as poles, chevrons and bollards.
Most of the Azores visible on Street View consists of open agricultural fields in a rolling landscape, often with taller round hills in the background.
Dry rock walls made of volcanic rocks are very common on the Azores.
Hydrangeas can commonly be seen on the Azores.
Japanese cedars (cryptomeria japonica) are very common on the Azores.
Houses in the Azores are typically one or two stories, with an orange tiled roof. They are painted white or in pastel colours, and dark green shutters on windows are common.
Street signs in the Azores are almost exclusively painted ceramic tiles, with blue letters and, typically, a decorative pattern around the edge.
Signposts on the Azores are often striped.
Black and white cows are very common on the Azores.
The only islands in the Azores with car coverage are Ilha de São Miguel and Ilha Terceira. Ilha do Faial also has a couple of trekkers.
The only island with Generation 4 coverage is Ilha de São Miguel.
Rock walls with a white painted concrete top are somewhat common on Ilha Terceira.
Ilha de São Miguel is the only island in the Azores or Madeira where you can find lakes.
A trekker going along the edge of a crater can be seen on Ilha do Faial.
The only coverage in Belarus, apart from spills, is a single walking trekker in the historic centre of Minsk.
The Minsk trekker features a historic part of the city, with well-maintained classical European architecture. Many buildings have white or pastel coloured walls. Most of the roads you see are pedestrian-only.
The Holy Spirit Cathedral features prominently in the coverage. Its two towers can often be seen from far away.
The pavement which the trekker walks on in Minsk is mostly grey rectangular tiles. On a small part, there are pink-ish tiles in a specific pattern.
Signs will be in Belarusian or Russian. Both languages use the same Cyrillic alphabet.
The Minsk centre street signs are sea-green, and can be seen almost everywhere.
Licence plates in Belgium use red text. You can recognise this distinct colour even through the blur.
Belgium uses white bollards with a yellow rectangular reflector on the front and white on the back. A second type of bollard is dark brown with two red stripes at the top. Occasionally, other bollards can be seen.
Belgium uses A-type guardrails with yellow reflectors.
Most poles in Belgium are concrete, square shaped, and have tiny holes running up them. They often have small metal wrappings around them. The second most common type of pole has oval-shaped holes. You can find many different types of concrete poles in Belgium.
Directional signs in Belgium are most often blue or white.
Road signs often have an additional small blue sign. In other European countries, these small signs are usually just white.
Belgium uses pedestrian crossing signs without any stripes, but with two horizontal dotted lines. The man on the sign has a square head.
Kilometre markers in Belgium are often green, but can have red text as well.
Belgium uses white chevrons, with a red arrow.
A lot of rural roads in Belgium are made out of concrete slabs, almost like you would see in the Philippines or Thailand.
Belgium uses all white road lines. These can be continuous or broken. Roads are often accompanied by bike lanes on both sides.
A lot of houses in Belgium are made of distinctive red bricks.
Houses in the South of the country use a lot of stone, have gray tones and generally look more French.
Signposts in Belgium are often orange. The backs of signs are also sometimes orange. This is unique to Belgium.
Street name signs in Belgium are very diverse, and often unique to a city. Most common colours are white and dark blue. They often have the town or city name written on them.
Town entry signs in Belgium are white with a black border. They also mention the name of the city or municipality in bold, black text.
Priority signs in Belgium have an orange diamond and are much smaller than in other countries.
Bus stops are always marked by yellow signposts. Bus shelters often have yellow roofs.
Traffic lights are most often supported by black and yellow striped poles.
Belgium uses these red water hydrants signs with the letter H on top.
Almost all roads (big or small) in Belgium use gutters on both sides. This is much less common in neighbouring countries.
Belgian bicycle paths have short dashed outer lines.
After Germany, Belgium is the next country in which you can find the most blurred houses.
Coverage with a red car and a long antenna can rarely be seen in Belgium.
Belgium is generally flat in the northwest of the country, especially near the coast. The further south east you go, the hillier.
Belgium has 3 official languages.
Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is bilingual. You will see both French and Dutch on signs.
Bus stop signs in Flanders (and Brussels) have a white rectangle at the top. In Wallonia they will have a yellow top.
In Flanders (and Brussels), 95% of warning signs have a thick red outline, without a white border. Contrarily, you will most often find warning signs with a small white outline in Wallonia.
Phone codes in Belgium are very useful to determine the region you are in. They are 9 digits long. The 1 or 2 number(s) after the leading 0 indicate the area code.
As mentioned before, municipality names are often mentioned on street signs, usually in smaller font than the street name. The map shows a selection of recognizable street signs in the bigger cities.
The Ardennes, located in the southeast part of Belgium, have a very distinct landscape. You can see a lot of steep hills, dense forests, and valleys.
The coastal plain is extremely flat and consists of so-called polders, which are man-made fields at or below sea level, surrounded by many waterways. This landscape is situated near the North Sea coast, as well as near the western part of the border with the Netherlands, particularly around Antwerp.
Many parts of the Belgian North Sea coast are lined by apartment blocks, in a manner that is often derisively referred to as a “wall” of buildings by locals.
Baarle-Hertog, located north-east of Antwerp, is composed of several exclaves and enclaves of Belgium and the Netherlands. You can often see the country's borders in this city (indicated by small white crosses). Street name signs tell you whether you are in Belgium or The Netherlands.
Bulgarian licence plates have the typical European design, with the blue strip on the left.
Bulgaria mainly uses the Cyrillic alphabet. However, a lot of signs will also have the Latin alphabet.
The Bulgarian word for street is улица (ulitsa), sometimes abbreviated ул. (ul.).
There are three types of Generation 4 cars that were used to cover Bulgaria:
The majority of Generation 3 coverage in Bulgaria was taken during  March and April, resulting in very distinct dead-looking “winter” coverage.
You can commonly see a small piece of grey tape at the top of the car antenna in Generation 3 coverage. The community sometimes refers to it as “flag antenna”.
Most utility poles in Bulgaria are cylindrical and made of concrete.
Most poles have small, alternating hook-shaped insulators.
This style of pole top, with 3 large, alternating insulators that are shaped like upward facing hooks, is a good clue for Bulgaria. This pole top is probably unique to the country.
Bulgarian chevrons are typically red on white.
Bulgarian directional signs are blue, arrow-shaped, and use both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabet. Importantly, even if you are far away and cannot decipher the script, you can still see that the sign has two lines of text instead of one.
Town entry signs have a simple white design and also use both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabet. Like with the directional signs, the two lines of text are obvious, even when seen from far away.
Bulgarian pedestrian signs have four stripes, and the person is wearing a hat.
Bollards are generally fairly rare in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria usually has thin roadlines. This is particularly useful to tell Bulgaria apart from Romania, where roadlines are usually much thicker.
Bulgaria generally has fairly poor-quality roads, with many small cracks and occasionally potholes.
Most houses in Bulgaria have orange tiled roofs, with distinct patches of mortar along the corner tiles.
Suburbs in Bulgaria are generally among the poorest areas in Europe, with small, densely built houses and generally an almost ghetto-like look.
Metallic trash bins with this shape are very common in Bulgaria.
The Balkan mountains cut across Bulgaria and divide the country in two distinct halves. North of them, you will find a mostly flat area that goes all the way to the border with Romania.
Area codes in Bulgaria are one of the best clues to regionguess urban rounds. Conveniently, they are ordered by first digit, so just learning the first digit can yield high results with little effort.
The towering mountains of Pirin and Rila National Parks can be recognised by the tall pyramid-shaped peaks, and can be seen from a few different vantage points in Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil and Sofia Provinces.
Wind turbines are most common in Dobrich Province, and usually towards the coast.
Buildings with features similar to Alpine architecture, such as white walls with brown wooden details are commonly found in and around the Smoljan region in the south.
Locations with an invisible Generation 4 Street View car can be found along the North and West borders of Bulgaria, as well as the northern half of the coast.
A red Generation 4 Street View car is mostly found in central and southeastern Bulgaria.
Generation 3 coverage with a piece of tape on a short antenna can be commonly found in the eastern part of Bulgaria.
Generation 3 locations with a taped long antenna and visible white car can be found in Stara Zagora, and rarely a few small roads in Plovdiv and Burgas.
This antenna with unpeeled tape at the top, resulting in a bulkier antenna tip, can be found in the Varna Province. Coverage with this antenna is exclusively in March, resulting in a dead winter look.
The mountains overlooking Vratsa from the southwest have a very distinct “bumpy” shape, and can be seen from afar in the province.
The old town of Nessebar, and to a lesser extent Sozopol, can be recognised by the well-preserved old buildings made of a combination of unpainted stone, white stone walls and brown wood. Most of the streets are paved with cobblestone.
White street signs with two red strips; one covering the bottom and one covering part of the top, can be found in Sofia.
Brown street signs with bright yellow text can be found in Stara Zagora.
Croatia has long, white licence plates. Some plates have a blue strip on the left, some are fully white. Most cars seen in Generation 3 will not feature a blue strip on their licence plates. In addition, there is a mix of cars with or without blue strips in Generation 4, with blue strips more common on newer cars.
Croatian bollards are white with a black rectangle and red or white reflector. From the top, it is shaped like a triangle.
Croatian is a Slavic language. It is always written in the Latin alphabet. ‘IJE’ is common in Croatian whereas Serbian uses only ‘E’ instead.
Croatia features chevrons with a red arrow on a yellow or white background.
Croatia has square (B-type) guardrails.
Generation 3 coverage often has a non-standard car blur where the side mirrors of the car are partially visible. This is not unique to Croatia, but by far most common there.
Another quirk of Generation 3 coverage is that the majority of it was made in autumn. This means that the vegetation in this coverage will often have distinct yellowish or orange fall colours.
Stickers with the letters HR can be found on Croatian cars. HR stands for Hrvatska, the Croatian name for Croatia.
Croatia has direction signs with a yellow background and a black outline. They often have a pencil-shaped tip.
Croatian utility poles are cylindrical and made of concrete or wood, often with alternating hooks on the wooden poles (somewhat similar to Latvian poles).
Buildings in Croatia sometimes feature exposed red brick walls. This architecture is more common in inland areas.
Croatia features blue fire hydrants with two diagonal protrusions on either side. Newer fire hydrants seen in Generation 4 have a smaller top but are still recognisable due to the blue paint.
Croatia’s pedestrian sign features a pedestrian with a belt and a zebra path with 5 stripes.
Karlovačko and Ožujsko are common Croatian beer companies, with advertisements seen around the country.
Croatia does not have Generation 2 car coverage. However, in some historic downtown areas, a Generation 2 trekker camera was used.
Croatian landlines typically start with a zero followed by the area code.
The north-eastern region of Croatia is mostly flat and features a lot of agriculture. It is similar in terms of landscape to Hungary and north-western Serbia.
The region north and west of Zagreb is hilly and agricultural.
The Adriatic coast features rocky mountains similar to those seen in Montenegro or Albania. Shrubs are more common instead of trees along the coast, especially in the south. This coastal region has a lot of islands and peninsulas.
Houses and walls made of beige brick are common on the Adriatic coast. They often feature green shutters.
The north-western region of Istria, south of the Italian city of Trieste, sometimes has distinct red soil.
Bilingual street name signs with Croatian and Italian are typically found in Istria, especially in the western cities.
Town names ending with “-ec” are common to see in the northern parts of central Croatia.
Croatia’s capital Zagreb has a distinct big city feel. Apartment blocks can be seen throughout the city. The northern part of the city is hilly. Furthermore, Zagreb has blue electric trams.
Zagreb and Osijek are the only two cities in Croatia with trams.
The region northeast of Zadar is recognizable as it is flat with a mountain ridge visible in the distance north.
There are a lot of vineyards around the town of Ilok, near the Serbian border, west of Novi Sad. You can find vineyards in other parts of Croatia as well, but they are most common in this area. If you see lots of vineyards in a northeastern Croatian landscape, you are more often than not near Ilok.
Traffic lights in Rijeka are held up by long blue poles that extend out over the road. These are exclusive to the city.
The town of Petrinja was severely damaged by an earthquake in 2020. As a result, many buildings can be seen ruined and undergoing repair.
The city of Dubrovnik in the far south of coastal Croatia is famous for its beautifully preserved medieval city walls, which can be seen from many points in and around the Old Town.
These tall cypress trees are commonly found near the southern tip of Croatia.
Bollards in Czechia have orange double reflectors on the front and a single white reflector on the back. There are also rarer blue and red variants.
Czechia and Slovakia both use a special kind of type B guardrail, which is wider than the normal type. No other European countries use the same kind.
Czechia and Slovakia most commonly use wide, round concrete poles, which are quite often attached in pairs.
Two support bars holding up the metal bar on pole tops, resembling an upside down triangle, can sometimes be found in Czechia and Slovakia.
You may also see concrete poles with trident poletops, with two arms angled upwards. The number of insulators and other details will vary, however the general shape will be the same. Out of the pole tops listed, these are the least common, but unique to the two countries.
Lamp posts with a thick base mounted by opposing pairs of bolts are common in both countries. The exact shape of the base may vary.
It is common in both Czechia and Slovakia to see temporary square sign posts coated in red and white stripes.
Stripy gas and water poles reminiscent of snow poles can often be found next to the road.
Hiking markers, made up of one colourful strip between two white ones, are commonly found in Czechia and Slovakia. They sometimes form an arrow.NOTE: While by far being the most common in Czechia and Slovakia, similar signs can be found in other European countries such as Poland, Hungary and Germany.
Like all of the former Eastern bloc, prefabricated panel apartment buildings are a common sight in urban areas. What distinguishes Czechia and Slovakia is the relatively good maintenance often combined with vibrant colours and patterns. Some smaller buildings also adhere to this style.NOTE: To a lesser extent, you can find this kind of architecture in neighbouring countries, like Poland and Hungary.
Roofs with diamond shaped tiles are common in both Czechia and Slovakia.
A car antenna with a grey piece of tape stuck to the top can be seen on much of the Generation 3 coverage in Czechia and Slovakia.
These black signs can often be found by the end of bridges in Generation 4 coverage. The road number is displayed on the left.
Czech and Slovak are mutually intelligible Slavic languages with several similarities such as acute accents above vowels (á, é, í, ó, ú, ý). However, they both have some distinct letters:
The Czech landscape is fairly rolling, with a lot of hills and altitude changes, but not a lot of tall mountains. Generally speaking, Slovakia has more mountains, but also more completely flat areas.
Czechia often has solid outer roadlines, with no centre line.
Czechia uses arrow-shaped directional signs with a filled in tip. Due to the shape, they are recognizable from behind.
The borders of Czech road signs are almost always separated from the edge by a strip in the same colour as the sign background.
Czech highway signs can be either blue or green, and have a thin white border, which is separated from the edge by a second coloured border.
The most common type of street sign in Czechia are bright red signs, which can either be wide and stuck on walls, or thin and attached to signs posts. Note that other street signs do occur in some areas, most notably in Brno. Similarly designed blue signs are also fairly common.
House numbers in Czechia are generally written on blue or red signs with thin white borders.
Czech sign posts typically have thick, black caps.
Czech pedestrian signs have five stripes.
Czech road signs have a fairly thin font.
Czech kilometre markers have a yellow outline outside the black frame and do not have a black horizontal middle line.
Bicycle signs in Czechia are yellow. You may also find markings similar to hiking markers, but with yellow stripes instead of white.
Suburban houses in Czechia are commonly connected in pairs.
Much of Czech Generation 3 coverage was taken during winter, resulting in very grey, and occasionally snowy, coverage.
Czech railway crossing signs do not have a background.
While rare, it is possible to find Generation 2 in Czechia.
The first digit of road numbers can be anything between 1-6. Though, roads starting with 6 are scattered across most of the country. There are three exceptions, being roads 7, 8 and 9, which all start in Prague and go to the north and northwest.
Four-digit bike paths follow a geographical pattern, increasing clockwise, starting in Southern Bohemia. They do not show up on Google Maps, and as such remembering the general pattern is necessary to make them useful. Single- and two-digit bike paths are shown on this map, however they are far less useful to know.NOTE: Paths starting with A are unique to Prague, regardless how big the number. Some paths spill into neighbouring regions.
Czech phone numbers are typically made up of 9 digits, of which the first 1-3 digits are the area code. Note that if the first digit is 6 or higher, it does not indicate a specific area. They’re not very common.
Around 95% of all wine produced in Czechia comes from the Moravian wine region.
Much of the northern Bohemian landscape can be characterised by a rolling landscape combined with steep solitary hills.
Timber framed houses in Czechia are mostly found along the northern parts of the German border.
Houses with thick, dark wooden poles supporting the upper floors are common in the northernmost parts of the country.
Dark wooden houses, with white stripes shining through the wood, are common in most of northern Czechia.
Town houses in Moravia typically have two distinctive features:
A variant of baroque architecture called Selské Baroko (folk baroque) can be found in the region surrounding České Budějovice. The style is characterised by highly decorated walls, with the setting being small villages rather than towns and cities.
It is more common to see houses with single pane windows in the northwestern parts of the country.
While possible to find in most of the country, blue street signs are more common in the east of the country, with Ostrava being the only major city to mainly use them.
If you see a white street sign with blue text and a red border, the same as is typical for Slovakia, then you should be near the Slovak border.
White street signs with red text are most commonly found in the eastern parts of the country. They can also be found in the southernmost parts.
White street signs with blue text are most common in the eastern parts of the country, but can also be seen in the central northern parts.
White street signs with black text are most commonly found in the southeastern parts of the country. Note that these can look very similar to the ones with blue text.
Streets in downtown Prague are commonly paved with grey and white marble stones, which is also typical for Portugal. They’re often arranged in intricate square mosaics, but some sections are far more plain.  NOTE: Similar pavement can be found in much lower volume in other towns too. Consider the apparent size of the city before guessing Prague.
Cube shaped, functionalist red brick houses are found in Zlín, as a remainder of the shoemaking company Baťa’s houses for their workers. In the city centre, high rise buildings are constructed in similar style.NOTE: So-called Bata-villes were also constructed outside of Czechia, most notably in Slovakia and France.
Pairs of black and white house numbers are found in Brno.
Pilsen house numbers typically consist of two red and white octagonal plates with inverse colour schemes.
House numbers in České Budějovice have one red and one white plate with underlined numbers.
Red house numbers with a dividing line and a Roman numeral are unique to Liberec.
Písek uses yellow house numbers with a black outline.
Polish bilingual street signs are found in Český Těšín, and very rarely in other nearby towns.
The street signs in Šumperk can be recognized by being blue, with text filling out almost the entire sign.
Standard plates are long and white, with a blue strip on the left. Commercial plates are yellow. And so-called “Parrot” plates have a yellow section on the left hand side. These are unique to Denmark.
Denmark is a generally flat country with wide, open fields between towns. Suburban areas are usually open, with space between buildings. Urban cores are more dense and built up.
Denmark has all-white road lines. Double middle lines are very common.
Outer road lines often consist of small white squares. These unique-looking lines are a good way to identify Denmark.
Denmark has very unique-looking direction signs that are very useful to recognize the country. They are low to the ground and framed by pipes. They are either coloured red and white or blue and white, with a directional arrow incorporated into the background. Signs often feature road numbers.
Most Danish street names end in “vej.” This is the Danish word for “street.” Street signs most commonly have a blue background with white text.
Denmark has a very recognizable white bollard with a yellow reflector and a dark orange stripe. This bollard is unique to the country. You may also find this green variant.
Danish is a North Germanic language that is closely related to Swedish and Norwegian. The Danish alphabet contains these special letters: Æ, Ø, and Å.
Much of the architecture in Denmark consists of red brick. Roofs often have orange, dark brown or black tiles.
Some houses in Denmark have thatched roofs, especially in rural areas.
Some older or rural buildings have timber frame walls.
This signpost, where the pipe frame is bent around the sign, is unique to Denmark.
Denmark has square (normal B-type) guardrails, with no reflectors.
This Danish pedestrian sign has 5 stripes. Uniquely, the first and fifth stripe touch the edge of the white triangle.
This unique sign is found when entering a town. When leaving, there will be a red slash through the sign.
Bus stop signs in Denmark are black and yellow. A small sign is attached to the top of the pole, with the bus schedule underneath. Additionally, you may see this older blue and white version.
This red-and-white chevron is found in Denmark. They are often low to the ground.
Standard street level utility poles are rare in Denmark. Most of the electricity infrastructure you will find in the countryside are large, towering overhead power lines, often near highways.
You may sometimes see bicycle paths on the side of the road.
The PostNord, or Post Danmark company, is the national provider of postal services in Denmark. It uses these unique postal boxes.
These four gas station brands are common to Denmark, but each are shared between one other country:
You will rarely see these stone bollards, which may be painted red at the top, near bicycle paths.
Denmark has an easy to learn road numbering system. They order their roads from east to west.
Ring roads are special highways near bigger cities, labelled from O1 up to O4. The number increases from the centre, and each fully or partially encircles the city.
There are six regions in Denmark that each use a different bus transportation company. Each bus will have the brand written on the front, and have a unique colour scheme.
In addition, these regions each have their own bus stop sign.
Greenland is the world’s largest island country, and is a part of Denmark.
The Faroe Islands is a group of united islands in the North Atlantic, and are an autonomous territory of Denmark.
The bus stops on the island of Bornholm have this unique green, red and white colour scheme.
These green bicycle signs are found on the island of Bornholm.
These traditional “seaweed roofs” are found on the island of Læsø. They are made from a type of seaweed known as eelgrass.
The island of Anholt only has Generation 2 coverage, with distinct gloomy, overcast weather. A large portion of coverage is recognizable due to the sandy dirt on the roadside.
Estonian licence plates are long and white, with the standard blue European strip on the left.
Estonian bollards have a round, baton-like shape.
Estonia uses a variety of different poles and poletops. Of the three Baltic countries, it has the least consistent utility poles.
You can additionally find a fair amount of square concrete poles, often also with diagonal supports. These are similar to those found in Lithuania.
Trident pole tops are somewhat common: This pole top features one insulator on top, and two to the side.
Most wooden poles have a small metal cap on top, similar to those found in the Nordic countries.
Outer road lines sometimes consist of short dashes.
Estonia uses red chevrons with white arrows.
All Baltic countries use the same blue kilometre marker. However, they can be distinguished from each other by their angle relative to the road.
Each Baltic country has a slightly different border for its warning and speed signs.
Estonia has normal A-type guardrails with no reflectors.
Estonian pedestrian signs have 3 stripes. The shape of the pedestrian has a relatively high level of detail, detailing shoes and an attached head.
Estonian bus stop signs have this design.
These blue and white signpost wrappings are very common in Estonia.
Estonian belongs to the Finnic language family. It is closely related to Finnish.
The Estonian words for street and road are tänav and tee, respectively. These words are unique to Estonian. Tänav is often abbreviated as ‘tn’.
It is fairly common to find oval-shaped blue house numbers in Estonia.
Estonian architecture generally consists of a combination of wood and white brick, typically with somewhat steep corrugated metal roofs. Painted stone walls are also somewhat common. While wooden buildings can be found in all three Baltic countries, they are more common in Estonia.
Directional signs in Estonia are blue with white text and a white outline.
Generation 3 coverage in Estonia often has a slight green tint to part of the panorama, which is referred to as “green blur” by the community.
The Generation 3 coverage in Estonia is more extensive than the other two Baltic countries, meaning that a lot of very rural roads are covered. As a result, if you are considering guessing in one of the Baltic countries, and your location is Generation 3 on a very thin and rural road, you are slightly more likely to be in Estonia.
Estonia is a fairly flat country throughout, with only 10% of the country being higher than 100 metres, and the highest point being 318 metres tall.
Estonia has a large Russian minority. In most of Ida-Viru County, they form a majority. As a result, you will sometimes see bilingual signs with Russian Cyrillic and Estonian in the region in and around Narva.
The old town of Tallinn looks very different from any other urban area in Estonia. It is an almost perfectly preserved historic area, with lots of medieval and renaissance-era buildings. In places, it can look a lot like cities in central Europe.
Kihnu is a small island off the coast that has recognizable coverage:
The landscape of the Faroe islands is characterised by long, wide fjords with jagged green mountains that rise straight out of the water, with rocky ridge lines along the mountainsides. The mountains generally look more imposing and greener than coastal mountains in Iceland, which can often be used to tell them apart.
The Faroe islands have almost no naturally growing trees.
All car coverage on the Faroe Islands has a black Street View car with a plain grey roof rack.
Faroese houses are typically made of wood, often with an above ground basement made of stone which is painted in a different colour than the wooden part. Roofs will usually be either metal or have grass on top (turf).
The Faroese language is most closely related to Icelandic, with the special letters Á, Ð, Í, Ó, Ú, Ý, Æ and Ø. It differs from Icelandic by using the letter Ø, while Icelandic uses É and Þ.
Faroese bollards are small wooden sticks painted red on the top and yellow on the bottom.
Directional signs are yellow with a thin white border, identical to the ones on Iceland.
Coverage with little to no clouds is most common on the island of Suðuroy in the south of the territory.
Hazy coverage with an otherwise clear sky can be found on Suðuroy and occasionally on Sandoy.
Torshavn is by far the biggest town on the islands, and the only place where you will find buildings taller than three floors. The landscape is somewhat open relative to the rest of the country, particularly to the east.
Snowy mountains can be seen in two areas; near Sandavágur and Nordragota.
Klaksvik is the second biggest town in the country by a significant margin and can often be recognized by the narrow fjord with fairly steep hills going roughly north to south.
There are three wind parks visible on the Faroes. The largest one by far is northwest of Torshavn, while the other two are northeast of Torshavn and east of Vestmanna respectively.
The village of Kirkjubøur at the southern tip of the main island can be recognised by the black houses, almost all having grass roofs. The town also has a small church ruin.
A small section of road which is completely covered in fog can be found near the southern tip of Suðuroy.
The trekker on Koltur island can typically be recognized by the narrow and low peninsula on the southeastern tip of the island.
The trekker on Eiðiskollur can be recognized by the extremely low clouds surrounding the peninsula.
The trekker west of Skopun can be recognised by the wide strait to the north with the main islands of the Faroes in the background.
There are two distinct pyramid-shaped mountains to the south of the trekker on Klakkur, with a very thin layer of snow on top.
The trekker by Gjógv features a view of the village to the south with snow covered mountains in the background.
A grey boat featuring several people in reflective clothes and with the text “RIB62” can be seen going to Koltur island.
Finland has shorter than normal white plates with the standard European blue strip on the left.
Where present, outer road lines will always be solid white lines.
Finland has several different types of middle road lines, including:
Finland has long black-and-white bollards with a rectangular, white reflector on the front and two dots on the back. They can be either round or thin and curved. The black strip is typically diagonal.
In Finland, it is common to find orange snow poles with a thin white band near the top.
The Finnish language is not related to most other European languages, so it has a very unique look. It has a lot of long words and double vowels. The Finnish alphabet includes the letters ä and ö.
Most Finnish street names end in “tie” or “katu.” These are the Finnish words for road and street. Street signs most commonly have a white background with black text.
Finnish road signs have a yellow background.
On traffic signs that have a red border, you will find a thin yellow stroke on the edge of the sign.
Finnish pedestrian signs have 5 stripes.
Finnish directional signs consist of a solid blue background, white text, and a white border with guiding arrows.
Finnish chevrons are black with yellow arrows.
Finland primarily uses wooden utility poles. Most of them tend to have a simple design, but they can have a variety of poletops. Poles often have a street light attached to them.
Traffic signposts often have blue and white striped markings.
Most of Finland is covered by dense boreal forests. Pine trees are common, as well as birches, which are easily recognizable by their white trunks.
A lot of Generation 3 coverage was taken in autumn, meaning that trees in this coverage often have distinct fall colours.
Lakes are so common in Finland, that the country is also sometimes known as the Land of a Thousand Lakes. Usually, you do not have to drive long to find a body of water.
Finnish architecture is mostly modern and utilitarian. Downtown areas tend to be very modern, with lots of apartment buildings and use of concrete. Suburbs mostly consist of freestanding single family homes. Many houses have wooden cladding. Like Sweden and Norway, some wooden buildings, especially in the countryside, are painted in a distinctive dark red colour.
Finland has two styles of bus stop signs, a blue and white one, and a yellow and black one.
K-Market and S-Market are two Finnish supermarket chains with recognizable logos. Both chains operate only in Finland.
Google used a weird, low-quality camera in Finland. This camera is known as the official Ari (or “Shitcam”). It has a wide circular car blur, and can be distinguished from Generation 2 by its lack of a sky halo and often somewhat brownish colours. A good map will not usually include this coverage, but it is good to be aware of its existence, in order to not be caught off-guard by it.
Finnish regional roads have 3- or 4-digit road numbers. The first digit of those road numbers is region-specific. These regions are distributed in a rough south-to-north order, starting from 1 in the south to 9 in the north.
Finland has a lot of farmlands, but the majority of them are concentrated near the west and south coast.
Wind turbines are most commonly found along the west coast of Finland, with some exceptions.
Small, stunted trees with spindly, thin trunks are common in northern Finland.
Generation 3 snow coverage is only found in far northwestern Lapland.
The Swedish language is common in some coastal areas in the south and the west. In these areas, bilingual Swedish or Finnish texts are common. If you see Swedish language in a Finnish setting, do not guess inland.
The Sámi languages are spoken in the far north of Finland. In this region, you can sometimes find bilingual signs with place names in both Finnish and Sámi. Unlike Finnish, its alphabet uses the letter c.
This slightly tilted, long antenna can be found in southwestern Finland.
Generation 3 coverage with no antenna at all can be found in south-central Finland.
Åland is a group of islands off the southwestern coast. It is an autonomous, mostly self-governing region of Finland with its own flag. Though it has a special status, for country streaks purposes it is still counted as part of Finland.
Åland is monolingually Swedish. If you see only Swedish, and no Finnish language, but you suspect that you are in Finland, consider the Åland Islands.
Åland roads have two unique aspects that separate them from the rest of Finland: their pavement tends to have a red tint, and they have dashed outside road lines that resemble those found in Sweden.
Licence plates on Åland are white with blue text, making them appear almost completely white on Street View. They are noticeably quite short and lack the European blue strip on the left side.
Some pedestrian signs on Åland have four stripes, with the exact same design found in Sweden. Beware that many pedestrian signs will still be the typical Finnish design.
Bus stops on Åland include a white plate with 4 numbers. Some also include this semicircle sign on top.
Road 970 in the far north, on the border with Norway, is easily recognizable: it runs through a river valley with hills on both sides. The river is visible in many places, usually to the northwest. The birch trees around the road are small and stunted.
Due to its proximity to the Scandinavian Mountains, the area near Kilpisjärvi features a unique hilly landscape, with low vegetation.
Downtown Helsinki has a lot of Generation 4 sidewalk trekker coverage.
Helsinki features these unique green-and-yellow trams.
The buses in and around Helsinki are typically blue-and-white, with a vertical split. Buses elsewhere can have the same colour scheme, so look for one of these logos on the bus.
The buses in and around Tampere are blue on the bottom and white on the top. The word ‘NYSSE’ is written on the sides of the buses.
Buses in Turku are uniquely yellow, with a white rear.
Buses in Jyväskylä are almost completely green.
Buses in Oulu have a pink front.
You can find these unique metallic plates on houses, lamp posts, and signposts in Tampere.
This style of blue street sign with white text is unique to the cities of Seinäjoki and Isokyrö southeast of Vaasa.
Lahti uses these street signs with a black border and all capital letters.
The city of Kerava uses street signs with this blue-and-yellow coat of arms in the top-left corner.
The city of Järvenpää uses street signs with this blue-and-grey coat of arms in the top-left corner. The neighbourhood name is also written above the street name.
Modern French plates are long and white, with blue strips on both sides of the plate. The left strip will be more visible than the right strip.
French is a Romance language that is closely related to languages like Catalan, Spanish and Italian. It uses these diacritics and special letters:
The French word for street is “rue”.
The French bollard is extremely recognizable and appears very often. It is a round white post with a pointed top and a reflector band going all the way around. The band can be grey or red. Some rare variations have a fully red top.
A different round white bollard, with two reflective indented bands, is unique to France.
Less common wedge-shaped bollards with wide rectangular white reflectors on both the front and back are also unique to France.
Concrete poles with step-like indents are common in France. They are referred to as ladder or waffle poles by the community.
Wooden poles and thin octagonal metal poles are very common in rural areas and small towns.
Small blue rectangular markings on utility poles are unique to France. They are often referred to as ‘stickers’ by the community, but are actually small plates.
Diamond shaped pole tops with three wires are commonly called “French poletops” within the community. They are most frequently found on top of ladder poles.
Some variations of the French pole tops have the insulators on top. These variations may resemble an arrowhead and are unique to France.
Small yellow signs displaying the road number, which typically starts with a “D”, are unique to France. They are commonly placed on top of directional signs or town entry signs.
French directional signs are usually white with a black outline slightly offset from the edge. They have an arrow-like shape, with the black border getting thicker at the point.
Town entrance signs in France have a red border with a thin white outline.
French road signs have a red border with a thin white outline. You will often find white rectangular signs with black text below traffic signs.
Many traffic signs in France have flat rectangular signposts.
Traffic signs with particularly short signposts are very common in France.
France uses chevrons with white arrows on a blue background. They can have a wide amount of arrows, ranging from one to five.
Pedestrian crossing signs in France have five stripes and a disconnected head on the person. They have the usual white border of French traffic signs.
Kilometre markers in France most commonly have a yellow or red semicircle on top of a white rectangle. They can be found in the form of a waystone or as a flat sign and can be either parallel or perpendicular to the road. Major highways can have square markers with a red top.
Typical French roads have long spaced out dashes on the outside.
These middle road lines, where each dash consists of two offset blocks, are unique to France. They are not extremely common, but when you see them, you can safely guess France.
Middle lines with dashes that are longer than usual can be a good clue for France.
These arrows on the road signalling the end of a passing zone are only found in a couple of European countries, including France. In France, the middle dashes will be very close together in these areas.
France uses A-type guardrails, usually without reflectors. On rare occasions, you can find thin B-type, the standard guardrail in Czechia and Slovakia.
Roads may be lined by tall rectangles on a stick in the colours of the Austrian flag, which are not found elsewhere.
French architecture largely consists of stone houses, which will normally be either unpainted or painted in greyish or yellow pastel colours. The roofs will typically have a simple gable design, with orange tiles or less commonly black slates. Townhouses will often lay wall to wall along the road.
House numbers in France are most commonly blue, typically written in a serif font with slightly exaggerated shapes. This is most useful when differentiating from Italy, which almost never uses blue house number signs.NOTE: Similar designs can be found in all other neighbouring, as well as many other, countries.
French car brands Peugeot, Renault and Citroën together make up almost half of all cars in France.NOTE: These car brands are also common in linguistically related neighbouring countries.
This guide will mainly operate with two types of administrative divisions: regions, totalling at 13 in European France, and 96 departments, which appear on google maps as the primary administrative divisions. Other rarer divisions you may come across include pre 2016 regions, historical provinces, and regions based on cardinal directions.
French telephone numbers are 10 digits long, with the first two pairs of digits being two separate area codes, following two patterns:
Each department has an assigned number to it, arranged mostly alphabetically. This is most useful in postal codes, consisting of 5 digits, the first two representing the department they’re in.
Most departments have their own unique logo (formally called official flag), often containing stylized initials or the entire name. Notable infrastructure with department logos include bus stops, kilometre markers, trail banners, directional signs and signbacks. Learning what each logo looks like is not recommended for beginners, but it can be helpful to know what they stand for when scanning.
A red and yellow logo with an Occitan cross and vertical stripes is the official flag of the Occitanie region.
A flag made up of red and yellow stripes, based on the Senyera, is the official flag and department logo of Pyrénées-Orientales. You will often find the pattern used in coats of arms on street signs.
Roads with a significant red, purple or burgundy tint are most commonly found in an area between Paris and Dijon, with Normandy being a notable exception. The historical region of Burgundy, which gave the name to the shade of red, roughly corresponds to the highlighted area.
Dark green road signposts and backs are most commonly found in Brittany and around Paris, but also various southern regions in the country.
Signbacks in Eure-et-Loir may include a green sticker, the department’s logo. They’re usually placed on a dark green back, without a matching post.
A greyish green signback supported by a darker green post, is found in three areas: Brittany (Côtes-d'Armor and eastern half of Ille-et-Vilaine), Pyrénées-Atlantiques and rarely near the Alps.
In the Pas-de-Calais department, you may find road signs with the following colour arrangement: a dark green post paired with a signback of a lighter shade of green, ranging from matcha green to greenish turquoise. The department’s logo, a green and blue triangle, is occasionally present on the signback.
Road signs where both the post and back are painted brown are most commonly found in Seine-et-Marne, and rarely in Ille-et-Vilaine. It is more reliable when the post is square, however round signposts are equally common.
Street signs in the metropolitan area of Paris often say the name of the city, which is generally atypical for street signs in France. The signs will often be made in a modern design, and many city names will be river based, notably named after Seine and Marne.
Cuboid barriers made of stones and mortar are commonly found on Corsica. While by no means unique to Corsica, it is good to consider the island when you see them in rounds with a plausible Mediterranean landscape.
This is a topographic map of France. Notably, the tallest mountains are found in the southeast and on the Spanish border. The north and the west coast is generally quite flat or rolling, while the southern half is often hillier.
Rural roads surrounded by hedges blocking the view, reminiscent of the British Isles, are primarily found in the northwest, particularly in Normandy.
Stone pines are commonly found along the southern coast, often planted alongside urban roads. You may however find them as north as Nantes.
Forests made up entirely of Maritime pines (pinus pinaster) are found in the southwest of the country (Gironde and Landes departments). The whole area will be fairly flat, which is not typical of other areas with such pines.
France is the second largest wine producer in the world, with many famed wine regions. The most common include the area around Bordeaux, southern coast and Champagne, East of Paris. Other regions include, but are not limited to, Loire Valley, Alsace and Corsica.
Sunflowers are mostly found in the southwest of the country, particularly around Toulouse.
Wind turbines are considerably more common in the north of the country.
Black shingle roofs are primarily found in the northwest, the rough cutoff being the Loire river. Other areas include near the Belgian border, the south-centre, and the Pyrenees, making black roofs a good clue for Alps-Pyrenees toss-ups.
Brittany has one of the most recognizable and consistent architectures in the country. Common elements include, in addition to black roofs, edge chimneys, black slate walls and stones surrounding doors and windows. The walls will be either very light coloured or made of stone.
Roofs in the south of the country will often be made up of rounded tiles overlapping one another, often varying in colour.
Rows of dark red brick houses, most similar to Flemish architecture in Belgium, are unsurprisingly found near the Belgian border. The individual bricks may be outlined by white mortar.
In and around Toulouse, mainly in old towns, you will commonly find bright orange brick buildings. They differ from brick houses near Belgium by the bricks being brighter, as well as somewhat Mediterranean looking architectural features, such as wooden shutters, being common.
Walls made of uneven cream coloured to orange stones, glued with mortar and often incorporating red brick details can be found in the towns surrounding Paris. Note that the city of Paris itself generally does not have this architecture.
The French Riviera will mirror many characteristics of Monaco. Rich areas with planted palms and light coloured multi story buildings with wide balconies are good indications you’re in this area, with the rest of the southern coast and Corsican Bastia sharing similar vibes.
White houses with, often colourful, timber framing are a staple of Basque architecture that extends beyond the Basque speaking area. The timber frame colour (in this case red) will be consistent with other wooden elements, like window shutters and gates.
Alpine architecture, unmistakable for its light coloured base and extensive wooden elements, is unsurprisingly found in the Alps.
Many elements of Germanic architecture are concentrated in Alsace, such as timber framing and half-hip roof. Furthermore, roofs with fish scale tiles are more common in this region.
France is home to many minority languages, 6 of which will be covered in this guide:
Breton is a Celtic language, visually most similar to Welsh. Common letters include d, k, w and the letter ñ, which is not found in French. It is commonly found on the Breton peninsula, with bilingual street signs as east as Rennes and rarely Nantes. The Breton word for street is straed.
Towns with the Plou- prefix are concentrated in Northwestern Brittany.
Alsatian, a dialect of German, is occasionally found in Alsace, a region that changed countries 4 times in modern history. Most bilingual street signs use some variation of gasse or strasse.
Occitan is a Romance language closely related to Catalan that’s sparsely concentrated in the South of France, most often found on street signs in big cities, and very rarely on town entry signs. It can be divided into dialects, each using a slightly different word for street, all similar to Catalan “carrer”. For example, in Toulouse, you’ll find the Languedocian carrièra and in Avignon carriero, in the Provençal dialect.
Bilingual signs in Basque, a language isolate, are concentrated In the western half of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, bordering the Basque speaking regions in Spain. Common letters include K, X and Z. On directional signs, it’s written with a thinner font, which is unique within all minority languages in France.The word for street is karrika, in contrast to “kalea” in the Spanish Basque country.
On the island of Corsica, you may find bilingual signs in Corsican, a Romance language that utilises many features found in Italian, like words almost always ending in vowels. In particular, the endings u/iu/ju, changed from o/io, are common in Corsican. Moreover, placenames will usually have an Italian origin.
The far southern department Pyrénées-Orientales, also known as Catalunya Nord (Northern Catalonia), uses Catalan on their various signage.
Knowing basic toponymy in France is crucial for regionguessing, particularly suffixes. This map shows one of the most common and useful endings, with rare exceptions. Other, extraordinarily rare suffixes can be found here.
Many French cities contain the name of the river they lay on, usually in the format -sur-[river]. On signage, sur are often shortened to ˢ/, in this case Chalonnes-sur-Loire (Chalonnes upon Loire). The picture shows five of the longest and therefore most common origins of river based names, but cities can bear the name of any river, regardless of length.
Réunion is an overseas department and region of France, east of Madagascar. As such, it is counted as France for country streaks purposes.
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France, south of Newfoundland in Canada. As such, for country streaks purposes, it is counted as France.
Martinique is an overseas department and region and a single territorial collectivity of France, in the eastern Caribbean. For country streaks purposes, it is counted as France.
Mansard roofs, also known as French windows, are a very common feature of Parisian architecture. They’re made up of steep black shingle roofs with inserted dormer windows. While not unique to Paris, it is a good clue in abundance and on wide boulevards.
On the Breton island Belle-Île-en-Mer you can find houses typical for Brittany combined with colourful façades and outlines, superficially similar to houses in Portugal.
Lavender fields can be found in the southeast, appearing as small grey bushes when not fully grown.
Salt farms, which appear as flooded trenches with grass medians, are unique to the west coastal islands of Île de Ré and Île d'Oléron as well as the nearby coast.
Paris, Lyon and Marseille are the three largest cities in France and the only ones divided into municipal arrondissements (Arrᵗ or Arrt. for short). The arrondissements appear on google maps, so finding these street signs can help a lot with pinpointing.
Paris uses an iconic green & Prussian blue design with a top arch that has also been replicated in Bucharest, which is sometimes referred to as Paris of the east.
Lyon’s street signs feature four corner bolts and an uninterrupted inner white border that cuts a notch for the arrondissement and each bolt.
Marseille’s street signs will usually feature the city’s emblem, a variation of the Greek cross. The white border will usually be interrupted at the top, even when the cross is absent.
Small tables with “Arrᵗ” written on a small separate sign, are found in Bordeaux, despite being a city not divided into arrondissements.
Montpellier street signs will typically contain a blue ‘M’ on a white background in the top left corner.
Street signs with a red slanted fleur-de-lis are unique to Lille.
In the outskirts of Bordeaux, you may find square traffic signposts with the Bordeaux shade of red, named after the wine grown in the region.
On the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur in French, literally translated as Blue Coast), you can find regular traffic signposts painted azure blue. Uniquely, Cagnes-sur-mer, west of Nice, will feature lighter, powder blue infrastructure.
Thin B type guardrail, typical for Czechia and Slovakia, is sometimes found on highways in the northern half of the country, often coming from Le Mans, Tours, Paris, Reims and Metz.
On rare occasions, you may find a flag attached to the antenna in the generation 3 coverage. While much of the highlighted areas has been overwritten, learning the distribution of each antenna can yield very high scores.
All car coverage in Germany is made with a Generation 4 camera.
Germany uses these black and white bollards, with white and light-grey reflectors. The reflector will be orange on bollards next to intersections. They sometimes have plates containing the road number, and potentially other useful information. Many bollards also feature blue attachments on the side.
The official language of Germany is German. The German language uses the special letters Ä, Ö, Ü and ß.
Most wooden poles in Germany will feature a rectangular white sticker.
Germany has a wide variety of different poles and pole tops. The most common pole tops being the horizontal bar with uneven hanging insulators, Triangle pole top, and all kinds of T-Shaped pole tops, which can have varying insulator setups.
Germany also has a wide variety of sign backs. Notably, you can commonly find black or dark grey sign backs, which are rather rare in Europe. Most signs will also feature this sticker, with an upside-down red triangle on a black rectangle.
Like Austria, Germany uses a wide variety of regional bus stops, all of which have the big yellow and green H symbol on them.
Mailboxes in Germany are bright yellow, and feature this black logo.
You will find an excessive amount of bollards on most roads in Germany. Around every 50 metres to be exact.
German town entry signs are yellow with black text and have a metallic frame.
Germany uses these blue rectangular kilometre markers with slightly rounded edges and a white border.
German pedestrian signs have five stripes and the person has a belt.
These one-way traffic signs, with the word ‘Einbahnstraße’ written on them, are unique to Germany.
“No Stopping” and “No Waiting” signs in Germany will often have white arrows drawn on them.
Wind turbines are far more common throughout Germany than in any other European country.
Using the surrounding elevation can be crucial to getting good guesses in Germany. Here are some general rules:
Here is a map of German area codes, which you can practise by playing this map.
And here is a map of German postal codes.
Each German state has their own flag design. Many of them are rare to find, though.
Each German state also has their own coat of arms.
These are some of the more useful and common suffixes you can use to regionguess Germany.
While most of Germany uses B-Type guardrails, some regions predominantly use A-Type instead. Learning which regions use them can be useful.
Different regions of Germany use a slightly different cycling sign design.
You can use the sign backs of street signs to regionguess Germany.
You can also use the sign back connectors on street signs to regionguess Germany.
The German Alps is the most mountainous region in Germany, it is mostly concentrated on the Austrian Border.
Baltic Pines or Pinus sylvestris are generally more concentrated in the northeast of Germany. They can be recognized by their orange-tinged trunk.
You can spot trees that are painted white close to the bottom of the trunk in the northeast.
The flat plains southeast of Regensburg can be recognised by the slight ridge often visible to the northeast. The plains themselves are flat, and quite agricultural.
Vineyards are mostly concentrated in the southwest of Germany. However, there are a couple regions further east as well.
You can find hop fields in these regions. They are commonly seen just north of Munich.
These brick houses are generally concentrated in northwestern Germany.
Thatched roofs and rock walls are most common on the North Frisian Islands, as well as mainland Schleswig-Holstein. You can also commonly find them in coastal resort towns in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Houses with black slate walls, resembling fish scales, are commonly found in a large area of central Germany.
These large, utilitarian apartment buildings constructed during the socialist era, that are also known as “Commie blocks” are common in all of former East Germany.
Bollards with darker reflectors than usual are found in these regions.
Some bollards in North Rhine-Westphalia have a green bit at the top. The top can also be another colour.
Some of the green caps will have the text ‘LVR’, along with a small coat of arms. These specific green caps are unique to southern North Rhine-Westphalia.
These round wooden bollards, which have a painted top, are found in Bavaria.
These irregular looking bollards, which do not have a white encasing on the bottom half, are found on K-roads in this region of Lower Saxony. K-Roads in this region will not have any other type of bollard.
These simple orange posts are most commonly found in Bavaria, and also in the other highlighted states.
Many trees in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern have these tiny green markers on them. You can very rarely find them in Lower Saxony.
Bavaria uses these white rectangular road markers, which are divided by black lines into three sections. The left section provides the road you are currently on.
You can find these simple rectangular markers, with rounded edges in Lower Saxony.
These markers with a metallic border around the marker itself are found in Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony.
These triangular posts are commonly found in these regions.
These basic white plates on bollards can be found in these states.
Bollards standing on these black disks are commonly found in all of eastern Germany.
Rhineland-Palatinate is the only state where the plates on the bollards are orange instead of white.
Similarly, Baden-Württemberg is the only state where the plates on the bollards can be grey instead of white.
These white posts with a red cap are found in all of former East Germany, but most commonly in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Fully yellow posts are found in the state of Brandenburg.
Yellow posts with a white plate on them are found in Saxony-Anhalt.
These round concrete poles are almost unique to Former Eastern Germany.
These trident-like pole tops can be found in Bavaria, Saxony-Anhalt, and Baden-Württemberg.
Triangle pole tops similar to the ones in Czechoslovakia are common in Western Germany.
These pole tops where the middle of the horizontal bar is thicker can be found in all of former East Germany.
Pole tops which have a curved horizontal bar can be found in Bavaria, though they are rare.
You can find this rare white and black Generation 4 car in Hamburg and around Frankfurt.
There are two regional Aldi chains, which have split Germany in two; Aldi Sud in the south, and Aldi Nord in the north.
Berlin uses white signs with a grey border, and a separate section for numbers under the street name. Also note how the letter ß looks.
Sorbian, a Slavic language, is spoken near the Polish and Czech border. You can find it on a variety of signs in these regions.
Every city state uses a unique and recognisable bus stop.
Every city state has recognisable rubbish bins all around the city.
Lampposts in Cologne will often feature these bright yellow numbers on a black piece of plastic.
This type of half-timbered house with arches at the ground floor is very common in this region of Saxony.
The shrub and sand covered hills are unique to the island of Sylt. And like the rest of the North Frisian Islands, rock walls, brick houses, and thatched roofs are common.
Lowcam coverage can be found around Singen and near Switzerland.
You can find a Generation 3 black car in this safari park southeast of Bielefeld.
This rare Generation 3 car coverage with an antenna can be found in central Hamburg.
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, bordering Spain. For country streak purposes, the territory is counted as the United Kingdom.
All coverage in Gibraltar is Generation 3. The car will always have a unique long antenna with a silver tip, often referred to simply as the “Gibraltar antenna” by the community.
The territory’s most recognizable feature is the Rock of Gibraltar, a massive limestone mountain that dominates every part of the territory. It can be recognized by its exposed white limestone rocks and distinct shape.
Like the UK, Gibraltar uses yellow back plates on vehicles.
Unlike the UK, Gibraltar drives on the right.
The main language used in Gibraltar is English. This can be especially helpful if you see English on official signs in a Mediterranean setting.
The urban parts of Gibraltar are mostly fairly dense. Buildings look similar to those found in other Mediterranean countries. They have pastel colours and louvered window shutters (horizontal slats of wood set into a frame). These window shutters are usually painted green, blue or brown.
All coverage is from December, so in many parts of town you will see Christmas decorations.
Gibraltar is famous for its monkeys, of the species Barbary macaque. It is the only place in Europe where you can find wild monkeys.
Near the southern tip of the territory, you will be able to see the minarets of the Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque, the southernmost mosque in continental Europe.
Greek licence plates are either all white or have the standard European design, with a blue strip on the left side. Taxis have yellow licence plates.
The Greek language features a unique alphabet not used in any other language. It shares similarities with both the latin and cyrillic alphabet, however the lower case letters generally have softer shapes than the cyrillic letters.
Greek utility poles are primarily wooden, and often have a distinctly dark brown colour. They will often be noticeably taller than in other countries.
These distinctive poletops, which have a metal frame shaped vaguely like a harp, are unique to Greece.
Many poles in Greece will have five vertical insulators. They can either be attached to the pole or the metal frames from the previous tip.
This type of small lamp, attached to the side of poles with a round shade above the light bulb.
In Greece you will commonly see slightly faded, solid white double middle lines. This can be used to distinguish it from most other Mediterranean countries.
Yellow road lines are more common in Greece than any other southern European country.
Greek bollards are wedge-shaped with almost square reflectors, being red on the front and white on the back.
Greek chevrons have white arrows on a black background.
Greek warning signs have a red border and a yellow background.
Greek directional signs are typically blue and arrow shaped. One of the most recognisable features are the place names, which are written in Greek with a yellow font, and in English with a white font.
Greek town entry signs are white with thick horizontal blue stripes at the top and bottom.
Greek kilometre markers are blue, having “km” written on the left with both the latin and greek alphabet.
Pedestrian signs have two dotted horizontal lines, rather than vertical stripes.
These types of miniature churches, put on small pedestals, are often found along Greek roads and are unique to Greece.
Greek architecture shares a lot of features with other Mediterranean countries: a lot of white and pastel-coloured stone houses with orange tiled roofs. White houses are very common when compared to most other Mediterranean countries.
Greece is a very mountainous country, with a large portion of the coverage being taken on winding mountain roads.
Red dirt is very common in Greece.
Greece has a lot of Generation 3 winter and fall coverage, which tends to look somewhat bleak and depressing.
Greece is a country with many small islands, some with coverage and some without. Furthermore, while mainland Greece and Crete have all three camera generations, this will not be true for most islands.
Greek area codes will always begin with a 2, followed by 1-3 digits determining the area.
The largest flat agricultural valleys in Greece are found close to Thessaloniki and Larissa, but smaller flat valleys, where the mountains generally appear closer, can be found in several other areas in the north and centre of the country.
The tallest Greek mountains are found in the western half of the country, and contain most of the country’s high-altitude mountain roads with coverage.
One of the most well-known types of Greek architecture; houses with completely white walls, blue doors and shutters, is mainly found on the small central Cyclade islands.
On many of the central islands you can find a very barren landscape, with small bushes and no trees in sight. This tends to be more common on the smaller islands with coverage.
Olive plantations are found in coastal areas, particularly on Crete and southern Peloponnese.
Citrus plantations are mainly found in coastal areas, particularly on southern Peloponnese.
On Crete, you may find this unique car antenna, with a slight bulge at the tip.
Mount Pangaion can be recognised from its shape, being more of a solitary mountain rather than a wide mountain range, combined with the fact that it is located to the south of a flat agricultural valley.
These extraordinary monolithic mountains are called Meteora, and can be found north of Trikala.
Yellow taxis are found in Athens.
Blue taxis with a white roof are found in Thessaloniki.
In Thessaloniki, you will often see a large amount of unusually tall antennas on top of buildings.
Hungary uses long white standard European licence plates. Taxi licence plates are long yellow.
Hungarian bollards are black-and-white, wedge-shaped, and typically have a red reflector at the front, and a white reflector at the back. Blue reflectors are also somewhat common.
The most common type of utility pole in Hungary is a concrete holey pole, with relatively thin holes going all the way down to the ground. Wooden poles are also somewhat common.
Hungarian chevrons are white on red.
The Hungarian language has a unique look, with a very large number of acute accents, umlauts over o’s, and long words. The letters "Ő" and "Ű", with double acute accents, are unique to the language.
Hungarian street names typically end with the word “utca”. The word “út” is also used for bigger roads. These two words are unique to Hungarian, and translate to “street.”
These green kilometre markers can be seen along most Hungarian roads.
Hungarian sign posts commonly appear to be abnormally tall, often taller than the Street View camera.
Hungarian signs are usually bolted to the sign post using four bolts, going through the sign, in the shape of a tall rectangle.
Hungarian pedestrian crossing signs have five stripes. The person is wearing a belt. There is also a second, less common, type with four stripes and the person holding a bag.
Apart from European highways, there are two types of numbered roads in Hungary; roads marked with green signs, and highways beginning with the letter ‘M’, marked with blue signs. These road numbers are contained within a small shield shape on the sign.
Most directional signs are green, having a white inner border and a green outer border. Directional signs on M-numbered highways are blue, having a white inner border and a blue outer border.
It is somewhat common to see a small, grey flag on the antenna of Generation 3 Google cars in Hungary.
The majority of Generation 3 coverage in Hungary was taken during winter, resulting in very grey, dead looking coverage.
Hungarian houses are typically made of stone, painted in a light colour and almost always with red tiled roofs. Suburban houses are typically only one storeyed, while more central houses may be taller. Houses in town and city centres are often fairly old but well-kept.
While Hungarian road lines are all-white, lines on bicycle lanes are typically yellow.
Hungarian phone numbers consist of either 8 or 10 digits. If the number has 8 digits, the first and second digit is the area code. And if the number has 10 digits, the third and fourth digit is the area code. The only exception is Budapest, where only the first or third digit, being a 1, respectively is the area code.
The first digit of Hungarian numbered roads are ordered in a circle, centred around Budapest. Remembering this system should make it quite easy to find any numbered road.
Many Hungarian town names use local prefixes, the most common of which are shown in this infographic. Note that some rare exceptions exist.
If you see a street sign with a thick metal frame around it, you are very likely to be in the western parts of the country.
If you see a blue or green street sign shaped like an arrow, attached to a utility pole or street light, you are likely to be in the county of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg.
While the southeastern parts of Hungary are extremely flat, with almost no noticeable hills, the northern and western parts mainly consist of forested hills and mountains. The tallest mountains are found in the north, while the southwestern mountains are generally slightly lower.
Lake Balaton is one of the largest lakes on mainland Europe, and the only large lake visible on street view in Hungary. The area surrounding the lake is moderately hilly, fairly built up and a big tourist destination, with a much higher density of small hotels than almost anywhere else in the country.
Unlike most of the Hungarian plains, which is almost entirely cultivated land, the Puszta, centred around Hortobágy National Park, mainly consists of barren and wet, natural grasslands.
This infographic showcases ten of the largest towns and cities with unique street signs, and explains what makes them unique.
The road east of Tornanadaska, right by the border to Slovakia, can be easily recognized by the snow on and along the road, combined with the bollards and the railway right next to the road.
The Generation 4 coverage was captured with red and white pickup trucks with black trunks and shark fin antennas on the roofs. Note that the antenna may appear blurred or duplicated.
The Generation 3 Google car in Iceland is a white car with a long antenna.
Icelandic licence plates are fully white with blue characters. Unlike most of Europe, the plates do not feature a blue strip on the left.
Iceland has unique yellow bollards with a white reflector. These bollards are extremely common and can be found throughout the country on almost every section of rural road.
Iceland often looks barren and treeless. Most regions have a dark grey soil consisting mostly of volcanic rocks.
Iceland is a very geologically active country, where plate tectonics and volcanic processes have shaped the landscape. As a result, many regions are rugged, mountainous and a sight to behold. In addition, strange and bewildering landscapes can be found all over, such as geothermal lakes, lava fields, rift valleys, and towering rock formations.
The road direction signs of Iceland are yellow. They usually have a white inset box that shows the road numbers. If the inset box has a dashed border, the number listed refers to a nearby road, not the road you are currently on.
Icelandic pedestrian signs feature four stripes and often have a slight yellow tint.
The Icelandic language contains a couple of unique letters. These are some of the most recognizable ones: ð þ and æ. Vowels can have the following accents: á é í ó ö ú ý. The uppercase version of ð is Ð.
Iceland’s street signs use a white background and black text. They often have a thin metal rim and are attached to lampposts or traffic lights.
Iceland has all-white road lines. Outside lines, if present, can be either solid or, more rarely, dashed lines.
Icelandic chevrons are black with yellow arrows.
Just like Sweden and Finland, Icelandic signs feature a yellow background.
Iceland is rather sparsely covered. The southwest region has the densest coverage. Only a few interior roads are covered.
Iceland has a very sensible road numbering system that allows for quick 5k’s, provided you find the yellow direction signs that list the road numbers of the intersection you are on.
The Westfjords region features numerous narrow fjords, surrounded by moderately tall, and mostly flat-topped mountains.
The far east of the country is also home to several fjords. What distinguishes them from the Westfjords are the generally larger and more jagged mountains.
The mountains west of Akureyri contain many valleys, sandwiched between tall, often slightly snowcapped peaks. Most of these valleys generally face north to northeast.
Barren landscapes consisting mostly of dark volcanic gravel, with little to no vegetation or signs of life, are typical of the inland regions of Iceland. Most such covered roads are located in the east.
The Southwest agricultural area in Iceland can be identified by its relatively flat farmland landscape scattered with numerous farmsteads, fields, meadows and grasslands.
The wide valley around Eiðar is slightly hilly and agricultural, with tall, snowy peaks visible in the distance on either side, to the east and northwest, respectively.
The valley around Hallormsstaður has a distinct northeast/southwest angle with low-lying mountains on either side, a wide river flowing through it, and an unusual amount of trees for Iceland. Some of the sideroads are in the forests.
You can recognise the area near the town of Selfoss from its distinct flat-ridge mountain. Due to the otherwise flat landscape, this mountain can be seen from a wide area.
Reykjavík is the capital and by far the largest city in Iceland. The city is mostly flat with slight hills, and is located on the south side of a bay. It is most recognizable as it is significantly larger than other Icelandic cities, with a large urban area and “bigger city” feel.
Akureyri is the second-biggest city in Iceland and is located in a North-South oriented valley, along the western edge of the bay. The city features mountains ranges to the east and west, making it recognisable.
Iceland can be split in half depending on the colour of the pickup truck, with red being found in the southwest, and white being found in the northeast.
The southern coast of Iceland features some impressive glaciers visible from the ring road, spilling into the sea from the Vatnajökull ice cap.
There are only a handful of highways in Iceland which are either divided or have more than two lanes. The divided highways are shown in dark red, while the highways with three or more lanes are shown in bright red.
The Island of Heimaey can easily be recognised by seeing these ragged rocky cliffs overlooking the town of Vestmannaeyjabær. Similar cliffs can be seen on the islands off the coast.
Very foggy coverage can be found around the town of Bakkagerði, in northeastern Iceland. The fog can also be seen from a distance.
Ireland has long, white licence plates with the standard European blue strip on the left.
It is very common to see yellow outside dashes on Irish roads.
You will usually find cream white buildings with black roofs in Ireland. Sometimes, the buildings feature grey corner stones. In cities, you will typically find row buildings.
Ireland is the only European country that uses yellow diamond-shaped warning signs.
Irish signage is often bilingual, with English in a regular font, and Irish in italics. Place names, regular words and phrases are all translated.
Irish chevrons are yellow on black. Both single and multiple arrows are common.
The yellow warning stickers on utility poles can be a good way to distinguish between Ireland and the UK.
Irish yield signs feature the word “YIELD”.
These green and white bollards can be a good clue for Ireland. They are not entirely unique to the country, but they are especially helpful in 50-50s with the UK.
Rural metal gates with rounded corners are very common in Ireland.
You will often see a strip of grass in the middle of tiny rural roads. Such roads are called “boreens”. While not unique, these boreens can often be a strong clue in a tough 50-50 between Ireland and the UK.
Ireland and the UK drive on the left side of the road.
Most of Ireland is dominated by a very green, agricultural landscape, with lots of hedgerows next to the roads and dividing the fields.
Both Ireland and the UK use wooden utility poles. Pole steps bolted on the side of the pole are very common. These pole steps are shaped like a series of thin horizontal metal rods.
In and around urban areas, you will sometimes encounter double yellow road lines on the sides of marked roads. These indicate a no parking zone, and are also very common in the UK. They are not really found anywhere else in Europe apart from Malta, but landscape should be sufficient to tell it apart.
Pedestrian crossing signs are somewhat rare in Ireland. They are yellow and diamond-shaped, like other road signs.
Irish regional roads have 3-digit road numbers. The first digit of these road numbers gives you a general region within the country (see the infographic).
Irish phone numbers start with a two digit area code. The area codes are grouped geographically by first digit, and are therefore very learnable.
Ireland’s west coast is defined by a rugged, hilly landscape. Steep hills and low mountains dominate. The neat fields of the east make way for wild grass- and moorlands. The grass often has more brownish and yellow tones to it. Sometimes you will be able to see exposed rocks.
If a very small rural road has Generation 4 coverage and is located in an unusually hilly landscape, you are likely to be in Donegal.
One noteworthy area in the east is the Wicklow Mountains, just south of Dublin. They can look deceptively similar to the western coastal mountains. It can be very hard, if not downright impossible to distinguish these two areas.
An electrical vehicle (EV) with a Generation 4 camera was used to cover most of Eastern Ireland and parts of the Northwest. The back of the EV is visible in all this coverage: it is grey with a black semicircle.
In the north of counties Sligo and Leitrim you can find distinctive tabletop mountains.
The area in and around Burren National Park is characterised by a unique karst landscape consisting of exposed grey limestone rocks.
Cork is relatively unique in that it is significantly more hilly than the other big Irish cities.
Contrary to most European licence plates, Italian plates have blue strips on either side of the plate. Furthermore, the front plate is distinctly shorter than most European plates, which in combination with the two strips, makes it unique.
Italian bollards are triangular in shape, and white with a black top. They have a red front and a white rear reflector.
One of the most common types of Italian road lines are white solid outer lines with no middle line. This is generally less common in other Mediterranean countries.
Italian is the most spoken language in Italy. It uses many double consonants, and typically has a very large number of i’s. You can also find ì, é and à. Most words will end with a vowel.
Italy has a Mediterranean landscape with a lot of agricultural fields on rolling hills, and forested mountain valleys.
Italian architecture mainly consists of pastel coloured stone houses, generally with terracotta roofs. Houses will very commonly have wooden shutters, which will typically be divided in two and open sideways.
Unlike most Mediterranean countries, Italy features a lot of round concrete poles.
Wooden poles in Italy will commonly feature a small white pole sticker.
The most common pole tops in Italy are concrete trident pole tops.
It is very common to find double guardrails in Italy.
Italian guardrails feature red front reflectors.
Italian guardrails commonly end in this distinct shape. The guardrail gets flatter, wider, and it bends away from the road.
It is very common for the back of Italian road signs to be black, or dark grey.
Directional signs are blue with a white arrow. All letters on these signs will be capitalised.
Directional signs in national roads (Strada Statale) are blue with a white and blue border.
Italian kilometre markers are white squares with a roman numeral on top and an arabic numeral on the bottom. The arabic numeral gives you the number of kilometres and the roman numeral gives you the number of hundred metres from the start of the road.
Italian road numbers will normally begin with the letters “SS”, “SR” or “SP”.
Italian chevrons are white arrows on a black background.
Street signs are typically white with a thin blue border and black text.
Italian pedestrian signs have five stripes and a basic person without a belt.
These signs, featuring a “no parking”-sign with the text “passo carrabile” are commonly found in urban areas. At the top of these signs you will typically find the municipality (comune) name.
Italian area codes follow a pattern where the first digit generally increases to the east, then south.
Each Italian region has its own unique flag.
The region of South Tyrol has a German majority, and as such uses German bilingual signs.
French can be seen on signs in the Aosta Valley. Most notably, street signs often use both the Italian word “via” and the French word “rue”.
The Padan Plain (commonly referred to as Po Valley) can typically be recognized by its complete flatness. The plain has some of the worst air quality in Europe, which has led to much of the coverage having a noticeable haze.
The landscape on the southeastern peninsula surrounding Bari has many olive plantations, which are often seen together with bright rock walls. The dirt in the region typically has a noticeably red colour.
The alpine region in northern Italy has tall, wide mountain ranges and deep valleys.
The Sicilian landscape is characterised by an arid, hilly agricultural landscape, often combined with rocky mountains.
Grey rocks sticking up from the ground are commonly found on Sardinia, particularly in the northeast.
Cacti in Italy are most common in the south, particularly in Sicily, southern Sardinia and the south of Apulia.
Citrus plantations are primarily found on eastern Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria.
Rice is mainly produced in the western and central parts of Po valley, and less commonly in Sardinia.
A lot of buildings in and around Tuscany are made of irregular unpainted brown-grey bricks.
Alpine architecture, which typically features large buildings with white stone walls and wooden details, are found in the Alpine region.
Buildings in Aosta Valley are often built with grey uneven bricks, with an Alpine look.
Solid wooden shutters with black metal hinges is a common feature in the northeast of Italy, particularly in Veneto.
Houses in the Apulian region are generally very light coloured, and have flat roofs, typically with two to three floors. The architecture is sometimes reminiscent of the Middle East.
This particular style of roof, called a trullo, is unique to the Itria valley in southeastern Italy. It is particularly common in and around the town of Alberobello.
Close to the Slovenian border you can find Slovene bilingual signs.
The Campione d'Italia exclave in Switzerland can be recognized by its low camera, having a long antenna and a flag. There is also a body of water to the west.
Etna, the tallest volcano in Europe, can be seen rising above the landscape from far away in eastern Sicily.
The volcano of Vesuvius can often be seen to the south or east from the plains around Naples.
Venice can typically be recognized by its many canals running through most of the city.
Plana del Fùcino is a small plain surrounded by mountains in the middle of Italy with a grid of roads going completely north-to-south.
The island of Pantelleria is a volcanic island southwest of Sicily. Dark volcanic rocks can be seen in the many rock walls of the island, as well as on some houses. It is fairly common to see yellow lichen covering the rocks. The island also has a very large amount of cacti.
The Aeolian islands are a volcanic archipelago north of Sicily. Here you will find a mix of volcanic soil and rocks with mediterranean vegetation, like stone pines or olive trees. Like in Sicily, cacti are fairly common.
Within the Aeolian islands, Salina can easily be distinguished from the twin volcanoes forming a valley across the island.
Vulcano is perhaps the most easily recognisable of the Aeolian islands, with its volcano having an almost white stripe of dirt following the top of the mountainside. It can typically be spotted from afar on the island.
The island of Favignana has a distinct topography, with mountains running north to south splitting the island in two.
The island of San Domino only has overcast Generation 2 coverage, which mostly looks quite gloomy.
Isle of Man is a British Crown dependency, situated between the United Kingdom and Ireland. So for country streaks purposes, it is counted as the United Kingdom.
Coverage on the Isle of Man is limited to Generation 2.
Similar to the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man uses white front licence plates with yellow rears, but with a red strip on the left.
The general landscape on the Isle of Man consists of hilly farmland, and narrow roads passing through them.
Houses with whitewashed walls and entrance walls are a common sight, similar to Ireland.
Striped kerbs can sometimes be seen along main roads.
These blue bollards can commonly be found in urban areas.
Gorse plants (or Ulex), which can be recognized by their bright yellow flowers, are very common on the Isle of Man.
Douglas, the capital and largest town on the Isle of Man, can be recognized by the rows of terraced houses, with a higher population density.
The Ronaldsway Airport can be recognized by the large, flat and open field with a boundary fence.
Jersey is a self-governing island territory in the Channel Islands, located off France’s northwestern coast. It is a British Crown Dependency, so for country streaks purposes it is counted as part of the United Kingdom.
The island is shaped by a unique mix of British and Norman influences. The many winding roads and hedgerows are reminiscent of English country lanes, with tree-covered roads being particularly common. However, due to Jersey’s unique geographical position, most coverage features sunny weather.
Jersey licence plates follow the British model, having a long white front and yellow rear plate. In addition, you will notice the island’s red coat of arms on the left, as well as the letter ‘J’ at the beginning of all codes in unblurred plates.
In general, road infrastructure is similar to that found in the United Kingdom. This includes driving on the left, as well as directional signs, chevrons and warning signs. Some of the subtle differences are discussed below.
Due to its proximity to France, the vast majority of street and locality names contain French words. The island’s traditional language, known as Jèrriais, is closely related to French and appears on some signs.
Similarly, the local architecture shares many characteristics with that of northern France. This includes pastel-coloured walls and dark slate roofs. However, British-style terraced houses are also common.
Jersey is home to large reserves of red granite. As a result, it is a popular building material used for the construction of many walls and houses throughout the island.
In contrast to the iconic red booths found on the mainland of the UK, telephone booths in Jersey are uniquely yellow.
Cornish palms (Cordyline australis) can be identified by their distinctive thin trunks and arching leaves. They are commonly used as decorative plants on Jersey.
Jersey uses yellow give-way lines at intersections.NOTE: In contrast, the UK typically uses double dotted white lines for this purpose.
Jersey has an extensive network of cycling routes. Most notably, you will find signs referencing the start or end of a “Green Lane”. Blue route markers, containing a map of the island in the centre, are also common.
Some road signs are asymmetrically attached to their signposts. This appears to be more prevalent on Jersey than on the British mainland.
Most street name signs in Jersey are adorned with the coat of arms of the parish in which they are located.You can click on the graphic to enlarge it.
Contrasting with the island’s typically rural look, the area surrounding the capital city of St Helier is more urbanised, featuring taller buildings, narrower streets and a more lively atmosphere.
The Les Mielles Nature Reserve is a vast, treeless expanse located on Jersey’s western coast. Combined with the gentle westward slope and partially overcast coverage, this makes for a very recognisable area.
Imagery containing a greenish-purple discolouration can be found in the southwest of the island.
The roads surrounding Jersey Airport can be recognized thanks to the visible boundary fence.
The La Collette Power Station is located on a peninsula south of the capital. Its chimney can be seen from various points along the south coast and serves as a useful reference point for pinpointing.
Victoria Ave runs along the island’s southern coast, immediately west of St Helier. It is the only divided road on Jersey and features a distinct maroon median.
Latvian licence plates are long and white, with the standard blue European strip on the left.
Latvian bollards have a thin, slightly curved shape.
Latvian poles have distinctive poletops, with hook-shaped insulators, that are arranged in an alternating manner: left-right-left (or vice versa).
Latvia uses white chevrons with red arrows.
All Baltic countries use the same blue kilometre marker. However, they can be distinguished from each other by their angle relative to the road.
Each Baltic country has a slightly different border for its warning and speed signs.
Latvian pedestrian signs have five stripes, which is unique within the Baltics. Uniquely, the pedestrian has noticeably long legs compared to pedestrian signs in other European countries.
Latvian bus stop signs have this design.
Latvia has normal A-type guardrails with white or red reflectors.
Latvian belongs to the Baltic language family. The other major member of this language family is Lithuanian, to which it is closely related.
The Latvian word for street is iela. This word is unique to Latvian.
Latvian house numbers are often shaped like tall rectangles and can be found in several colours.
Latvian architecture generally consists of a combination of wood and white brick, typically with somewhat steep corrugated metal roofs. Slightly modern houses with pastel coloured stone walls and houses with a combination of wood with another material, particularly white brick, are also common.
Latvian directional signs are blue with white text.
The area south of Jelgava is characterised by a wide open landscape with considerably less forest and more fields than most of the rest of Latvia.
The historic downtown area of Riga is characterised by majestic art nouveau architecture, that is in places reminiscent of the architecture in Vienna. This is unique within Latvia, and even within the entire Baltics.
Liechtenstein uses black plates with white lettering and a yellow-and-red emblem near the left side. When blurred, the plates will appear grey, with the emblem colours being visible.
Most coverage in Liechtenstein is situated in a somewhat flat river valley, but with tall mountains in almost every direction. In particular, within this valley, you will almost always be able to see the nearby mountains towering above you to the east. Most of the mountainous coverage is just on the slopes of the mountains, with only a small amount properly in the mountains.
All coverage in Liechtenstein is low-cam. This means that the camera on the Google car is intentionally set up lower than in most other countries. This can be recognized in two ways:
Liechtenstein uses black-and-white cylindrical bollards with a white or grey reflector and a rounded top. They also often have a blue attachment on the side.
Bus stops in Liechtenstein use a green-and-white design, with a black metallic border around the sign. The phrase LIEMOBIL is written at the top.
Like Switzerland, directional signs in Liechtenstein are generally white (smaller roads) or blue (bigger roads), and they have a pointed arrowhead, with a contrasting colour.
Liechtenstein pedestrian signs have seven stripes. The signs also have an oddly tall rectangle.
You can find these yellow-and-black striped road separators, with a rounded top, and a Lego-like knob on the top. They have 3 stripes of both colours, with yellow on the bottom.
Road signs in Liechtenstein commonly have a round, grey metal border around them.
Architecture in Liechtenstein is a blend of traditional Alpine styles and more modern buildings, especially in the bigger cities.
Triesenberg and its surroundings are a fairly densely populated area on the slope of the mountains just east of the Rhine River Valley, which can often be seen below to the west.
Mountains can be seen all around in the coverage east of the mountain ridge that cuts through Liechtenstein.
Around Ruggell, there is a small, forested ridgeline to the south. This is a big contrast to the towering mountains seen elsewhere.
Around Mauren, you can see the aforementioned ridge to the north, but this side of the hills is much more developed and urban. And to the south and southeast, you will see the much bigger mountains usually seen to the east.
There is a set of rolling hills that run from Bendern, northeast, to the Austrian border. The rest of Liechtenstein is either very flat or in the mountains.
In the flat area west of Balzers, with the northeast-oriented gridded roads, to the North/Northwest, you can often see two rocky peaks on the Swiss side.
Unlike the rest of Liechtenstein, Vaduz sometimes uses red bus stop signs.
Unlike the rest of Liechtenstein, Balzers sometimes uses black bus stop signs.
Blue street signs with a thin white border will place you either in the south of Liechtenstein or in the north around Bandern.
Blue street signs that don’t have an outline are found in Eschen.
Flat black signs are found in eastern Liechtenstein.
Black signs with a white border and embossed letters can be found in Schaan.
These brown street signs with a font reminiscent of traditional German typefaces, along with a white border, are found in Vaduz and the northern towns.
Brown street signs that have an arrow design are unique to Ruggell.
Browns signs which have a more ‘generic’ font will place you in Planken.
This steep rocky cliff with trees at its base and on the top can be seen in and around Mäls.
The only lakes in Liechtenstein are located just south of Steg, near the middle of the mountains.
Lithuanian licence plates are long and white, with the standard blue European strip on the left.
Lithuanian bollards are wedge-shaped.
Lithuanian poles are usually square and concrete, and often feature a diagonal support beam.
Pictured here are some typical Lithuanian poletops.
Lithuania uses white chevrons with red arrows. The small single chevrons (pictured here) usually have a red outline on the edge of the sign.
All Baltic countries use the same blue kilometre marker. However, they can be distinguished from each other by their angle relative to the road.
Each Baltic country has a slightly different border for its warning and speed signs.
Lithuania has normal A-type guardrails with orange reflectors.
Lithuanian pedestrian signs have 3 stripes. The shape of the pedestrian has a relatively low level of detail.
Lithuanian bus stop signs have this design.
Lithuanian belongs to the Baltic language family. The other major member of this language family is Latvian, to which it is closely related.
The Lithuanian word for street is gatve, often abbreviated as g. on signs and Google Maps.
Many Lithuanian place names end in -ai.
Lithuanian architecture primarily consists of light coloured brick buildings, usually with somewhat steep corrugated metal roofs. Wooden buildings are also fairly common, however less so than in Estonia. Pastel painted stone buildings are somewhat common, especially in newer suburbs.
Lithuanian directional signs are blue with white text.
Lithuania has less forest cover than the other two Baltic countries. As a result, the landscape appears more open and agricultural. Your mileage may vary depending on the round however, so use this meta with some caution.
In Generation 3 coverage, you will often see random small blurs. These blurs look similar to the ones that are used to blur out licence plates or faces, but instead they cover seemingly random parts of the image – often on direction signs.
Lithuania is overall a fairly flat country, with no hills over 300 metres. However, you can sometimes distinguish the hilly areas from the more flat areas. The biggest hills are in the southeast, with some hills in the central part of the west.
The Curonian Spit is a long thin sand-dune spit south of Klaipeda, that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. The main road on this spit, road 167, has a recognizable combination of landscape and road direction:
On the Curonian Spit you can also find wooden, and often red, Scandinavian looking houses.
Rarely, you can see bilingual signs with Polish language in a small area southeast of Lithuania.
Luxembourg uses long yellow plates with a blue strip on the left.
Bollards are black and white. They are wedge-shaped and have grey reflectors. Some have a distinctive indent in the lower half.
Chevrons are black with yellow arrows. You may also rarely come across blue and yellow chevrons.
Poles with poletops shaped like upside-down tridents are the most common type of pole in Luxembourg.
Almost all coverage in Luxembourg is either Generation 2 or Generation 4.
Luxembourg is a highly multilingual country. It has three administrative languages: Luxembourgish, French, and German.
Luxembourgish is closely related to German and can look very similar. Like German, it uses umlauts (dots over vowels). In addition, it uses a fair amount of double vowels, and sometimes an é with an accent.
Directional signs are yellow with a thin black outline. Town names are written in uppercase. The signs have a pointed tip. They are completely surrounded by a frame, making them very recognizable.
Town entrance signs are also yellow and surrounded by a frame.
The frames mentioned in the previous two tips are also commonly found on a lot of other road infrastructure.
Almost all Luxembourgish road signs will be supported by a white signpost.
Street signs are almost always short and usually have a white background. The exact designs vary from town to town.
Some signposts have this bulky, round reflector with blue and white markings.
Pedestrian signs have 5 vertical stripes.
Bus stop signs are blue and always have this exact design. The bus has six windows.
Almost all of Luxembourg’s landscape consists of green rolling hills, with a patchwork of agriculture and forests.
Houses tend to have dark slate roofs.
Local road numbers have three digits. They are geographically clustered by first digit. The first digits range from 1-3.
The north of the country is hillier and has an overall higher elevation than the south.
Vineyards are primarily found in the southeast of the country.
Some of Luxembourg City’s downtown area was covered by a Generation 3 urban trekker. Occasionally, the trekker’s sunglasses and greying hair can be seen.
Since Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal, you will often come across various types of Portuguese infrastructure, such as poles and chevrons.
Madeira is a very mountainous and semi-tropical island.
Similar to continental Portugal, Madeira has a lot of eucalyptus forests, which can sometimes look deceptively like the mainland.
Hydrangeas can occasionally be seen.
African lilies (Agapanthus praecox) are very common in Madeira. They can be recognized by their long grassy leaves and round flower clusters at the end of a long stem. The most common colours are white and blue.
Due to the lack of flat terrain, terrace farming is extensively practised on the island. Stone walls are used to separate the individual plateaus.
Ferns are very common throughout the island.
Houses are mainly painted white, grey, or pastel colours such as yellow and pink. In addition, the red tile roofs will often be in a good condition.
Concrete block barriers, usually painted white, are often found along roads.
Bus stops signs on Madeira follow a unique black, white and yellow colour scheme.
Taxis on Madeira are yellow with a blue stripe running along the sides of the car.
Madeira commonly uses small and unique stone bollards with a red reflector. They are either cuboidal or cylindrical in shape.
Madeira sometimes uses yellow-and black guardrails on its mountain roads.
These speed limit signs are unique to Madeira and can be found on its highways.
Low altitude clouds are typical on the island, and are often seen on street view.
Foggy coverage is quite common.
As a result of the island’s mountainous terrain, tunnels are very common.
On bridges you will often find railings painted dark green.
Signposts on Madeira are often striped.
You can sometimes find free roaming cows on high-altitude roads on the island, as well as warning signs for those cows. The cows will typically be brown with white spots, contrary to the Azores, where the cows will typically be black and white.
The majority of banana plantations are found in the south.
The centre-west of the island is home to an elevated plateau. It can be recognized by the unusual flatness, misty coverage, and the presence of wind turbines.
The road east of the plateau can be recognized by its unique mountain formations and the black-and-yellow guardrail on the side of the road.
The eastern tip of the island is very arid with little to no vegetation.
The ER211 can be recognized by the dark pavement combined with its exposed brownish soil.
Pico Areeiro is the second highest mountain on the island, and the highest with coverage. It can be recognized by its view over most of the island, and the white radar station at the top.
The Penha d'Águia is located in northeastern Madeira, isolated on an elevated hill.
The Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport is located in eastern Madeira. The north of it is built on these numerous concrete pillars.
Cascata dos Anjos is situated in the southwest and is a popular location on the island. It is a 100-metre-high waterfall, which cascades onto the road below.
The islands of Ribeira de Janela, located in the northwest, are a famous photographer spot with their vertical, jagged shape.
These dark, sharp rock formations with an island in the background are found in Porto Moniz in the northwest.
Malta drives on the left.
Like most of Europe, Maltese licence plates have a blue strip on the left. However, unlike most of Europe, short plates are very common.
The general landscape of Malta consists of slightly hilly dry agricultural fields. Many roads are also only 1 or 2 lanes wide, due to the island’s size. Having a mediterranean climate, cacti and various dry shrubs can be seen.
The vast majority of buildings in Malta consist of low storey buildings, with white to beige coloured walls. Buildings made of limestone are also fairly common.
This style of traditional covered balconies is very common on Maltese buildings. They are often painted in bright colours.
The Maltese word for street is “triq”, which can be seen on almost every street sign.
Bus stops are a common sight in Malta. They may sometimes have useful information as to where you are.
Like the UK and Ireland, Malta uses these distinctive double yellow no parking lines.
English is the primary language of Malta.
Apart from English it is also common to see the Maltese language. Maltese uses the Latin script, but with unique letters, which include:
Regular metal guardrails are rare on Gozo Island. Low stone barriers are more common instead.
Bus routes starting with 3 are only found on Gozo Island. These can be quite hard to see, meaning they are most useful in moving games.
These blue signs are unique to Valletta.
This trekker on a ship that is painted white and blue can be seen between the main island and Gozo Island.
Monaco is a European microstate on the French Riviera, a few kilometres west of the border with Italy.
Monaco is a rich and densely populated city state, with a Mediterranean feel to it. The architecture is similar to cities in southern France and northern Italy, but more luxurious. You will see a lot of apartment buildings, neoclassical details, and pastel colours. There are essentially no rural areas.
Monaco’s licence plates are short and lack the blue strip.
Monaco is a hilly country. The very few areas that are not built up show mediterranean vegetation.
Planted palm trees are common.
There is a lot of coverage inside tunnels.
Rows of parked mopeds are a common sight around Monaco’s streets.
In the harbour, there is an extensive Generation 3 trekker on a boat. The Google employee’s brown hair and sunglasses are visible. You can see Monaco’s skyline and the hills beyond it. There are a lot of expensive yachts around.
Montenegro uses the standard European plate with a blue strip, and the Montenegro coat of arms on a red circle. The red circle is visible through the blur.
Montenegro is a small, mountainous country. Inland mountains are lush and green, while most coastal mountains have distinct exposed, light coloured rock. Most roads are also only 1 or 2 lanes wide.
The most common bollard is white with a red reflector on the front and a white one on the back. The bollard also has a black top.
Montenegro uses black on white or red on yellow chevrons.
Guardrails in Montenegro are often rusted.
Montenegro is the only Balkan country where you’ll commonly see both A-type and B-type guardrails.
Montenegro uses simple round concrete or wooden poles.
‘Rifts’ can commonly be seen in Montenegrin coverage, due to poor stitching.
Coverage in Montenegro is limited to main roads, with very few minor roads covered. The only main road not covered is the A1, south of Kolasin.
Green, agricultural valleys with deforested hills to make way for farmland are most commonly seen in the north.
The Bay of Kotor has a touristy and populated feel to it, with many people dressed in swimwear. A distinct steep, rocky ridge can also be seen.
Dry mountains with a lack of trees are seen around Podgorica, and to the south of it. Vineyards are also commonly seen in this region.
Pine forests can be found in the north and a small area north of Nikšić, but most commonly in the east.
Durmitor National Park can be recognized by a distinct landscape consisting of grassy, treeless mountains with a high-altitude feel.
Podgorica is the capital and largest city in Montenegro, and can be recognized by the modern buildings, wide roads and modern infrastructure.
These distinct staircase-like mountainsides can be seen in the Cemi River Valley.
Many small islands can be seen within Slansko Lake.
The Pljevlja Coal Mine can be recognized by the wide, artificial wall of gravel. The mine can often be seen from afar.
The Google Car can be seen chasing this police car on the P15, between Lovcen National Park and Čevo.
The southern part of the E80, between Orahovo and Đurmani, can be recognized by the yellow outer lines.
The Skadar Lake Bridge can be recognized by the railway and stone bollards next to the road.
The Netherlands has long, yellow licence plates with the standard European blue strip on the left. Dutch taxis have blue plates.
Dutch is a Germanic language. It features a lot of double vowels. Typical letter clusters are ij, ieu and oe. “IJ“ written as one capitalised letter is also unique to the language.
The Netherlands has a simple, white bollard with a red reflector.
The Netherlands usually does not have any utility poles. You might see larger power lines like the ones shown in the image, but essentially never any street-level smaller utility poles.
The Netherlands is extraordinarily flat. In most of the country, you will get no more than a few metres of elevation. Large swathes of the country are reclaimed land that is at or even below sea level.
In addition, the Netherlands is a very water-rich country. The country has innumerous waterways. Canals and ditches next to the road are common. Water management is an important facet of Dutch infrastructure, so you will often see dikes (low earthen walls to protect against water), dams and bridges.
Many rural roads are lined by rows of trees.
The Netherlands has a high amount of urban planning, and as a result tends to have a very organised look. Road infrastructure is well-maintained. Suburbs are usually master-planned and typically feature row houses.
Like most of Europe, the Netherlands has all-white road lines. Many roads have dashed outside lines. Sometimes, you can find unique green middle lines.
Many Dutch roads are flanked by bicycle paths. Different designs exist, but a very common one is a reddish-pink lane.
Brick roads are common in the Netherlands, both in rural and urban areas. The brick pattern shown in the image is especially common.
Most Dutch sidewalks use the same type of square grey tiles and offset tiling pattern. In some historic areas, you might find smaller brick sidewalks.
The Netherlands has very recognizable speed bumps. They usually have white warning stripes that alternate between long and short. The example image is on a brick road, but they also occur on asphalt roads.
Many rural roads feature a sort of brick rumble strip on the sides. This is fairly unique to the Netherlands and a good way to identify the country in very rural rounds.
Street signs are almost always blue with white lettering. Very rarely, you can find yellow, white or green street signs.
Dutch direction signs are blue with white lettering. Signs for bicyclists are white with a red border.
Dutch town entry signs are blue. The signs sometimes have very elaborate designs, often with frames and additional signs.
Dutch road markers are green. Many list the road number in a small yellow or red box.
Edges of Dutch road signs will extend to the back, creating a border visible from behind, sometimes retaining the colour of the sign. This is both consistent and unique to the country.
Many Dutch signposts feature striped markings with a black-and-white or blue-and-white colour scheme.
Road signs on traffic islands often have these bulky yellow signposts.
On some roads, especially in rural areas, you might find these distinctive striped barriers.
Brick architecture is very common in the Netherlands. Many buildings feature red-brownish-coloured bricks. Roofs often have orange or dark grey tiles.
As mentioned before, row houses are very common in the Netherlands. Almost half of the Dutch housing stock are row houses, significantly more than almost all other European countries.
Windmills, both traditional water or grain mills, and modern wind power turbines, are common in the Netherlands.
Some Generation 4 coverage has a car blur glitch where the black back of the Google car is visible.
Dutch landline phone numbers start with a three- or four-digit area code. These are geographically grouped, except for the ones that start with 07, and two of the 02 codes.
Some road markers (“hectometre markers”) have province-specific designs. This only applies to markers for regional N-roads, which have road numbers in yellow boxes.
All Dutch provinces have their own flag. However, most of these are very rarely seen in the wild. The major exceptions to this are the flags of Friesland and Noord-Brabant.
In the province of Friesland, the Frisian language is commonly spoken. While Dutch language is still most prevalent on signs, a lot of town entry signs will feature bilingual town names.
Most of the west and north is at or below sea-level. As a result, most of this region’s countryside has a distinct “polder” landscape: the landscape is marshy, often with a large amount of small waterways.
Conversely, the south and the east tends to have a more typical flat European farmland look. Waterways are still common, but the landscape can look less marshy.
While most of the Netherlands is very flat, Southern Limburg has some low hills.
The Veluwe area is unusually forested for Dutch standards. Some parts feature a very slight amount of elevation.
Almost all of the land belonging to the province of Flevoland was reclaimed from the sea in the mid-20th century. As a result, the province has a distinct, man-made look: extremely straight roads and large crop fields dominate the landscape. Wind turbines are common. In urban areas, there are no historical buildings.
Most of the Dutch North Sea coast is lined by dunes.
The islands in the northwest are called the Wadden Islands. They are very popular local tourism destinations, which is sometimes evident in the street view coverage. Their northwestern coastlines feature a lot of sand dunes.
Farms in the north of the Netherlands often have very large roofs.
Rolling shutters on house windows are more common in the southern half of the Netherlands.
Curaçao is a constituent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located north of western Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea. As such, for country streaks purposes, it is counted as the Netherlands.
Amsterdam street signs feature the city district in a smaller font size below the actual street name.
Buildings in the Zaanstreek region just north of Amsterdam often feature wooden architectural elements, usually painted green or black; with white trims. They sometimes have tall roof spires, usually painted white.
The Afsluitdijk is a very recognizable man-made causeway between Noord-Holland and Friesland. It is a divided highway that runs in a very straight southwest to northeast direction. You can see water to your southeast, and a dike to your northwest.
In the Westland municipality, just southwest of The Hague, greenhouses are extremely common. They cover most of the municipality’s land surface.
In the southern part of the Veluwe, in National Park De Hoge Veluwe, you can find a trekker that is recognizable because the Google employee’s brown hair is visible.
The harbour of Rotterdam is one of the largest in the world. It extends all the way from downtown Rotterdam to the North Sea coast. If you see a lot of industrial activity, often in combination with large, round fuel storage tanks, there is a good chance that you are in this harbour area.
Many streets in Lelystad follow a fairly distinct naming scheme: instead of having unique names, they are named after the neighbourhood they are in, followed by a number. Some of these neighbourhood names show up on the Google map.
Baarle is a village in the south of the Netherlands which contains a number of Belgian enclaves. Throughout the village, you can sometimes see signs of this, such as markings on the pavement and Dutch and Belgian flags being flown together.
North Macedonian licence plates are white and sometimes have the standard European blue strip on the left. They also have a noticeable red block near the left side of the licence plate.
North Macedonia uses two types of bollards. One is rounded and very thin, while the other one is wedge-shaped. They both are white and have red or white reflectors on a black surface.
North Macedonia uses A-Profile guardrails, like most of Europe. The guardrails have red reflectors.
Direction signs in North Macedonia are typically yellow with biscriptal text: town names are written in both Latin and Cyrillic script.
Macedonian is a Slavic language which uses the Cyrillic script. Road signs have Latin on them too, although most other signs are fully in Cyrillic.
All coverage in North Macedonia is Generation 3. There will never be an antenna on the Google car.
Rural coverage in North Macedonia will normally mostly be on highways. This is because of the limited coverage outside urban areas in the country.
The general landscape of North Macedonia consists of relatively dry grasslands, and small hills and scattered trees.
These ‘Greek Lamps’ on utility poles can be found in North Macedonia. They can also be found in various other countries, such as (unsurprisingly) Greece or Serbia.
North Macedonia normally uses yellow-filled in warning signs. Most of Europe uses white ones.
Coverage is sparse, only including some highways and some cities in the country.
Skopje is the capital and by far the largest city. If you see any large apartments or buildings, you are almost guaranteed to be in Skopje.
Winter to late fall coverage is found in the cities of Skopje, Tetovo, Prilep, Bitola, and Ohrid.
A green truck is visible behind the Google Car for a portion of the E-65. The truck is visible from Kichevo to Arbinovo.
For some of the E-75 north of Veles, there are triple yellow lines with a dashed centre line. In the northern part of the road, there is a yellow-truck following the Google car.
A section of the A3 east of Veles also has triple yellow lines, which in Europe is extremely uncommon. The rest of the road has a very arid landscape and is noticeably under construction.
You can sometimes see some smudges on the camera. If you see one black smudge on the camera, you will most likely be on the A3 between Bitola and Prilep, or the R1302 in the far east. Keep in mind smudges can be randomly seen throughout the country.
If you see three smudges, you will always be on the R1304. The only large city on this road is Kočani, although it has extremely limited coverage.
If you see a brown smudge, you will be in the far southeast of the country.
A fly can be seen on the southern portion of the R1205. This is found nowhere else in the country.
Some roads in North Macedonia are divided. The map shown here gives an overview of where you can find such roads.
The E-65 just south of Tetovo has one concrete median separating each lane instead of a normal guardrail. This is the only highway in the country to have this.
The E-65 between Tetovo and Skopje will sometimes have trees in between the guardrails.
A small part of the E75 and the A1 also have planted trees in the median.
For a section of the E-75 between Skopje and Kumanovo, there is a large sloped hill in between the lanes.
Most of the E-75 next to the Greek Border has only one guardrail separating each lane. Some parts have a guardrail on one side and concrete median on the other. These are both only found on this highway.
Each city has its own city-specific posters with public obituaries. They are commonly found on utility poles.
Obituaries in Kumanovo are the most distinct. They are the only obituaries to have a thick light blue border.
Obituaries in Bitola are horizontal and can be either light or dark blue. The cross is in-between the border, leaving a gap in the rectangle.
Obituaries in Ohrid are horizontal and either red or blue. The cross is underneath the border, which is unique to Ohrid when the obituary is red.
Obituaries in Strumica are vertical and blue. They are the only obituaries to have an intricate pattern in the corner of the poster.
Obituaries in Veles are vertical and blue. Veles has the largest variety of obituaries, but will never have the pattern in the corner like the ones seen in Strumica. They are also the only city that will have the cross above the border when blue.
Obituaries in Prilep are vertical and black. The border does not go completely around the poster, which makes it easy to distinguish.
Obituaries in Tetovo are vertical and black. There are 2 main types found in the city, one with the cross above the border and one with a thick cross in-between the border.
If you see black and yellow striped kerbs, you are most likely to be in Strumica.
Ohrid is the only large city located next to a lake.
These long rectangular lamps are only found in the city of Prilep.
These two extremely rocky hills are visible in some parts of the city of Prilep.
Norway is a very mountainous country, with many fjords along most of the coast.
The vast majority of Norwegian houses are made of wood. Many houses are painted red, which is also typical for Sweden and Finland. Black painted houses are also quite common, more so than in Sweden or Finland.
Norway has long white licence plates with the standard European strip on the left.
Smaller Norwegian roads typically have long dashed white outer lines, while larger roads have solid outer lines and yellow middle lines. The yellow lines have a distinct tinge of orange.
Road lines will often be made up of small dots of paint.
The Norwegian language contains the special letters Æ, Ø and Å.
Norway uses thin, curved rectangular bollards with the reflector inside of a black parallelogram.
Norwegian snow poles are typically orange, with a fairly thin white reflector. The reflector is normally toward the middle of the pole.
It is also fairly common to find thin wooden snow poles with painted reflectors.
Guardrails often have wooden posts.
Norwegian pedestrian signs typically have four stripes and a very simply drawn person. Note however, that there is a version with five stripes and a version where the person is more detailed and wearing a hat.
Norwegian directional signs are yellow with a black border. You will commonly see the road number displayed, either in a green box for European highways and major roads, or in a white box, for smaller roads.
On smaller roads, it is common to see these blue signs with a large white M.
Norwegian bus stops usually have this small, blue sign with a white bus.
White signs with the text “Sone”, generally featuring a speed limit, are common in urban areas.
The most common street name suffixes in Norway are vei and gate. While attached to the name, they take the forms -veien and -gata or -gate.
Street signs will generally be centred on top of sign posts.
Norwegian traffic signs have a red outline and a white background.
You can also find these road construction signs, with a bright yellow background.
Most smaller road signs will be attached with four visible sign bolts in the shape of a tall rectangle. Beware that you may occasionally find framed signs instead, particularly in urban settings.
Norway uses yellow on black chevrons.
Small white square signs, displaying the road number on top, and the distance to the closest town, are common to see along medium sized roads.
Norwegian poles are normally wooden and often have a small black metal cap on the top.
Traditional houses in Norway commonly have grass covered roofs.
The first digit of Norwegian road numbers are region dependent. Note that there are some exceptions among single and two-digit roads.
Bilingual signs with Sámi can be found in several northern areas in Norway. While the Sámi languages are very different from Norwegian, the best way to recognize them are the letters Á, Đ and the use of several vowels in a row, something which is uncommon in Norwegian.
This species of fern (Pteridium aquilinum, also known as bracken) which typically has a fairly tall stem and many wide leafs branching out, is mostly found in the south of Norway. Beware that other species of ferns can be found further north.
Spruces are mainly found in the southern half of the country, particularly in the southeast and around Trondheim.
Pines are most common in coastal and far inland areas in the southern half of the country.
Oaks are mainly found in the far south of Norway.
Maples are mainly found in the south, particularly by the farmlands around Oslo.
Brightly coloured moss is common to find in the area between Lillehammer and Oppdal.
Large farmlands are mainly found in three areas, the southeast, the area surrounding Trondheim, and south of Stavanger.
The largest concentration of farmland is found in the southeast, in the general vicinity of Oslo. The area is much flatter than most of the country, and it is common to get a rolling landscape with smooth, round forested hills in the distance. The area southeast of Oslo is particularly flat.
The farmlands surrounding Trondheim are generally very hilly, and the hills are typically both steeper and more uneven than in the southeast.
Similarly to the southeast, the farmland south of Stavanger is flatter than most of the country. However, the fields look more vast and open, and it is very common to see rock walls made of large, round rocks. Furthermore, rather than crops, most fields will only contain grass.
While fjords can be found along most of the Norwegian coast, deep fjords surrounded by tall mountains are most common between Bergen and Trondheim.
Distinct, sharp, rocky mountains with few trees can be seen on the Lofoten Archipelago.
The northeast of Norway can typically be recognized by a somewhat rolling landscape, rather than tall mountains, and vegetation mainly consisting of very small birches combined with patched grass.
Barren highlands, with no trees or bushes, and often with rocky mountains along the road, are mostly found in the southwest.
Exposed rock, often spotted with small coastal pines and bushes, are mainly found on the south coast.
Coastal grasslands with little to no other vegetation and only somewhat low, distant mountains can be found by coastal roads in the far north.
While completely white wooden houses can be found in the entire country, they’re especially common on the southern coast, where you’ll commonly see entire villages made up of them.
Black snow poles are most commonly found between Bergen and Trondheim.
Small, wide black pole plates, with a single line of letters and digits, can be found in southeastern Norway.
Rusty guardrails are almost exclusively found in coastal regions, and particularly on the southern half of the west coast.
Svalbard is an unincorporated archipelago within the Norwegian Kingdom.
Fairly large black or red pole plates can be found in Oslo.
Two red stripes going around lamp posts are commonly found in Stavanger.
You can find this specific design of green fire hydrants in Bergen.
Along the Russian border you can see this noticeably humid and green-looking road, with very overcast and occasionally foggy coverage. The trees are somewhat low and mainly consist of thin birches and pines.
Russian can sometimes be seen alongside Norwegian on signs near the Russian border. It is mostly found on roads E6 and E105 near Kirkenes.
The old mining town of Røros can be recognised by the densely built traditional wooden architecture.
Poland has long white plates with the standard European blue strip on the left.
Polish bollards have a red strip that wraps all the way around the bollard. This strip has a red reflector on the front (sometimes hard to see), and a white reflector on the back. Bollards sometimes have numbers on them.
Poland usually has thin concrete utility poles with see-through holes. They are commonly known as “holey poles”. The holes often do not extend all the way to the bottom of the pole.
Poland has all-white road lines. Double middle lines are very common and usually a good clue for Poland.
Poland has square (normal B-type) guardrails, with circular red reflectors.
Warning signs are triangular and have a yellow background and a distinct thin red border.
However, prohibitory signs are round and have a white background with a thicker red border.
Poland has a unique pedestrian sign. Instead of the usual zebra stripes, it just has a single horizontal line.
Regular Polish direction signs have a green background. These signs use a distinct font, which is a good clue for Poland.
Poland has two town entry signs: a green one with the locality’s name, and a white-and-black one with a stylized urban area.
Polish chevrons are white with red arrows.
Polish is a Slavic language. In contrast to other slavic languages, the Polish alphabet includes:
Poland is generally a flat country, with occasional rolling hills. The country is very green, with a lot of agriculture, and some amount of forest cover.
Many roads in Poland are lined by rows of trees.
Neatly tiled sidewalks are very common in Poland. Tiles are often grey or light red. Occasionally, even roads have tiled pavement. Many different types of tile patterns occur, including larger square tiles.
Polish architecture is fairly similar to other Central European countries. Buildings usually have plain stone walls covered in light or pastel stucco. Frequent roofing colours are orange or red, black, and brown. Roof tiles and panes often have a tidy, almost plastic-like look. Some rural houses have corrugated sheet roofs similar to those often found in the Baltics.
Poland is one of the most Catholic countries in Europe. You can often find Christian shrines on the side of roads. Blue-white and yellow-white Polish Catholic flags also sometimes appear.
Regional roads have 3-digit road numbers. These numbers often appear in yellow boxes on direction signs. The first digit is usually region-specific, as there is a high level of geographic clustering of these road numbers.
Polish landline phone numbers have 9 digits. The first 2 digits are the area code. These area codes are distributed in a sensible manner across the country. Even just learning the first digit of the area codes can greatly narrow down the region. You can click on the infographic to enlarge it.
When it comes to Polish place names, the -owo ending is mostly limited to the northern half of the country, and the -ów ending mostly to the southern half. You may also encounter -ino or -yno, mainly in the northwest, and -ew near the centre of the country.
While rare, bilingual signs can be found in the highlighted regions.
Even though most of Poland is flat, the southern border area is very hilly. Some parts even have mountains.
Traditional wooden houses are commonly found in the east, mainly in Podlaskie Voivodeship.
The Tatra Mountains are the highest mountains in Poland. They can be found near Zakopane, on the border with Slovakia.
Gdańsk is a large city in northwestern Poland. Its historic downtown features unique buildings that were inspired by Dutch Golden Age architecture. These buildings look somewhat similar to Amsterdam.
The main road on the Hel peninsula is very recognizable: it is a coastal forest road with a railway track running parallel to it.
Białystok uses turquoise street signs, with the district marked on the bottom.
Szczecin uses colourful green and blue signs. The city district is marked on the bottom.
Street signs in Poznań are mainly black, with the district being marked on the blue section at the bottom.
Portuguese plates are long and white, with a blue strip on the left. Most plates have a yellow strip on the right, which is unique to Portugal.
Portuguese is a Romance language that is closely related to Spanish. Unlike Spanish, Portuguese includes the letters Ç, Ã, Õ, Â, and Ê, while it does not include the letter Ñ, which is very common in Spanish.
The Portuguese word for road is ‘Rua’.
Eucalyptus trees are very common in Portugal. The only other part of Europe where you’ll commonly see eucalyptus is northern Spain.
Concrete ladder poles, with very tall ladder steps, are common in Portugal. Each step often has a small see-through hole.
Hunting signs with a red and white colour scheme are a common sight in rural areas. They are either diamond shaped or rectangular.
Portuguese bollards are either wedge-shaped with a noticeably thin white top, or flat with a wide reflector. While most reflectors will be white, you may also find orange reflectors. These are noticeably darker than the yellow reflectors in Spain.
Directional signs are generally white, with black arrows that are not touching the borders of the sign.
Most kilometre markers are wide rectangles with a coloured section on the left side divided diagonally from the white part. Every kilometre you will find a larger square sign with a coloured top half featuring the road number.
Black and white waystones can commonly be found in Portugal.
Stop signs in Portugal feature a fairly large font.
Portuguese chevrons are black with yellow arrows.
Pedestrian signs have five stripes, and the person is wearing a belt, which is noticeably high.
Portugal uses A-type guardrails with red reflectors.
Portuguese road signs are typically encased by a white border.
Cobblestone roads are very common in Portugal. These will typically be made of square cobblestones arranged diagonally compared to the road direction.
Similarly, cobblestone sidewalks made of distinctly bright stones are very common.
White painted stone houses with orange tiled roofs are extremely common in Portugal.
You’ll commonly see blue or yellow lines painted around windows and doors, as well as around the edges of walls.
Houses made of decorative mosaic tiles are somewhat common in Portugal.
The first three digits of Portuguese landlines make up the area codes, which are distributed as seen on the map. Phone codes not starting with a 2 are not regional, and codes starting with 29 will either be the Azores or Madeira.
In the Faro district in the south of Portugal you will very commonly come across decorative chimneys, which will either be round or square shaped with small spire-shaped tops. The round chimneys are a particularly strong clue.
Open fields sparsely populated with holm oaks (Quercus ilex) and cork oaks (Quercus suber) are very common in the southeast. These species of oaks tend to be on the smaller side, and have a Mediterranean look. While these fields will look quite dry during summer and fall, they will look much lusher during spring.
Olive plantations are generally more common in the eastern half of the country, particularly in the far northeast and slight southeast.
Dense eucalyptus forests are mostly found in the northwest.
Forests, or plantations of Maritime pines (Pinus Pinaster) are very common in the northern half of Portugal. You can recognize the tree by its grey bark with red undertones, and fluffy branches that point upwards. Older trees often don’t have any branches in the bottom half of the tree.
In the Douro wine region, straight east of Porto, you will commonly find steep terraced vineyards.
Citrus plantations are mostly found along the south coast.
The islands of Madeira and the Azores are found southwest and west of mainland Portugal respectively. For country streak purposes they are both counted as Portugal.
The Serra da Estrela natural park can be recognised by the rocky mountainous highland landscape, often combined with yellow and black striped snow poles.
Pine forests with extremely sandy white soil can be found near the coast between the cities of Setúbal and Sines.
In the far southwest of the country you can find a flat uncultivated landscape with very limited vegetation, which typically appears quite dry. There are almost no trees nearby, and only very low bushes and grass.
Lime green street signs can be found in Porto.
Romania uses standard long, white European plates with a single blue strip on the left.
Romanian is a Romance language similar to Italian, containing the following special letters:
The most common types of utility poles in Romania are holey poles with the holes going all the way to the bottom. The holes are typically either quite wide or quite tall.
Round concrete poles are also quite common.
Trees and poles will often have white painted bottoms.
This type of extremely large yellow pole sticker is specific to Romania.
Two support bars holding up the metal bar on pole tops, resembling an upside down triangle, can sometimes be found in Romania.
It is very common to see waystones in Romania. They are typically fairly large, with red or blue framing with the road number on the side, or made of actual stone and somewhat rugged-looking. There is also a very small variant which is all white.
While there are many types of roadlines in Romania, these outer lines, consisting of short dashes with narrow spaces, can be a good clue for the country.
Middle lines are often noticeably thicker than average. This is especially useful to tell Romania apart from Bulgaria, which generally has thinner road lines.
Romanian directional signs are blue, arrow shaped, and have a white border. They will very often display the road number, which can be either red or blue.
The most common type of town entry sign in Romania is a yellow sign displaying a speed limit and a city skyline, with a white sign displaying the town name below.
Romanian sign backs are often black.
Romanian chevrons are red on white, often with a yellow frame.
Romanian bollards are thin and white, with a red vertical strip near the top. It is worth noting that bollards in Romania are somewhat rare.
This yield sign, with an extremely thick red border, with a thin white outline, is unique to Romania. Beware that different yield signs also exist in Romania.
Romanian architecture primarily consists of single-family houses made of stone, typically painted in different pastel colours and with roofs ranging from orange tiles to grey metal. It is also somewhat common to see houses with walls made of painted square tiles in different patterns.
The Romanian landscape ranges from tall forested mountains and hills in the centre to flat or rolling agricultural landscapes in the south, west and east.
This type of haystack, typically featuring a stick going straight through, is very common in Romania.
Dacia is the most common car brand in Romania, making up more than a quarter of all vehicles in the country.
This is an elevation map of Romania. The tallest mountains are found in the middle and north of the country, while the south and west are particularly flat.
Completely flat agricultural landscapes can be found in the south and west.
If you see several houses and almost all of them have orange tiled roofs, you are likely to be in the western half of the country.
Similarly, if you see several houses and almost all of them have metal or plastic fake tiled roofs, you will probably be in the eastern half of the country.
Villages near the Hungarian border will often be built in the same style as villages in Hungary. This style can be summarised as having long, straight streets with single-storey houses being evenly spaced along the road, typically having the short side of the house facing the road. The vast majority of roofs will have orange tiles.
South of Iași, near the border to Moldova, you can find rolling agricultural valleys with a very specific north-north-west to south-south-east angle.
Bilingual signs with Hungarian are mostly found in the central regions of Covasna, Harghita and Mureş, but also less commonly near the Hungarian border.
Elaborately decorated wooden gates are commonly found in the region of Maramureș.
Sunflowers are primarily found in the far east of the country, and secondly in the far west.
Several Romanian cities and towns have unique street signs. This infographic covers all with a population above 100 000.
The 67C is a mountain road with all yellow road lines.
The 7C is recognisable as going through some of the most dramatic mountains in Romania, with very green and lush vegetation. The highest point on the road is right by the border between Sibiu and Argeș.
This type of window, shaped like a squinting eye, is most commonly found in the city of Sibiu.
If you see a mountainous landscape in Generation 2, you are likely close to Brașov.
Flat landscapes in Generation 2 are mostly found near Bucharest.
A boat trekker, with a green boat, can be found in the far east of the country. It mostly goes through small, overgrown canals in a flat landscape.
Russian licence plates are fully white with black text.
The Russian language uses the Cyrillic script, and contains the special letters Ы, Э, Ё and Ъ.
The Russian word for street is улица (ulitsa), sometimes abbreviated ул. (ul.).
The Russian word for city is город (gorod), abbreviated г. (g.).
Russia has three main types of bollards: a very thin type being attached to a stick, one with a black top section and a red vertical reflector below and a German-style bollard.
Near intersections in Russia you will commonly see a very large number of bollards.
Along with containing a large number of bollards, many intersections are unusually wide compared to other countries.
Signposts in Russia often have black painted bottoms.
You can often see concrete support blocks at the bottom of utility poles, with wooden poles often being raised above ground by the support.
Russian pedestrian signs have a simply drawn person and three stripes. Signs will commonly have a bright yellow border.
Russian pedestrian crossings contain alternating white and yellow stripes.
Black and white striped guardrails, kerbs and bridge barriers are common in russia.
Three Generation 3 Street View cars are commonly found in Russia. The two most useful ones for recognising Russia are a black and a white car, both with a long antenna. You may also see a short antenna without a visible car.
The vast majority of urban housing in Russia are large rectangular apartment buildings made of simple concrete. Newer buildings in wealthier areas appear more modern.
Rural housing in Russia consists mostly of a basic wooden structure with metal roofs.
This style of richly decorated window frames is commonly found on traditional Russian homes, especially on log cabins. They are often painted blue.
Black & white-striped pole shields are common along highways, especially in European Russia.
Birch trees, identified by their white peeling bark, have a wide range in Russia. Notably they are almost never found far south or far north in the western part of the country.
Birches very close together, as well as forests consisting of only birches, are indicative of areas east of the Urals, most commonly between Chelyabinsk Oblast and Novosibirsk Oblast.
Siberian larches are one of the dominant tree species in much of eastern Russia, recognized by their unique needle-like leaves. Generally speaking, they become more prevalent the further east you go in the country, as well as at high elevations.
Giant butterbur (commonly referred to as Sakhalin cabbage) is very common in Sakhalin Oblast, particularly in the southern half. Related plants can very rarely be found in Adygea.
This type of white flower (heracleum sosnowskyi) is most commonly found around Moscow, Komi Republic, and Perm Krai.
Large amounts of the pink or red flower fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) typically indicates a northern region of Russia. Similarly, most places north of Moscow commonly have fireweed.
Sunflowers are common along the border with Ukraine as well as more eastern oblasts like Ulyanovsk, Samara, and northern Orenburg.
Blue-pod lupines appear very commonly in northern Vladimir Oblast, eastern Ivanovo Oblast, and southwestern Kostroma Oblast. It can also be found less commonly elsewhere in Kirov Oblast and towards the Baltics.
The black poplar is commonly found south, near the border with Ukraine, as well as toward the western border with Kazakhstan.
The Russian olive is typically found along the Kazakhstan border.
Lined oak trees, often with a single white stripe around the trunk, are extremely common in Kaliningrad.
Sparsely planted larches along the road with open rolling fields is common in Tatarstan and adjacent federal subjects.
Sandy roadsides are common in Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets and adjacent subjects, as well as areas around Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga river. Other notable areas are Karelia, Murmansk, and western Sakha. Beware, however, that sandy roadsides can less commonly be found near rivers in other regions.
Red soil is common in the highlighted areas, notably around Izhevsk and Perm, much of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, and Pskov Oblast, and near Volgograd and Astrakhan. Note that this map is by no means exhaustive; red soil can be found almost anywhere in the country near water or iron mines.
The Kamchatka peninsula has unique grey gravelly soil, as well as the largest number of volcanoes of any region in Russia. They are frequently seen across the peninsula, and in some places can appear quite close such as in Klyuchi.
Extremely gravelly and sometimes dark soil appears as you approach the mountains east of Yakutsk, starting around Keskil.
Lush and diverse forests in a hilly landscape characterises the noticeably warmer region around Vladivostok. Most of the coverage is overcast and has a white car with a long antenna. Further south, near the tri-border, you will find a more open rolling hill landscape.
The eastern half of the Kolyma Highway going to Magadan features a lot of tall hills and mountains, usually shrouded in a haze. Most of the roads are unpaved and feature dark gravelly soil. The haze is not present in the western half.
A presence of Siberian larches and large mountains on a mostly paved, but sometimes wide-gravel road indicates the main road south of Yakutsk, with Generation 4 white car appearing north of Berkakit.
Very hazy coverage is found east and south of Mirny, especially along the Vilyuy river. The colour of the haze varies, but it is often orange or white.
The landscape in Buryatia is very unique, containing open grassy landscape with shrubs and mountains. It is lusher near Baikal, but the mountains persist.
This forest fire haze is found near Lake Gusinoye, southwest of Ulan-Ude in Buryatia. While similar to the haze found near Mirny, the Buryatia haze coverage can typically be recognised by the open rolling landscape, which is not found near Mirny.
The main road of Altai Republic has a black car long antenna driving north through the Altai Mountains, often with foggy or rainy coverage.
Dry steppe mountains with a long antenna will usually indicate the Tuva Republic. The south part of the main road in the Altai Republic and Tuva can appear similarly dry, so things such as driving direction and cloudiness can be used to distinguish them.
The landscape in the far north can be recognised by the relatively flat landscape, with very low vegetation.
The coverage in Omsk Oblast is some of the most recognizable in Russia. It is typically summer Generation 4 and has a distinct landscape consisting of green agricultural fields, which are interrupted by isolated patches of (primarily) birch forest.
The area west of the Caspian Sea can often be recognised by its extremely dry and flat landscape, especially in Kalmykia, Astrakhan Oblast, and Dagestan.
Grassy fields, with bushy vegetation, in early spring Generation 4 coverage is typical for Dagestan. The landscape can either be completely flat or mountainous. These flowers are also quite common in the Generation 4 Dagestan coverage.
The Caucasus mountain range is one of the largest mountain ranges in Russia. The tallest mountain in Russia, Mount Elbrus, can be found on the border of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic and Karachay-Cherkessia.
Rocks along the road are extremely common throughout most of Karelia and Murmansk Oblast. They can also be found in Perm Krai and Buryatia but are less common and smaller in size.
An open, hilly landscape with low shrubbery and fireweed usually indicates Murmansk. The lower the shrubbery, the more north it generally is.
This is a map of Russian area codes. Notably, area codes starting with 8 are in the west, codes starting with 3 are fairly central and codes starting with 4 are either east or around Moscow.
In Generation 3 coverage you will somewhat commonly find unblurred licence plates, featuring a regional code on the right side. The codes are generally ordered alphabetically within each type of federal subject, starting at republics and ending with autonomous okrugs. Therefore, the Republic of Adygea will be represented by 01, and the Amur Oblast by 28, both being the first alphabetical subjects of republics and oblasts respectively. If you encounter a three digit code, the second and third digit will form the regional code, in this case 123 becomes 23, for Krasnodar Krai. You may also find the codes written out on the back of trucks and vans.
These are the bus stops unique to specific federal subjects in Russia. Notably common and memorable ones include Krasnoyarsk Krai, Chuvashia, Tatarstan, and Mari El Republic.
Japanese-made cars with the steering wheel on the right become more common the further east you go, generally starting around Novosibirsk.
Russian bollards that appear very thin and attached to a stick are usually found in the eastern part of the country, starting around Omsk. Note that ordinary Russian bollards are still plentiful in this part of the country.
This black traffic sign bottom is primarily found in Stavropol and Chechnya, as well as western Dagestan. Rarely, exceptions can be found in other southern federal subjects such as Kabardino Balkaria, but these will typically be uncolored.
Clips on edges of signposts are found in Leningrad and St. Petersburg, and very rarely in Pskov, Novgorod or elsewhere.
Outer dashed road lines are usually found throughout Kursk Oblast. An exception can be found in Tuva Republic. Rarer exceptions include the Republic of Karelia, Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai.
As you go further north in Russia, some roads are made out of several concrete blocks. It is notably common in the Komi Republic, Nenets, and Yamalo-Nenets.
These alternating red and white poles are mainly found in Ulyanovsk city, but also less commonly in the greater Nizhny Novgorod area as well as somewhat randomly elsewhere in the country.
These striped red and white poles are found mostly in Saransk, but also in a few other cities in Mordovia.
Some republics of Russia with minority languages use bilingual town entry and directional signs, such as in Bashkortostan and Tatarstan displaying Bashkir and Tatar respectively.
Town names written in both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets are common near the Baltic border and around Moscow, and to a lesser extent in federal subjects on the Finnish border.
These brown signs, pointing to typical tourist attractions, are common in Moscow Oblast and the oblasts bordering it. However, they can also less commonly be seen in city centres or near tourist attractions of other regions.
Buildings made of white limestone brick are indicative of Dagestan, as well as adjacent regions.
Buildings built almost entirely of red brick are mostly found south, but other notable exceptions include Magnitogorsk, Orsk, and Omsk.
While mosques can be found everywhere in Russia, they are by far most common in areas with a Muslim majority, mainly in much of south Russia as well as Tatarstan and Bashkortostan.
Historical buildings in Mari El often have a unique architecture style. You will frequently see design patterns that include green roofs, red brick sprinkled with white stone details. Local churches commonly feature a similar style.
The 739m-tall Monte Titano dominates the surrounding landscape and is visible from almost every point in the Republic.
The landscape of San Marino largely consists of smooth agricultural hills, with many small winding roads. The vegetation is distinctly Mediterranean, and normally appears quite lush.
Sammarinese licence plates are short, white and have blue lettering on them.
Road signs and bollards are generally identical to the ones used in Italy.
Just like Italy, most utility poles in San Marino are round and made of concrete. Wooden poles are also found in the country.
San Marino is the only country in the world to use yellow chevrons with burgundy red arrows.
These elaborate pedestrian crossings, with painted blue crosswalks and hanging signs, are specific to San Marino.
Lime-green bins are particularly common in San Marino. In Generation 4 coverage some of them have been replaced by black bins.
The Superstrada di San Marino runs from the border village of Dogana to the City of San Marino. It is the only divided road in the country, and the lanes are separated by a metal guardrail.
The historic centre is covered by a Generation 3 trekker camera.
Serbia has a few bollard designs, however most of them will have an off-centred reflector. The bollards are usually flat, with no depth to them.
Serbia uses B-Profile guardrails exclusively.
Serbia uses chevrons with a black arrow on a white background.
Serbian licence plates are white with a blue strip on the left. Agricultural plates, on vehicles such as tractors, are green.
Serbian is a Slavic language which uses both the cyrillic and latin script. These letters are unique to Serbian:
When written in the latin script, Serbian uses the special letters Č, Ć, Đ, Š and Ž. Note that all of these letters may also be found in Croatian and Montenegrin.
Most of the coverage in Serbia was taken by a Google car with no antenna.
This is a coverage map of Serbia. Most of the coverage is in the north in Vojvodina, around Belgrade and in the southeast around Niš. Kosovo does not have any coverage.
In the north of Serbia in the Vojvodina region, from the Hungarian border to Belgrade, the landscape is extremely flat, with no hills whatsoever. A slight ridge however can be seen at Fruška Gora National Park.
Serbia uses 2 digit area codes, with the first digit between 1 and 3. Area codes starting with 2 are found in the north, area codes starting with 1 are found in central and eastern Serbia. Area codes starting with 3 are found in the south-west.
Vojvodina, the northern region between the Hungarian border and Belgrade, can be recognized by the flat, agricultural landscape. The landscape will be completely flat with no hills whatsoever.
This slight ridge in an otherwise flat landscape can be seen in Fruška Gora National Park, southwest of Novi Sad.
Central-northern Serbia can be recognized by the slight rolling hills.
A similarly rolling landscape can be seen in the southern Morava River basin, however larger hills and mountains can be seen.
A lush, green, mountainous landscape can be seen in the south and southeast, along the Bulgarian and Kosovo border.
Fall coverage can be seen in this region south of Čačak, and a small area around Valjevo.
There are 3 main divided highways in Serbia:
A white Google Car with a short antenna can be seen in Novi Sad, Kovilj, in and around Belgrade, Niš, and the E75 connecting them.
The distinct Vršac Mountains can be seen east of Vršac near the Romanian border. The mountains protrude out from a flat landscape and vineyards can commonly be seen to the south of the mountains. The Vršac Castle can also be seen atop the mountain.
Bilingual signs with Serbian alongside Hungarian can be seen in northern Vojvodina, where there is a Hungarian majority.
This tadpole-shaped smudge can be seen east of Belgrade, from just west of Bavanište to the Romanian border.
A small section of the E-80 north of Pirot has yellow centre lines.
Bollards in Slovakia have orange double reflectors on the front and a single white reflector on the back. There are also rarer blue and red variants.
Slovakia and Czechia both use a special kind of type B guardrail, which is wider than the normal type. No other European countries use the same kind.
Slovakia and Czechia most commonly use wide, round concrete poles, which are quite often attached in pairs.
Slovak and Czech poletops typically feature short metal bars that hold the insulators.
Two support bars holding up the metal bar on pole tops, resembling an upside down triangle, can sometimes be found in Slovakia and Czechia.
You may also see concrete poles with trident poletops, with two arms angled upwards. Some features, such as the number of insulators, will vary, however the general shape will be the same. Out of the pole tops listed, these are the least common, but unique to the two countries.
Lamp posts with a thick base mounted by opposing pairs of bolts are common in both countries. The exact shape of the base may vary.
It is common in both Slovakia and Czechia to see temporary square sign posts coated in red and white stripes.
Slovak and Czech chevrons are white with red arrows. Less commonly, you may find red on yellow chevrons.
Stripy gas and water poles reminiscent of snow poles can often be found next to the road.
Hiking markers, made up of one colourful strip between two white ones, are commonly found in Slovakia and Czechia. They sometimes form an arrow. NOTE: While by far being the most common in Slovakia and Czechia, similar signs can be found in other European countries such as Poland, Hungary and Germany.
Like all of the former Eastern bloc, prefabricated panel apartment buildings are a common sight in urban areas. What distinguishes Slovakia and Czechia is the relatively good maintenance often combined with vibrant colours and patterns. Some smaller buildings also adhere to this style.
Roofs with diamond shaped tiles are common in both Slovakia and Czechia.
A car antenna with a grey piece of tape stuck to the top can be seen on much of the Generation 3 coverage.
These black signs can often be found by the end of bridges in Generation 4 coverage. The road number is displayed on the left.
Slovak and Czech are mutually intelligible Slavic languages with several similarities such as acute accents above vowels (á, é, í, ó, ú, ý). However, they both have some distinct letters:
The Slovak landscape varies between very mountainous and completely flat. Generally speaking, Czechia is hillier, but less mountainous.
Slovakia uses blue directional signs, with small white arrows.
Slovak road signs commonly have the painted sign border right at the edge of the sign.
Slovak highway signs can be either blue or green, and have a white border right at the edge of the sign.
White street signs with blue text and a thin red border are by far the most common in Slovakia.
House numbers in Slovakia are typically written on white signs with a thin red or black border.
The top of Slovak sign posts are typically either open, have a grey metal cap or a thin black cap.
Slovakia uses two major pedestrian signs, both having five stripes. The first has a simply drawn person with a belt, and the second has the stripes very close together.
Slovak road signs normally feature a very bold font.
Slovak kilometre markers typically have two sections divided with a black horizontal line. The top section contains the road number.
Slovak cycling signs use the letter C as their symbol, unique to the country. They’re visually analogous to the Czechoslovak hiking markers mentioned in step 1.1, including the yellow post on directional signs.
Window shutters are considerably more common in Slovakia than in Czechia.
Many Slovak houses have the short side facing the road with the roof ending in a hip end.
Grey metal roofs are very common, particularly in the eastern parts of Slovakia.
While Czechia has a lot of Generation 3 winter coverage, Slovakia has a lot of Generation 3 spring coverage.
The Slovak railway crossing sign has a white rectangular background.
It is fairly common to see small signs with double sign posts in Slovakia.
Slovakia recently changed its standard bollard to a design very similar to the one found in Hungary: a standard European wedge-shaped bollard with a red front reflector. Note that for the time being, this bollard is still very rare.
A red Generation 4 car, which is not found in most European countries such as Czechia, is common in Slovakia.
It is somewhat more common to see wooden poles, and in turn, white concrete supports in Slovakia rather than in Czechia.
Slovak phone numbers typically consist of 10 digits, of which the first 2-3 digits are the area code.
Apart from the major highways, for which the numbers do not follow any clear pattern, there are two types of numbered roads in Slovakia: 3-digit and 4-digit roads. While many 3-digit roads do not follow any pattern, the ones between 500-560 are generally ordered from west to east. Similarly, the 4-digit road numbers also increase to the east.
The tallest mountains in Slovakia are found in the central and northern parts of the country, while the flattest areas are found mainly in the southwest and in the southeast.
The western lowlands in Slovakia are characterised by completely flat agricultural fields, which are rare to find anywhere else in the country.
The eastern lowlands can typically be recognized by wide, flat fields, surrounded by hills or mountains in the far distance.
Several areas in southern Slovakia have a Hungarian majority, with bilingual street and information signs.
Concrete poles in Nitra and Trnava regions commonly have yellow circles painted on them, usually containing a number. They are also occasionally found in adjacent regions.NOTE: This is only the case with circles, other shapes are found elsewhere in the country.
Yellow lamp posts with a blue base are mainly found in the east, with a notable exception being the city of Zvolen.
Two wide valleys surrounded by tall, often sharp mountains can be found in the northern parts of the country. Due to the directions of the valleys, figuring out the direction to the closest mountain is typically enough to differentiate the two.
Pine forests are common in the westernmost part of the country.
In the northeastern parts of the Prešov region, you may find bilingual town entry signs in Rusyn, a Cyrillic based language closely related to Ukrainian.
Not only is Bratislava by far the largest city in the country, it is also the only major city with a large river running through it.
Bratislava and Košice are the only two cities with trams, using a red and a yellow-blue-white colour scheme respectively.
Trolleybuses in Žilina use a green-yellow-white colour scheme. The trolley supporting electricity poles, often doubling as lamps, are painted with matching yellow and green colours.
Skalica, in the northeastern corner of the country, has red street signs, similar to the ones commonly found in Czechia. However, the somewhat stylized font distinguishes it from the Czech signs.
Čičmany, in the westernmost parts of the Žilina Region, is easily recognized by the dark brown wooden houses, whose walls are filled with art consisting of white lines.
The Slovenian landscape is generally very hilly and forested, with occasional agriculture.
A very significant portion of the coverage in Slovenia was taken on small roads deep inside forest.
Slovenian architecture takes much inspiration from alpine architecture, with light coloured walls, dark wooden details and semi-steep roofs. The most common roof shape is half-hipped roofs.
Slovene is a Slavic language featuring the special letters Č, Š, and Ž. It is closely related to Croatian, Serbian and Montenegrin.
Slovenian bollards are white with a black top. The front reflector will typically be bright red, while the back reflector will be white.
Slovenian directional signs are yellow with a black border.
Slovenian kilometre markers have a very distinct design. At the top left the road number is shown in a yellow rectangle, and a second number is to the right of it. A horizontal black line divides the top and bottom, and the distance is shown below.
Slovenian chevrons usually have red arrows on a white background.
Slovenian roads commonly feature long outer dashes.
Slovenian pedestrian signs have five stripes and a simply drawn person without a belt.
Slovenian street signs are most commonly white with a metal border attached to signposts, or red and attached to house walls.
Slovenian house numbers are typically red with white text.
Slovenia uses a regular A-type guardrail, like most European countries. This guardrail type has rounded edges.
This type of shed, called a kozolec, made of thin wooden beams with noticeable gaps in between, is very typical for Slovenia.
The tallest mountains in the country can be found in the northwestern alpine region.
Flat, or rolling, agricultural fields with no mountains or tall hills in view can be seen in the east of the country.
Near the coast you get a landscape similar to the rest of the Adriatic coast; white cliffs with bushy vegetation, vineyards and Mediterranean architecture.
A wide valley going east to west, with mountains to the north and south can be found in the southeast.
Italian bilingual signs can be found in the westernmost region.
Instead of the normal red house numbers, Ljubljana will typically feature green house numbers.
Street signs in Celje feature the emblem of the city, a blue shield with three yellow stars.
Similar to Celje, Trbovlje also features the city’s coat of arms, which is a blue and green shield with a black crest.
Spain uses standard long, white European plates with a single blue strip on the left.
The standard Spanish bollards have a yellow-orange reflector on the front and two white dots on the back (though the back can also be blank). They are typically hollow.
In Spain, you can find a variety of electricity poles and pole tops. In small towns and sparsely populated rural areas concrete ladder poles and wooden poles are the most common.
“French style” poletops are common in Spain. They are shaped like an upside down triangle, with a horizontal top bar that is curved slightly upwards. They are usually found on top of tall ladder poles or medium sized steel poles.
High voltage electricity lines supported by pylons are very common in Spain, especially compared to other Mediterranean countries.
Spain has distinct road markers with a variety of colourful borders. The code on top is the number of the road.
In rural areas you will often find hunting signs. There are two versions, both of which are unique to Spain. One is a simple white sign with a text starting with “coto” and ending in “caza”. The other one has a diagonally divided black and white background.
Spain has yellow reflectors on rounded A-type guardrails.
Spanish pedestrian crossing signs have 8 stripes. This is the highest number of stripes in Europe, and almost unique to Spain.
Spanish stop signs have a distinct small font.
Red borders on road signs extend all the way to the edge of the sign. There is no small white border separating the red part from the edge.
Almost all traffic signs, kilometre markers, chevrons and some direction signs in Spain have a flat signpost.
Spain has two chevrons: black with white arrows, and blue with white arrows. Chevrons with a single arrow are rare.
Spanish direction signs have a white background. They often feature colourful boxes with road numbers, making them recognizable. These road number boxes can be many different colours.
Rural roads sometimes have dashed outer lines. This can help tell Spain apart from Portugal and Italy, where such road lines are (almost) non-existent.
Spanish is the main language in most of the country. It is a Romance language that is closely related to Portuguese.
The Spanish word for street is calle.
You will often find no parking signs in front of garage doors and gates. They will usually read “Vado permanente”.
Spain has highly diverse landscapes, ranging from lush Atlantic forests to bone-dry semideserts. Elevation is also varied: highland plateaus interspersed with rolling hills are common, but you might also encounter jagged mountain ranges and very flat lowland areas.
While there is not one single definitive Spanish landscape, most of the country has a somewhat dry, Mediterranean climate, with matching vegetation and agriculture.
Generation 3 cars can have long, short or no antennas. The back of the car is usually not visible, but when it is, it can be either black or white.
Generation 4 cars are blue or less commonly black. The car can be completely hidden.
Spanish regional road numbers feature region-specific codes. These are found on road markers, and sometimes on direction signs.
Area codes in Spain are very useful, as you only need two digits to get a very accurate guess. Every landline number starts with “9”, followed by the regional numbers.
Spain has several regional languages. The ones that are most useful to GeoGuessr are Catalan, Basque and Galician.
Catalan is a Romance language that is closely related to both Spanish and French.
The Catalan word for street is “carrer”.
No parking signs in Catalan speaking areas will read “Gual permanent”. Most municipalities use “gual” in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, while it’s more common to find a mix of Spanish and Catalan signs in Valencia.
Basque is a language isolate that is spoken in the Basque Country and northern Navarre. In these regions, you will find a mix of Spanish and Basque signs (often bilingual).
Streets in Basque-speaking areas are sometimes called “kalea”. However, Spanish “calle” is also still common.
Road signs in the Basque Country and Navarre often have these distinctive bilingual sub-signs with a thick black border.
Galician is a Romance language that is closely related to Portuguese. It is (unsurprisingly) spoken in Galicia. Compared to Catalan, it is less dominant, meaning you will still find a lot of Spanish-only signs in this region.
Streets are commonly called Rúa in Galicia, whereas in Portugal they are called Rua (without an accent). However, you can sometimes find signs without the accent in Galicia.
Many Galician town names start with A, O, As or Os articles (examples: “A Pena”, “O Burgo”, “As Cruces”). This is both very common and unique to this region, and rarely over the border in western Asturias.
The regional flags of the autonomous communities are reasonably common, so it is worth learning them.
The Catalan Independence flag is not official, but is commonly found in Catalan-speaking areas. It uses the red-and-yellow striped Senyera pattern that is also used in four of the autonomous community flags.
Spain is a very mountainous country.
The landscape in the far north is much more green and lush than the rest of Spain. The landscape is generally quite hilly. Hedges and green meadows are common. In some places, this region’s landscape bears a vague resemblance to Ireland, France and the UK.
The Pyrenees is a large mountain range on the border between Spain and France. Its mountains are some of the highest in all of Spain. It can be recognized by its light grey rock and abundance of pine trees. Local architecture features many rock walls.
Thick forests of tall pines can be found all throughout the Pyrenees. When encountered in smaller mountains in between grazing fields or agricultural land, it will most likely be in the Basque Country or Navarra.
The centre of Castilla y León features a mostly flat agricultural landscape, with only slight changes in elevation. Most of the fields will have cereal crops like wheat and barley, and it is fairly common to find sunflower plantations.
Vineyards can be found in several places in Spain. However, if you see vineyards in between mountain ranges to the north and south, you are most likely in La Rioja.
Starting in Navarra and cutting across the middle of Aragón, there is a strip of semi-desert landscape on both sides of the Ebro river basin. Light sandy soil and small shrubs growing on small hills are common in this area.
Very arid looking and mostly flat areas are common in central and south Aragón.
Castilla la Mancha can have completely flat landscapes, which are not that common in Castilla y León. Half of Spain’s wine is produced in this region, so vineyards are fairly common.
Open fields sparsely populated with holm oaks (Quercus ilex) and cork oaks (Quercus suber) are very common in Extremadura and neighbouring regions. These species of oaks tend to be on the smaller side, and have a Mediterranean look. Be careful not to confuse them with olive trees, as they can look superficially similar to the untrained eye.
In the southeast of Spain, especially in Murcia, you can find a rather arid landscape, with very sandy soil and medium sized mountains surrounding.
Mountains in this area, especially Murcia and the south of Alicante have a very distinct look.
The mountain range of Sierra Nevada features snowy peaks through the months of November and May. Sierra Nevada is the only mountain range in south Spain with snow during most of the year.
Towns built on a mountain face, consisting entirely of white houses, are very common on the south coast of Spain, around Málaga.
Olive trees are one of the main crops planted in Spain, they can be commonly seen in more than half of the country.
Around Córdoba and Jaén, you can find massive olive tree plantations growing over rolling hills and going as far as the eye can see.
South of Madrid, olive tree plantations are usually in small or medium sized fields, in mostly flat terrain and commonly accompanied by red soil.
Olive plantations on the east coast are commonly fenced or behind rock walls and you will almost always see mountains in some direction.
All throughout the north coast of Spain you will find eucalyptus plantations looking like this. Galicia has more plantations than the rest of the north combined.
When you encounter eucalyptus trees in a dry environment, you will most likely be in the province of Huelva. You can find them more rarely in Extremadura in the north and up until Córdoba in the east.
On the east coast of Spain, you can find many orange tree plantations. They are usually in small valleys, and if they are in flat land you can usually see mountains to the west, north or south.
In the Guadalquivir river basin you can also find many orange plantations, usually in much more open and flat terrain than those of the east coast.
Corn is most commonly grown in big river basins in Spain. It is also grown on the north coast, especially Galicia, and in an area in the north west of Castilla y León.
Stone pines (Pinus pinea) can be recognized by their fluffy leaves, and compact bulbous crown that is wider than it is tall.
Aleppo pines (Pinus halepensis) also have fluffy leaves, but their crown is less compact, more disorganised looking, and often taller, compared to stone pines.
Baltic pines (Pinus sylvestris) are tall and thin, with a dark bark that sheds at the top, revealing the orange-red wood underneath. They usually do not have branches on the bottom half of the trunk, especially when fully grown.
Maritime pines (Pinus Pinaster) has two variants in Spain, near the Atlantic coast, it has grey bark with red undertones, and fluffy branches that point upwards. Older trees often don’t have any branches in the bottom half of the tree.
In the rest of Spain you can find the Mediterranean variant of the tree. It still has a grey bark with red tones, and it is usually very fissured.
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, of which Norway has sovereignty over. As such, Svalbard is counted as Norway for country streaks purposes.
Licence plates in Svalbard are generally black with yellow text.
The general landscape consists of barren, treeless mountains. Trees and greenery are a very rare sight, with the majority of vegetation consisting of moss and grasses. The sky is also often overcast, with a gloomy look to the coverage.
Russian can sometimes be found on signs.
Longyearbyen is the largest settlement on Svalbard, with many boxy, minimalistic buildings around the town.
Pyramiden feels more abandoned compared to Longyearbyen. Multi-storey soviet-style apartment blocks can be seen, however, with a lack of human-activity. As the name suggests, many pyramidal mountains can be seen in the distance.
Of the three towns, Barentsburg feels the most desolate. Distinct, multi-coloured apartment blocks can be seen near the top of the hill. Coverage is also more overcast and gloomy than Longyearbyen or Pyramiden.
This road going south-east of Longyearbyen can be recognized by the barren, treeless mountains on both sides of the road, with lakes leading up to the mountains. A small black mirror can sometimes be seen on the left.
A trekker can be seen holding on to a red car heading up a winding road, south of the Svalbard Airport. If the car is not present, this distinct line of mountains to the northeast is a good indicator that you are there.
This large ship can be seen around the Northwest Spitsbergen National Park. The coverage gets increasingly late toward the east, where it eventually becomes dark.
This boat with a wooden deck can be seen in these places.
This small red boat with men in red jackets on board can be seen in the northwest.
This boat with a black deck can be seen in Isfjorden, between Barentsburg and Grumant.
This boat can be seen east of Pyramiden, and can be identified by the slanted front of the wheelhouse.
Swedish licence plates are long, white, and have the standard blue EU strip on the left side. Licence plates on taxis have a yellow background instead of white.
Swedish is a North Germanic language that is closely related to Danish and Norwegian. The Swedish alphabet contains the special letters Å, Ä and Ö.
On smaller roads, the outer road lines are white and dashed. They are distinctly shorter than the Norwegian dashed lines. In contrast to Norway and Finland, all road lines are white.
The outer road lines on highways look solid from a distance, but are typically divided into small sections with a unique pattern, which is different from the solid lines in Finland and Norway. Road lines in Denmark can have a similar pattern, however the individual sections should be rectangular.
Swedish bollards are black-and-white, typically with a grey reflector. Reflectors by intersections are commonly orange instead. They can be either wedge-shaped, round, or thin and curved.
Snow poles are typically orange, with a tall white reflector slightly above the middle of the pole. Some poles have a second, thinner reflector above the normal one.
Swedish utility poles are usually wooden and can have a variety of poletops. There is commonly a small black metal cap on the very top, which is only found in Nordic countries.
These wooden electricity markers, with a blue and a white stripe at the top, are often found near utility poles and pylons, and are not found in any other Nordic country.
Swedish pedestrian signs have four stripes. There is notably a version featuring a female silhouette.
Most directional signs are blue with a white font and border. A thin arrow shows the direction.
Swedish road signs have a red border and a yellow background.
Sweden is the only country in Europe whose chevrons have yellow arrows on a blue background.
On smaller roads, it is common to see these blue signs with a large white M.
Signposts will often have striped markings. Blue and white, and red and yellow are the two most common, but you can also find other colours such as blue and red or white and red.
On top of having red and yellow road signs and signpost markings, Sweden often has a lot of road infrastructure, such as road work signs and road blocks, painted red and yellow. You can even come across red and yellow chevrons.
Swedish street names most commonly use the suffixes “vägen” and “gatan”. They are often shortened into “v” and “g” respectively on street signs. Street names can also use “väg” or “gata” as a separate word in a street name. Additionally, the suffix “gränd” can be found near city centres.
Houses in the Swedish countryside are most commonly wooden and often painted with a distinct dark red paint, which is almost exclusively found in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Sweden has a varied landscape, with a lot of boreal forests, small to medium-sized farmlands and many lakes. The northern and western parts of the country are quite mountainous, with long, narrow lakes and rivers, while the southern and eastern parts are generally flatter.
The most common car brand in Sweden is Volvo, which makes up almost 30% of all passenger cars.
The Swedish church flag has a red cross on a yellow background with a crown in the middle, and is often found near churches throughout the country.
A white street view car with a long antenna is featured on a lot of Generation 3 coverage.
Generation 4 coverage in Sweden features three Street View cars: a red, a white, and a blue car. Each of the cars can be seen with or without a visible antenna.
Broad leafed trees, other than birches, only grow naturally in the southern half of the country, and become increasingly common the further south you get.
Ferns are mostly found in southern and central Sweden. It can occasionally be found further north in the east.
While it is possible to see forested mountains in several regions in the country, mountains with no trees at the top can only be found in the northwestern parts of the country.
This type of vegetation, consisting of thin, weak-looking boreal trees and somewhat sandy soil can be found in the far north of Sweden.
Beech forests, which can generally be recognised by the barren ground covered in brown leafs, are mainly found in the far south.
Rock walls are mainly found in the south, with the largest concentration being in several coastal areas, on Öland, and on the southern and northern tips of Gotland.
It is very common to see exposed, often somewhat round, rocks on the Swedish west coast. They will often have lower vegetation, such as small bushes, growing on them.
In Skåne you will find the most open agricultural landscape in Sweden. It is the only region where, rather than a dense forest in the distance, you can get only a few small patches of trees strewn across the fields. On top of that, crops are often more diverse than the cereal crops, which are typical for the rest of Sweden.
The area surrounding lake Mälaren can often be recognized by the fairly flat ground with medium sized agricultural fields, forests beyond them, and small “islands” of bushes and trees in the middle of the fields.
The agricultural landscape of Västergötland and Östergötland is mostly flat, similarly to the landscape around lake Mälaren. The two most consistent differences is that this landscape is more open and has lots of wind turbines. While you can almost always see a forest in the distance, it will typically be much further away than around Mälaren.
On the west coast, and particularly in Halland, you will see a lot of flat agricultural fields with small, round, forested hills in the distance. Generally, the hills get larger and the fields get smaller further north. The area also has more precipitation than most of the country, and as such it typically looks very lush.
If you see flat, medium-sized to small agricultural fields, and you suspect that you are in the northern half of the country, you are likely somewhat close to the coast between Umeå and Luleå.
In most of Jämtland County, particularly around lake Storsjön, you can find large farmlands, commonly situated in the middle of wide, often somewhat steep hills, which is uncommon in the rest of the country, where most farmlands will be either on flat ground or in valleys. The fields are generally not cultivated and will mostly consist of ordinary grass.
The landscape around the High Coast in Västernorrland can be recognised by the many forested, rocky mountains surrounding agricultural valleys. The valleys are rarely straight and the mountains are of varying heights and shapes.
Agricultural fields in and around Södermanland very often go through small valleys, with forests up on the sides of the valleys. The fields are typically medium to small sized.
White sand can often be seen next to roads on Gotland. It is typically more noticeable in the northern half of the island and on Fårö.
Red dirt roads are mainly found in two areas in Sweden: Dalarna and around the southern east coast.
Dirt roads which have a deep grey colour and are aligned with low, green grassy vegetation on either side are commonly found in the northern half of Jämtland. This is mostly found in Generation 4 summer and Generation 3 fall coverage.
Öland is an extremely flat island with a somewhat barren south half with many small bushes, while the north is typically slightly lusher with fewer, but larger bushes and some trees. The island also contains a very large number of small rock walls.
It is very common to see long, neat rows of moderately thin birches in urban areas along the north coast.
Grey metal roofs on residential buildings generally get more common the further north in the country you get. Note that metal roofs on barns and sheds can be found significantly further south.
Houses in Skåne commonly have either a white stone, or a red brick wall with a coloured wooden triangle beneath the roof on the sides. Similar houses with other materials (such as grey brick) for the walls can be found elsewhere in the southern half of the country.
Half-timbered houses can be found mainly in the southern half of Skåne, but also in the northern half and southern Halland. It can also be found in Visby on rare occasions.
A lot of single family houses in Skåne are built out of red brick. They typically look slightly older than red brick houses in other parts of the country.
Corrugated square metal roof panels with moss growing on them are typically found in southern Sweden, particularly in Skåne and Blekinge. It is mainly found on large barns, and the roofs are often very steep.
Grey diamond-tiled roofs are mainly found in Skåne, Blekinge, Öland, and occasionally on Gotland.
While houses in Sweden are mostly very colourful, on the west coast they are commonly much lighter. There are an especially large number of white and light yellow houses along the coast between Gothenburg and the Norwegian border.
Dense rows of very small red sheds are commonly found in coastal towns on the northern west coast.
Central Dalarna has a strong tradition of wooden craftsmanship, and as a result much of the architecture has a unique, picturesque look to it. Most commonly, you may find red timbered houses, portals made of logs, and so-called härbren which have a very distinct design.
Hälsingland has many big, mostly red, farmhouses. They are characterised by many large windows, 2–3 floors, and the front facade being long and grand-looking. Barns can also be seen having an unusual amount of windows in the region.
Along the northern coast you will commonly encounter agricultural sheds which are either octagonal or rectangular, with the walls noticeably leaning outwards. They will typically be made out of red-painted logs.
Houses on Gotland are commonly made of limestone and often have a dirty-looking white facade. Churches on Gotland are very distinct looking, with either grey walls or white walls with grey corners, a large portal around the door and small windows typically divided in two by a pillar.
This type of uneven stone brick is typically found in houses and rock walls on Öland, and less commonly in rock walls on Gotland.
By far the most important way to recognize Switzerland, is that all car coverage is low-cam. This means that the camera on the Google car is intentionally set up lower than in most other countries. This can be recognized in two ways:
Swiss licence plates differ substantially from other European plates. They are fully white and lack the blue strip found in most other European countries.
Swiss bollards are black-and-white with white or grey reflectors. They can be either wedge-shaped or cylindrical with a rounded top.
The colour of directional signs indicates which type of road you are on. Main road signs will be blue, while side roads are white.
Swiss pedestrian signs have seven stripes, making it almost unique for Europe. Furthermore, rather than the typical European square shape, the signs appear as tall blue rectangles.
Long dashed yellow road lines are a good clue for Switzerland.
Pedestrian crossings are typically painted yellow and exclusive to Switzerland and Liechtenstein within Europe.
Swiss road signs commonly have a round, grey metal border around them.
Town entry signs in Switzerland are usually white or blue, with a metal frame around them.
Chevrons are black with a white arrow. You may also rarely find chevrons that are white with a black arrow.
While the southern half of Switzerland is extremely mountainous, with long, thin valleys between the mountains, the northern half mostly consists of large farmlands on either flat ground or rolling hills, typically with forested hills in the distance.
Swiss and Alpine architecture in general largely consists of stone buildings painted in light and warm colours, often combined with wooden parts and details. Roofs are typically tiled and of a gable type. It is extremely common for windows to have wooden shutters which open horizontally in two parts.
These bus stop signs, with thick metal signposts going around them, are unique to Switzerland.
Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh, which are spoken in the regions shown. Note that some areas, mostly near the region borders, are bilingual.
The text on the speed limit signs varies depending on the official languages in the region.
Cantons are the first-level administrative division of Switzerland. It is very common to find the two-letter abbreviation for the canton that you are in, as seen on some town entry signs. As such, remembering these can be a great asset when region-guessing Switzerland.
The first digits of Swiss postal codes are a good way to regionguess the country. The general pattern is that the numbers increase from the west to east.
Elevation is an important part of region-guessing Switzerland. The southern half of Switzerland is extremely mountainous, while the northern half mostly has smaller mountains and hills.
These large town entry signs can sometimes be found in the canton of Vaud.
Not unexpectedly, seeing typical Italian architecture in Switzerland should imply that you are in the Italian-speaking areas in the south, principally the canton of Ticino.
A fairly flat landscape with a long chain of disappointingly sized, well-forested mountains northwest means you are likely south of the Jura Mountains.
You may find several different types of road dividers across the country, distributed as seen in this graphic. This image was provided by quarksauce. You can click on the image to enlarge it.
If the area around your location appears hilly, but not mountainous, and you manage to catch a glimpse of a large lake to the south, with tall mountains on the other side, then you are very likely north of Lake Geneva.
Seeing a wide lake to the northeast, situated in a landscape with relatively low elevation, means you should be looking at Lake Constance (on some Maps labelled as the Bodensee).
The valley of Martigny has the highest density of fruit plantations in the country. It can easily be recognized by the many small fruit trees in combination with the wide, flat valley with large mountains on either side.
Apart from the valley of Martigny, the most likely area to find fruit trees is near Lake Constance, followed by the area northwest of Lake Geneva.
In the canton of Graubünden, you can find this unique and easily recognizable train coverage on the tracks of the “Bernina Express.” It runs around most of the canton, all the way down to Tirano in Italy.
Generation 2 coverage is very limited in Switzerland. It can be found mostly near the border between the cantons of Bern and Valais, and on a few very short stretches in Schaffhausen.
These blue street signs, with rounded edges on the sides, are unique to the city of Sankt Gallen.
Downtown Bern can be recognized by this specific architecture. Grey toned buildings, typically with four floors and large, somewhat rounded openings lined up on the ground floor are common.
Turkey uses the same licence plates as most of Europe: they are long and white, with a blue strip on the left.
The Turkish language has a fairly unique look. It uses the following special characters:
Turkish bollards have a simple design: rectangular, plain white, and with a red reflector on the front. They are thin when seen from the side.
The colour of Turkish road lines is somewhat inconsistent. Most roads simply have white road lines. However, it is not uncommon to see yellow road lines. These roads can have fully yellow lines, or a combination of yellow and white lines.
Many roads have pavement with a grainy “salt and pepper” texture.
Divided highways are extremely common, especially compared to other Mediterranean countries.
Turkish chevrons are typically red on white. Beware that there are some other regional variants.
On intersections, you can often find this distinctive black and yellow chevron, with multiple arrows that point upward.
Sometimes, you can see these narrow chevrons that have a red and white colour scheme.
Direction signs use a very distinct font that can often be recognised by the noticeably wide letter spaces.
Snow poles usually feature a colour sequence of black-orange-black-white from top to bottom, with small red reflectors.
Stop signs have the word “DUR” written on them. This is unique to Turkey.
Turkey uses both main types of guardrails:
Metal poles, either in the shape of a ladder or with a mesh pattern, are extremely common in Turkey.
In the Generation 3 coverage, the Google car never has an antenna.
The Generation 4 coverage in Turkey typically features a white Google car. Usually, only a tiny sliver of the back of the car is visible. The car can have a short antenna, or no antenna at all.
A grey pickup truck can be found in some Generation 4 coverage.
The Turkish landscape ranges from arid in the southeast to a Mediterranean landscape in the southwest. In the north you will often find a more forested and lush landscape. The most typical landscape is semi-arid, either rolling or flat, with vast agricultural fields, containing very limited vegetation other than crops.
Tall and somewhat square apartment blocks are very common in Turkey.
Turkey is a muslim country, and as such mosques can be found in most towns. In particular, tall minarets are extremely common and a good clue for the country.
Brick pavement is very common in urban areas, and the bricks will typically have the shape shown in the image.
Turkish area codes follow a fairly easy to learn pattern and can be very useful to get the general region. Most notably, the first digit of area codes are ordered from 2 in the west to 4 in the east.
Turkey has three main types of numbered roads. The largest type are the O-roads, which on kilometre markers feature an O followed by a hyphen and the road number. The second largest type are the D-roads, which omit the “D” on kilometre markers and instead only feature a 3-digit road number, followed by the road section number on the top and the kilometre at the bottom. The section number will generally increase to the southeast.
The third type of roads are provincial roads. While these generally aren’t labelled on the map, they can still be used to regionguess since the kilometre markers feature the provincial code as the first two digits on the sign. These codes generally increase alphabetically from 01 to 76 with some newer regions being unordered. Shown in the image is a road from the Afyon Province (03).
Northern Turkey tends to be significantly lusher and more forested than the rest of the country.
In the northeast you will find uncultivated grasslands in valleys surrounded by round hills. Trees are very limited in the region. In Generation 3 the area has an extremely distinct look, with deep green grass covering the hills. It is significantly more difficult to recognise in Generation 4, where the grass has a more arid look.
Turkish pines (pinus brutia) are mainly found near the Mediterranean coast.
Tea plantations are common in the province of Rize.
Olive trees are mainly found on the Mediterranean coast.
Sunflowers are mainly found in northwestern Turkey.
A majority of all vineyards in Turkey can be found in a region east of Izmir.
Cotton is mainly found in the region surrounding the city of Şanlıurfa.
Lake Van is by far the biggest lake in Turkey and has a semi-arid landscape, being surrounded by dry grassy hills and occasional trees and agricultural fields near the shore.
Dark, volcanic rocks are commonly found between the cities of Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır.
River valleys surrounded by steep, barren and rocky cliff sides can be found between the cities of Erzurum and Artvin and in the southeast near the city of Hakkâri.
Tiled roofs are mostly found in the western two thirds of the country.
Flat roofs are mostly found in the southeast and to a lesser extent along the south coast.
Metal roofs are most common in the east.
Sheet metal roofs shaped like low pyramids are mainly found far east, particularly in the general area surrounding Lake Van.
Many buildings in the Nevşehir Province are built by large, light and unevenly coloured, sandstone bricks.
Yellow on black chevrons are mainly found in and around the Balıkesir Province in the west and in the Kars Province in the far east. Beware that you may very rarely find them elsewhere.
Black on yellow chevrons are mainly found north of Izmir.
Four-lane divided highways with no divider, other than double middle road lines, are almost exclusively found in the eastern half of the country.
Vertical water tanks can be found in most of Turkey, but are notably uncommon along the south and west coast.
Horizontal water tanks placed on top of vertical water tanks are primarily found in a line following the south coast and going up to Elâzığ.
Square water tanks with angled corners are found in the south, approximately from İskenderun to Sanliurfa.
White spherical water tanks can be found in the southeast, mainly south of Batman.
Street signs in the Ankara Province are blue with a small round top. Similar street signs can very rarely be found in Giresun.
Street signs in the Izmir Province are dark blue, noticeably bulge outwards and very commonly have the emblem of Izmir in white at the top of the sign.
If you find yourself surrounded by greenhouses, you are likely to be along the south coast west of Adana.
Around the city of Bodrum you will commonly find this type of whitewashed buildings with flat roofs, often combined with blue details or unpainted stone walls.
Generation 4 snow coverage can be found south of Kayseri and in and around Erzurum. The easiest way to tell them apart is that the area around Kayseri is either mountainous or hilly, while Erzurum is flat, with a mountain range to the south.
Göreme, west of Kayseri, can be recognised by the tall sandstone monoliths with ancient dwellings carved into them.
Mount Ararat, labelled as Ağrı Dağı on Google Maps, is a dormant volcano in far eastern Turkey and the tallest mountain in the country. It is often seen together with Küçük Ağrı, a smaller volcano to the southeast.
Banana plants are found around the city of Alanya.
Road E99 south of Şanlıurfa is a divided highway which can be recognised by the slightly hazy Generation 4 sunrise coverage combined with the flat agricultural landscape and general south-north road angle.
Road D525 south of Söke is a completely straight road going south-south-west to north-north-east with winter Generation 3 coverage. Along the road you will typically find a large amount of reed.
Along the western shore of Lake Beyşehir and Lake Eğirdir you can find this small single lane road with jagged, exposed rock and Turkish pines to the west. These two can be differentiated by the road west of Lake Eğirdir having a middle road line.
These light blue and grey touristic signs which are either arrow shaped or rectangular with a half circle on the top can be found on the island of Bozcaada.
Red street signs with a coloured bottom strip are found in several cities. In the bottom right corner, you can find a white arrow and some numbers. If this arrow is pointing in both directions and has a single arrowhead, rather than double, then you are almost certainly in Istanbul.
Street signs in Trabzon and Yalvaç are red and oval-shaped. House numbers also feature the same design.
Street signs in Bursa are green, and generally have slightly extruded letters, meaning the signs are not completely flat.
Street signs in Bolu are also green, but are completely flat and lack any kind of border.
Ukraine uses long, white licence plates, with a distinctive blue and yellow strip on the left (the colours of the flag).
All coverage in Ukraine is Generation 3. Most of it was made using a red Google car. This car is almost unique to Ukraine. It sometimes has an antenna, and sometimes no antenna. Note that the car is not always visible, though at times you will still be able to tell its colour due to the car blur glitch.
More rarely, you can also find several other Google cars in Ukraine:
On average, Ukraine has some of the worst roads in Europe. Most rural roads have lots of potholes, cracks and warped pavement.
Many random streetside objects are painted in the colours of the Ukrainian flag: blue and yellow. Most commonly, you will see fences that have this colour.
The Ukrainian language uses the Cyrillic script.
The Ukrainian word for street is вулиця (vulytsya), abbreviated вул. (vul.).
The Ukrainian word for city is місто (misto), abbreviated м. (m.). It can be used both to differentiate it from other cyrillic languages and to quickly find the city name in addresses.
Ukraine uses white town entry signs.
Ukraine primarily uses square concrete poles. They can have a variety of different pole tops, and sometimes have white paint at the bottom.
Poles often have diagonal support beams.
You can also find wooden poles, sometimes with concrete support blocks at their base.
Ukraine uses a red chevron with white arrows.
Ukrainian pedestrian signs have three stripes.
Guardrails and barriers will often be painted black and white, similar to Russia.
In bigger cities and towns, you will often see big Soviet-era apartment blocks. These are often made of light grey brick. They tend to look fairly rundown and poorly maintained. Some are made of concrete prefab units that are stacked on top of each other.
Single-family homes are very common in suburbs and small towns. These neighbourhoods are often heavily vegetated and tend to look rundown. Most roads are unpaved. Buildings are usually made of bricks, often have corrugated roofs, and are invariably surrounded by fences.
This is the stereotypical rural round in Ukraine:
Almost all Ukrainian coverage was made in the summer, meaning the foliage is green and the people around are dressed for sunny weather.
These tall poplar trees are common in many parts of the country.
Coverage in Ukraine is mostly limited to urban areas and the main roads between them. See the region-guessing section for a map.
This is a map of street view coverage in Ukraine. Most coverage between cities is on yellow roads.
Ukrainian landline phone numbers start with a two-digit area code. Each oblast has its own area code. If the third digit is a 2, it refers to a phone number in the oblast’s capital (typically the biggest city).
The first two letters on Ukrainian licence plates determine in which oblast the vehicle is registered in, making unblurred licence plates very useful for regionguessing. Unlike most regional plates in Europe, they’re not intuitive, so learning the codes beforehand is essential for utilising them.
Oblast-specific second-level internet domains can occasionally be found in Ukraine. Seen in the image is the domain for Ternopil Oblast (.te.ua). They can typically be used without being memorised, as they’re mostly intuitive. You can however learn them here.
Five major cities were covered in 2011, years before the rest of the country was covered: Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Odesa and Donetsk.
This older 2011 coverage was made with a black or white Google car, instead of the standard red one. Both cars have a long antenna.
The Carpathian Mountains is an area in western Ukraine that is significantly hillier than the rest of the country, in some places bordering on mountainous. It is also much more forested, with very little agriculture, and a lot of pine trees. The roads going through it tend to be more curvy, rather than the straight highways found in the rest of the country.
Forests with Baltic pines (Pinus sylvestris) are most commonly found in the north, most often near the border with Belarus. Baltic pines are usually tall and have orange-red bark.
Towards the south, the climate becomes warmer and drier. The landscape is more arid. Forests are considerably more rare, and make way for shrubs and open fields. The difference is not extreme, but can become noticeable after some practice.
Sunflowers are grown in most of Ukraine. However, they only start to bloom as early as late July. Due to the way Ukraine was covered, this means you will usually only see sunflower fields that are in bloom in the far south and east of the country.
The Russian language can be found in Ukraine, particularly in the east and south. While there are several differences between Russian and Ukrainian, these are some of the most noteworthy:
A leaf can be seen on the back of the Google car from: Ternopil to Zolochiv on the H02, Ternopil to Brody on the P39, and from Brody to Dubno on the E40. It can also be seen from Brody to Pochaiv on the P26 and from Dubno to Miyniv on the E85.
The older 2011 coverage in Odesa was made using a silver car with a short antenna, rather than a black or white car with a long antenna. The car may sometimes be fully blurred.
Red soil can be seen on some ultra-rural dirt tracks around the iron mine in Kryvyi Rih, due to mining activity. Brazilian-style poles can also be seen, making locations around the mine very convincing bait. The foliage, however, will be significantly less tropical, and a long antenna can be seen.
These poles, with a red band across them, are unique to Kryvyi Rih.
Within Ukraine, this visual glitch is unique to the city of Ivano-Frankivsk.
These “Polish” bollards can be found in the Zakarpattia Oblast. They have a red reflector that wraps around the bollard.
The area near the border with Hungary is majority Hungarian. As a result, you will see a lot of signs with Hungarian language on it – bilingual or even monolingual.
In addition, the villages in this region look similar to Hungarian architecture. Settlements are fairly linear and organised, with predominantly single-storey houses that are closer to the street. Many roofs have orange tiles or diamond-shaped slate tiles that are similar to roofs found in central European countries like Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia.
Google sent a special car trekker to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, where the nuclear disaster happened in the 1980s. This car goes from Ivankiv all the way to the abandoned town of Pripyat.
On one side of the road going to Chernobyl, a yellow flag with an Opel logo can be seen on the Google car’s antenna.
UK front plates are white, while back plates are yellow. Some plates have a blue strip on the left, but most do not.
The UK drives on the left side of the road.
Double yellow road lines are often found on the sides of marked roads, especially in urban areas. These lines indicate a no stopping zone.
These middle lines, that consist of long dashes with cat’s eyes (reflectors) in the gaps between the dashes, are a good clue for the UK.
The most common bollard in the UK looks like this. It has a rounded shape, with a red reflector on the front and a white one on the back. The base and top are black, with a white stripe in the middle.
The UK uses wooden poles. Pole steps bolted on the side of the pole are very common. These pole steps are shaped like a series of thin horizontal metal rods.
Chevrons are black with white arrows.
Like most European countries, the UK uses triangular warning signs with a red border and a white background.
Direction signs in the United Kingdom can be blue, green, or white.Look for the letters A or M, as these are the major roads in the country. Smaller roads start with B.
The UK commonly uses these white street signs with black text, that are positioned low to the ground. They are usually supported by two small posts. Many street signs in suburban areas will have a small cul-de-sac icon.
UK yield signs feature the phrase “GIVE WAY”.
The yellow warning stickers on utility poles can be a good way to distinguish between the UK and Ireland.
This yellow traffic bollard is commonly found in the UK.
Pedestrian crossing signs are almost non-existent in the UK. Instead, pedestrian crossings will often have these distinctive black and white striped poles, with a yellow light bulb on top.
Rural metal gates with square corners are very common in the UK.
The British countryside tends to be very green, with lots of hedgerows lining the road. Low, rolling hills are common throughout most of the country.
Terraced houses (row houses) are very common in the UK. This housing type shares walls on both sides with neighbouring homes. You will also see a lot of semi-detached houses, which share just one side wall with another house.
Red brick buildings are common in many parts of the UK.
Suburbs in UK towns tend to have a recognizable look. They typically feature near-identical houses, often semi-detached, usually with well-manicured lawns. The road layout can be maze-like, with lots of cul-de-sacs and curvy roads.
Many British buildings have distinct-looking chimneys with multiple so-called chimney pots. These pots are usually round and brick-coloured.
Some buildings, both old and new, feature black-and-white timber framing.
Occasionally, you can find one of the 4 country flags, which will tell you where in the UK you are.
The main A-roads in the UK are grouped by their first digit after the A, for example A380 will be located in the southwest of the country.
Landline phone numbers in the UK always have nine or ten digits after the 0 trunk code. The first two to four digits after the 0 are the area code. Unfortunately for Geoguessr players, there is not much rhyme or reason to their geographic ordering.
Bins in urban areas often have the city name on them.
The Scottish Highlands can be distinguished by the semi-barren, very mountainous landscape.
In Scotland, you can often find these red and white bollards. They are round, bulky, and have a red-and-grey reflector that wraps all the way around.
These ‘Passing Place’ signs are unique to Scotland.
Welsh is a Celtic language that is spoken throughout Wales. Road signs in Wales are usually bilingual English and Welsh. Towns often have Welsh names too.
In Wales, markings on the road are in both English and Welsh. One of the best examples of this is ‘Araf’, which means ‘Slow’. This marking is only found in Wales.
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language that is closely related to Irish. They have a very similar look and use accent marks commonly. Common and recognizable letter clusters include bh, dh, fh, mh, ai, ea, eo, and ui.
It is common to see houses made of large blocks of sandstone or granite in Scotland. Granite buildings are common in Aberdeen, red sandstone is common in Glasgow and Dumfries, and yellow sandstone is common in Edinburgh.
Cornish palms (Cordyline australis) in the UK are most commonly found in the far southwest along the coast and in Jersey. Although, they can rarely be found all along the west coast up to Scotland.
These black stickers with yellow text sometimes appear on lampposts in Northern Ireland.
The Isle of Man is an island in the Irish Sea between the United Kingdom and Ireland. There is only Generation 2 coverage on the island. For country streak purposes, it is counted as part of the United Kingdom.
Jersey is an island in the English Channel between France and England. There is only Generation 2 coverage on the island. For country streak purposes, it is counted as part of the United Kingdom.
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, bordering Spain. For country streak purposes, the territory is counted as part of the United Kingdom.
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory located in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The Falkland Islands is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean.
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The Pitcairn Islands is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Pacific Ocean.
The British Indian Ocean Territory is a British Overseas Territory, unsurprisingly located in the Indian Ocean.
The Lake District is very hilly, with a lot of exposed rocks and stone walls. It can look like the Scottish Highlands, but Scotland is generally less rocky.
London street signs have a distinct look. They usually feature the street name in black, followed by the postcode and borough in red.
Some of the Generation 4 coverage in London was taken by a white electric vehicle, with this distinct back of the car visible.
The majority of poles and signposts in Birmingham have either yellow tape or yellow paint wrapped around them. Lampposts will also usually have this yellow sticker.
Speed signs with green borders with the text “Twenty’s Plenty” are mostly found in and around Glasgow.
The most common and recognisable Alaskan licence plate is all yellow. In Generation 4 coverage you can also get a plate with a large orange circle in the middle. Front plates are required in Alaska.
The Alaskan highway shield has an image of the Big Dipper constellation on the bottom left.
Trees in Alaska are generally thinner and have less broad leaves than those seen in the other 49 states.
On a lot of the Alaskan coverage you will be able to see tall, snow covered mountains.
In most of the US, Generation 2 is rare. However, Alaska has a fair amount of Generation 2 coverage.
Alaska is the only state in the US where shitcam coverage is prevalent. This coverage is lower resolution with more faded colours, compared to other camera generations. Also, a large blur can be seen at the bottom of the page.
This map shows which parts of Alaska have coverage and which camera generation was used to cover each road.
Generation 4 coverage in Alaska is concentrated around the city of Anchorage.
Most of interior and northern Alaska lies in subarctic or tundra climate zones. These areas feature relatively low amounts of forest undergrowth and shorter trees.
The Alaskan towns in the Alexander Archipelago, on the British Columbia border have a unique look. Tall mountains with lush green forests can be seen in the background, with the majority of buildings made of wood. In addition, Generation 2 coverage is often overcast and misty.
The only two major urban areas in Alaska are Anchorage and Fairbanks.
Most of the suburban areas in Alaska are in and around Anchorage.These areas feature wide roads, commercial districts, and sometimes heavy traffic. Mountains can commonly be seen in the distance.
Aspen trees (Populus tremuloides) can be found in lower elevation areas of  interior and south-central regions of Alaska. These trees have white bark and rounded leaves.
Due to Alaska’s very cold climate; agricultural fields are mainly found in the south of the state, mostly in the Matanuska Valley and Kenai Peninsula.
The Alaskan pipeline which is usually visible from main roads, can be seen at these points. This is an easy way to identify Alaska as there are no similar pipelines in the rest of the US.
Juneau, Alaska’s Capital city, is the largest settlement in the Alaskan panhandle. Therefore, it is much more ‘built up’ than other towns in this area. The city is surrounded by heavily forested mountains and hills.
Fire hydrants in Anchorage are typically pale pink or pale yellow in colour.
Fire hydrants in Fairbanks are commonly either bright yellow or a combination of colours (most commonly yellow and blue).
Shitcam is only found around Anchorage and Fairbanks, and parts of the road that connects them.
The North end of the Dalton Highway features a flat and snowy landscape and an overcast sky. A small ridge of hills can be seen to the west of the highway in certain spots.
The Denali highway, stretching from Cantwell to Paxson in central Alaska, is a mostly gravel highway in the ‘Alaska’ mountain range. This road runs generally east to west, is covered in the generation 2 camera, and was taken in late summer, so wildflowers and green shrubby plants are common.
The Steese Highway is another gravel highway that goes from Fairbanks to the town of ‘Central.’ Similar to the Denali highway, this road runs generally east to west and is covered in generation 2. The difference, however, is that the mountains along this road are noticeably lower than the ones adjacent to the Denali Highway.
Highway 5, from the Yukon border to Tetlin Junction, can be recognized by the foggy, rainy weather, and Generation 2 camera.
Prudhoe Bay, the northernmost town in America covered by street view, can be recognized by cold, dead landscape, overcast clouds and lack of tall buildings. A second Google car can sometimes be seen.
Nome, Unalakleet and Galena are three isolated Alaskan towns which are covered only by trekker. The trekker’s lime green hat or black and white beanie can be seen.
Bermuda is a British overseas territory, located north of the Caribbean sea. As such, it is counted as the United Kingdom for country streaks purposes.
Bermuda drives on the left side of the road.
Bermuda features a black Street View car with the entire front sides of the vehicle typically visible.
The most typical look of Bermuda is somewhat dense vegetation, consisting of fairly small trees and a lot of bushes, combined with single family houses strewn across the landscape.
Bermudan licence plates are all-white, fairly long, and with black digits, somewhat contained to the middle of the plate.
Most roads in Bermuda contain a single solid yellow middle line with no outer road lines.
You will occasionally see these white zig zag road lines on Bermuda.
Most buildings on Bermuda are single family stone houses painted in pastel colours. They will almost always have completely white roofs.
Palms are very commonly found on Bermuda.
On Bermuda you will never be far away from the ocean, and the water will very often look distinctly light blue.
Hamilton is by far the largest town on Bermuda, and as such, the downtown area is distinct due to its many large, densely built multi-floor buildings.
The northwestern tip of Bermuda can be recognised by the many large buildings made of unpainted grey brick.
A boat trekker can be seen on the eastern coast of Bermuda. It can be seen going around Saint George’s Harbour and past Fort St. Catherine on the northeast tip of the island.
The English-speaking parts of Canada use British English spelling (e.g. centre; colour). In addition, Canada mostly uses the metric system. For example, speed is measured in kilometres per hour.
Canada has a fair amount of Generation 2 coverage, especially in rural or remote areas. Generation 2 can be recognized by the big circular car blur and the halo-like colour distortion in the sky.
Canada uses unique diamond-shaped T-Intersection signs.
Canada uses the word ‘maximum’ on speed signs. Because speed is measured in kilometres instead of miles, the numbers tend to be higher than the US which can be identifiable from afar.
Canadian roads usually have single yellow centre lines. However, double middle yellow centre lines are still decently common.
You can sometimes find communal mailboxes in Canada. Personal mailboxes are still very common, though.
Canadian road signs tend to be less wordy compared to their US counterparts. Good examples of this are railroad crossing and yield signs. In the US, these usually have the literal words ‘railroad crossing’ and ‘yield’ written on them, whereas in Canada, these signs are typically blank.
Each province has its own unique licence plates, some recognizable from afar even when blurred. Multiple provinces do not require front plates, which can be useful when deciding between provinces.
French is the majority language in Québec and parts of New Brunswick.
Each province has their own highway shields with unique designs.
Each province has its own unique kilometre markers that vary slightly.
Some provinces have unique speed signs.
Alberta has a unique black and white bollard that is often found at intersections. It has a cylindrical shape and two black bands that wrap all the way around. It is one of the most useful Canadian bollards to learn because it appears so frequently.
Manitoba uses black and grey painted bollards. Most of the time an orange stripe will be present below the grey one.
British Columbia has black-and-white bollards with a thin, slightly curved shape. It is most commonly found on Vancouver Island, but can be found all throughout the province.
Québec has unique bollards that are always attached to guardrails. They are long, thin white poles with a red or green reflector at the top.
You can find these rectangular markers on the sides of the roads in Québec. The colours can vary.
You can find these diamond-shaped markers on the sides of the roads in Ontario. The colours can vary.
In Ontario, you will often see these types of guardrails. They consist of cylindrical wooden posts, held together by precisely three metal wires. Some posts are marked by a reflective white band.
These flat, yellow bollards can be found on the Trans-Canada highway in New Brunswick.
The Northwest Territories has a black and white bollard with a cylindrical shape and two thick, black bands.
The transformers on poles will face the road in British Columbia and New Brunswick, while in other provinces, it will be parallel with the wires.
These distinctive pole tops are most commonly found in Ontario. They have two insulators to the side, and one on top. The side insulators are affixed to the pole with a distinct attachment. Sometimes, multiple of them can be stacked on top of each other.
Some Québec poles have recognizable pole tops with insulator rods that are angled slightly upwards.
Québec poles may sometimes have a vertical black and yellow label. There is a small ‘Q’ in the black part.
Pole top insulators in Saskatchewan alternate. While one pole will have one insulator on the left and two on the right, the next will have two on the left and one on the right.
Québec T-Intersection signs do not feature the chequerboard pattern.
Newfoundland T-Intersection signs feature a rectangular yellow border around the diamond shape.
Road signs in British Columbia can have green backsides.
Signs in British Columbia are sometimes hung down from these unique signposts.
British Columbia predominantly uses concrete barriers instead of guardrails.
You can sometimes find a green and white striped sticker on signposts in Manitoba.
Signposts in Saskatchewan can feature these white triangles. The number can vary.
You can sometimes find white dashes between the yellow centre lines in Saskatchewan.
Stop signs with the word ‘Arrêt’ are unique to Québec.
Stop signs with both ‘Stop’ and ‘Arrêt’ are most commonly found in New Brunswick.
Rural roads in Alberta are numbered sequentially. This makes it easy to figure out your exact location using just a road sign.
This guardrail, with small poles connected by three or four metal wires, can rarely be found on major highways in Alberta.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, most wooden posts on guardrails have this pyramid shaped top. Occasionally, you can spot them on standalone posts and signposts as well.
Fire hydrants in Newfoundland often have a diamond-shaped marker next to them.
You can spot these wooden boxes holding up signs in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Ontario uses distinct orange and black striped traffic cones.
Québec is the only Canadian province that uses red and white chevrons.
Western Canada is very mountainous. The highest mountains are in British Columbia, western Alberta, and parts of Yukon. Outside these provinces, large mountains are rare to non-existent in Canada.
Yukon has a very northern, boreal landscape that is mostly hilly, sometimes with large mountains in the distance. Coniferous trees line the roads and the further north you go, the thinner and shorter the trees get. While this region recently got a lot of new Generation 4, older Generation 2 coverage is still very common.
The landscape in the interior of southern British Columbia, mostly centred around the towns of Kamloops and Kelowna, has a distinct look. It is generally hilly and a little more arid than the rest of BC, The vegetation consists of sprawling brown grasslands, and pine tree forests on the hillsides.
The Great Plains are mostly flat, with some rolling hills. There is a lot of agriculture, very few trees, and it is very sparsely populated. The landscape gets drier the further south-southwest you go, with the driest parts near the border with the US state of Montana.
Canola is grown in the central southern prairies, and it can be found almost nowhere else in Canada. It is visually similar to a field of bright yellow flowers.
Southern Saskatchewan has many river valleys, which means that the province can have a barren hilly landscape; much more so than the rest of the Canadian Great Plains, which tends to be really flat.
Aspen trees are common in the forested parts of Manitoba. They are recognizable by their white, birch-like trunks. In most seasons, they have regular green leaves, but in fall coverage, they turn a characteristic bright yellow colour.
The Canadian Shield extends through the eastern part of Canada. Therefore, you will commonly see exposed rocks on street view in the highlighted area.
The Québec City-Windsor Corridor is the most densely populated part of Canada. It is mostly flat and green, with a patchwork of agriculture and occasional forest cover.
Prince Edward Island soil has a distinct red tint to it. Potato farming is also very common on PEI.
The Balsam Fir is a very common species of tree found in Newfoundland. It has a Christmas tree-like appearance.
Canadian phone numbers start with a three-digit area code. Both landlines and mobile phones use the same area codes.
Provincial flags appear decently often, so it is worth learning them. The Fleurdelisé of Québec in particular is very common.
Bins made of wood planks can be seen on Newfoundland driveways. These are most commonly octagonal, however they can have other shapes.
Acadia is a French-speaking cultural region in the Canadian Maritimes. It does not have clearly defined borders, but is usually understood to at least include north and east New Brunswick. It has its own flag, which is very commonly seen in this region. The flag is a French-style tricolour with a yellow star in the blue band.
The Dempster Highway (road numbers 5 and 8) connects the Klondike Highway (road number 2) in Yukon with the remote town of Inuvik in the Northwest Territories.
The Top of the World Highway west of Dawson City in Yukon has overcast Generation 2 coverage and is located mostly high up in the mountains, making it recognizable.
A group of motorcyclists can be seen in front of the Google car on this stretch of Highway 1 near Beaver Creek in Yukon.
The AB-93 highway through Banff and Jasper National Park features distinct, gradual, and steep mountains with a sharp peak on either side of the road. Tall, somewhat thin trees can also be seen.
The area near Drumheller, Alberta has distinct canyon-like treeless rock formations that comprise the landscape.
Western Ontario has a fair amount of Generation 3 snow coverage. This coverage was taken in autumn, meaning that some trees still have fall colours. A lot of this coverage was overwritten by newer, snowless Generation 4, but it is still mostly intact in the far west of the province.
The Trans-Labrador Highway (road numbers 500 and 510) is a recognizable road, covered by Generation 4, mostly during sunny weather conditions. Thin pine trees line the side of the road, and it has a remote, cold, and northern feel. On many parts of the road, the sun is low in the sky.
The inland roads of the Gaspé Peninsula feature densely forested mountainous terrain. It is particularly common to encounter overcast coverage in this region.
The Cape Breton Highlands in northeastern Nova Scotia have an unusual amount of elevation for Eastern Canadian standards. It is very forested, with a mix of broad-leaf trees and pine trees.
Route 430 on Newfoundland has Generation 3 coverage and runs in a roughly south-southwest to north-northeast direction. It is located in a remote and sparsely populated part of the island. On many sections of the road, the coast is visible to your west. To your east, you will usually see low pine tree forests, and occasionally an imposing wall of mountains in the far distance.
The town of Stewart, in western British Columbia near the border with Alaska, has Generation 2 coverage with distinct overcast mountains.
Iqaluit is the capital of Nunavut, meaning it is more urban, and built up compared to other Nunavut settlements. The city features bilingual turquoise street signs. Speed limit signs are also uniquely bilingual. And on the outskirts of the city, these unique road markers can be seen.
The remote town of Churchill in northern Manitoba features a trekker with a distinct thin antenna visible on the front right side of the car. The town also has unique street signs.
This unique Google car and dark-coloured soil is found in Tulita, NWT. The car will most often look like this, but can also be fully blurred with just the antenna visible, or with the hood of the car visible.
Sanikiluaq is a remote town situated in Hudson Bay. This snowy town was covered by a snowmobile whose driver wore a dark brown coat.
Inukjuak is a town in northern Québec. This town can be recognized by the snowmobile that is visible through the blur.
Grise Fiord is the northernmost covered town in Canada. It can easily be recognized by these unique mountains and the ice floes on the coast.
The northern town of Resolute can be recognized by the barren landscape with visible patches of snow.
Cambridge Bay is the only Nunavut settlement to have Generation 2 trekker coverage.
The town of Qikiqtarjuaq features distinct mountains, and red tinted soil.
Kangiqsualujjuaq is a town in northern Québec, surrounded by green rocky hills, with trees visible in the distance.
Nain is a small town on the Northeastern coast of Labrador. The town features colourful wooden houses, and trees in and around the town. To the north, a big hill is usually visible. And to the south, rocky cliffs can be seen on the other side of the bay. Additionally, kids can sometimes be seen walking beside the trekker.
Red Bay is a town on the southern coast of Labrador, and as such, the coast is always visible. It features slightly red soil, and most of the houses are painted white.
The northernmost Google Street View coverage in the world is a trekker on Ellesmere Island in northern Nunavut. It shows a glacier in a rocky, desolate landscape that is devoid of any vegetation.
The vast majority of coverage in Costa Rica was taken with a Generation 3 trekker camera. It can typically be recognised by being closer to the ground than cameras mounted to cars. On urban rounds it can also often be recognised by the trekker being on sidewalks, rather than in the middle of the roads.
Like in most of Latin America, Spanish is the official language of Costa Rica.
Costa Rican licence plates are typically short and white, with blue text, giving it a light blue tint through the blur.
Utility poles are typically round and made of concrete.
Like Mexico and Guatemala, Costa Rican stop signs feature the word “ALTO”.
The coverage in Costa Rica is very limited, mainly being found in and around San José and by the northern west coast. There is also coverage on Cocos Island, located 500 kilometres southwest of the coast, as well as a boat trekker around Caño Island by the southern west coast.
Beach trekkers are mostly found on the northern east coast, but can also be found west of San José and on Cocos Island.
Most rural forest trekkers are found in central Costa Rica. Cocos Island also mainly consists of dense tropical forests.
Urban coverage is mainly found in and around San José and Cartago, but also exists in Liberia and Filadelfia de Guanacaste.
The Children’s Museum in northern San José can be recognised by its grand castle-like exterior.
Around the National Museum, you can find several wealthy-looking homes, as well as a small tower built in a style resembling towers on medieval European fortresses.
An orange pedestrian bridge can be found going over a major highway at Parque de la Paz in southeastern San José.
La Sabana Park has several sports facilities, including the National Stadium of Costa Rica, located in the western part of the park.
The University of Costa Rica, in eastern San José, is fairly busy, with a lot of greenery and various medium-sized buildings strewn across the campus.
Palacio de los Deportes is a stadium in Heredia, northwest of San José, which can be recognised by its boxy look combined with the red, blue and white colour scheme.
At the Juan Santamaría International Airport you can find the trekker walking in the middle of a major four-lane road. There is also coverage just outside the airport terminal.
In Centro Recreativo Bosque de la Hoja, just east of San José de la Montaña, you can see the trekker being followed by three dogs through a pine forest.
In Recreational Park Los Manantiales, just southwest of Poás, you can find a road lined with sugarcane plantations and cornstalk dracaena plants.
At the entrance to Laguna de Fraijanes Recreational Park you can find a large orange wooden gate separating the road from a parking lot. As the name suggests, the park itself is situated around a small lagoon.
The Cartago Municipal Museum can be recognised by its palace-like facade with a neatly planted garden in front, as well as the railway in the middle of the street in front of the museum.
The Ruins of Cartago is the remains of a large catholic church near the centre of the city. The POI is one of the first things to show up when you zoom into the city.
José Rafael “Fello” Meza Ivankovich Stadium in southern Cartago can be recognised by the dark blue walls surrounding it.
Costa Rica Institute of Technology can usually be recognised by the mountain range which can be seen to the south and east.
By the entrance of Jardín Botanico Lankester, located southeast of Cartago, you can find a poorly maintained dirt road, surrounded by mountains in the distance, as well as a sign with the name of the garden.
The Punta Leona Resort, which can be found by the “Playa Mantas” POI, can be recognised by the red brick pavement, with the bricks having the same shape as you’ll commonly find in Turkey.
The coverage in Liberia can be recognised by a white building with rounded windows having brown wooden window frames. This building can be seen on all coverage in the town.
Most of the coverage in Filadelfia de Guanacaste was taken on the edge of a park, with a distinct red brick pavement where the bricks are placed in the shape of an “L”.
This unique car was used for all street view coverage in the Dominican Republic. It can be recognized by the two metal bars, the thick black stripes on them, as well as the white hood visible at the front.
Most electricity poles are square and concrete, with a reverse “L” shape at the top. Less commonly, round or octagonal poles are used.
DR licence plates are somewhat reminiscent of New Jersey plates, being pale yellow at the top and white at the bottom.
Roads in the Dominican Republic are often made of this smooth asphalt, which has a noticeably darker colour than in other countries.
Despite being located in Central America, stop signs in DR contain the South American “PARE”. Moreover, many signs are attached to yellow signposts.
Street View coverage in the Dominican Republic is very limited. Only the capital Santo Domingo and the Northern city of Santiago de los Caballeros are covered.
If you have mountains to the North, you will always be in Santiago de los Caballeros.
Yellow traffic light poles are typically found in the city of Santiago de los Caballeros.
As the capital and largest city, Santo Domingo has a more developed downtown area, with tall buildings and wide avenues.
Street name signs in Santo Domingo often contain the letters “ADN”, a reference to the Distrito Nacional, which the city is located in.
These black-and-purple pole markings are only found on poles in the Santo Domingo area.
This type of landscape is found on the outskirts of Santo Domingo. It is characterised by narrow dirt tracks, whitish dirt, dried green shrubbery and debris next to the road.
A small portion of the coverage in Santo Domingo was taken late in the evening. Similar imagery does not exist in Santiago de los Caballeros.
The coverage in Greenland is divided into well over fifty small disjoint parts, with different weather conditions, seasons, landmarks and so on. Although the largest concentration is found on the southern half of the west coast, coverage can be found scattered along a lot of the coast. Since differentiating between some of them requires a lot of technical information, such as the position of the sun or clouds, this guide will only cover the parts with clear distinctive features, such as a unique Street View vehicle or an easily recognizable mountain.
Greenlandic architecture mainly consists of small, colourful, simple looking wooden houses, which even in cities are typically placed quite sparsely. The major cities have some larger buildings, which normally look fairly minimalistic.
The Greenlandic landscape is very barren, with no trees or taller vegetation. A large number of mountains and hills is common, with no flat areas. Snow can also be seen in varying quantities.
While Nuuk is most easily recognized by the grey Street View car, it can also be recognized by being the largest city by far.
The city of Sisimiut can be easily recognized by the black snowmobile with side mirrors pointing straight up. The coverage is generally very overcast and grey.
Most coverage in Ilulissat can be recognized by the green ATV with black bars and the driver wearing a beige hat. Note however that there are some small sections where the driver does not wear it. The coverage is fairly sunny and bright.
Qaqortoq can be recognized by the red rectangular car. The coverage is extremely sunny and the area is greener and less barren than most of the country.
The most noticeable feature of the coverage in Aasiaat is the windshield with a shiny red, white and black reflection. The large, round side mirrors can also be used to identify the town. The coverage is very sunny and has thick, thawing snow along most of the roads.
The coverage in Tasiilaq can be recognized by the ATV with large grey handguards on either side. The coverage has a lot of very thin clouds and the area is somewhat green.
Uummannaq has two distinctive features: a sharp mountain to the north and a green snowmobile with large black side mirrors. Neither of the two can be seen on all coverage but at least one can be seen on most.
Narsaq can be identified by the thin antenna seen on the right side of the car. The coverage is very sunny and fairly green.
The coverage in Maniitsoq was taken by a tractor, making it very recognizable. The coverage is overcast and fairly snowy.
The coverage in Narsarsuaq can be recognized by the driver wearing a black hoodie. The coverage was taken close to sunset on a very sunny day. There is also a fair amount of small bushes along the road, which is somewhat unusual in Greenland.
On the other side of the fjord from Narsarsuaq, a black ATV with an orange and purple bag in the front can be seen. The coverage has a lot of tall green grass and the dirt is unusually red for Greenland.
Qeqertarsuaq is most easily recognized by the blue ATV with wide side mirrors. The coverage is fairly overcast and with a lot of yellow grass along the roads.
Most coverage in Ittoqqortoormiit can be recognized by the brown wooden box at the front of the ATV and the driver wearing a purple beanie. The ground is mostly grey and stony and the coverage is very sunny.
The coverage in and around Igaliku is most easily recognized by the wide, snow-covered mountain range to the northeast which looks very bright due to the setting sun. The green ATV, while not entirely unique on its own, can also be a useful hint.
Paamiut can typically be recognized by the round, grey car which is often only barely visible. The coverage has a lot of thin clouds, but is still quite bright and the foliage consists of a mixture of yellow and green grass, and reddish moss.
Kangerlussuaq can typically be recognized by the many streaky clouds in the sky, combined with the significant dryness. The roads near Kangerlussuaq can also be recognized by its unconventional look, with many small bushes, sandy soil with an almost arid climate.
The road east of Kangerlussuaq is easily recognized by the large white truck.
The coverage connecting Sisimiut and Kangerlussuaq is easily recognized by the thick layer of snow on and around the road. The sun sets along the road, making the western parts very bright and the eastern parts very dark.
To the north of Saattut you can see a wide mountain range shrouded in clouds, on the other side of a fjord. The paths covered are mostly dark, muddy dirt roads, and the foliage is mainly yellow grass tufts.
The coverage on Kulusuk island has a round, red ATV, with a pyramid shaped mountain often seen to the northeast. The footage was taken right after sunset on a clear day, making it fairly dark.
Kangaatsiaq has a large amount of thawing snow on the side of the roads. The sun is setting and there is a large body of water to the west.
Ikerasak is most easily recognized by the large monolithic mountain to the west.
Ukkusissat is located below a tall cliffside to the east with mountains towering above it.
Kuummiit can be recognized by two distinct mountains, a sharp one to the east and a rounder one to the north. The coverage is slightly dark due to clouds and the sun setting.
Unlike most houses in Greenland, the houses in Tiilerilaaq are commonly grey rather than colourful. The village can also be recognized by the ground, which is almost entirely made up of smooth, light grey rocks.
Large, dark grey rocks towering over Niaqornat can be used to recognize the village.
Siorapaluk can be recognized by the sandy, pyramid-shaped mountains to the north, combined with the wide sand beach below the village.
To the southwest of Qaanaaq, you can see icebergs in a large body of water, and a wide mountain range on the other side, where the snow is bright white as it reflects the sunlight through the thick clouds.
A red and black ATV can be found in and around the village of Kapisillit, northeast of Nuuk. Many mountains in the distance are covered in a layer of snow.
Kangerluk can be recognized by the evenly tall mountains with a particular shape on the other side of the fjord.
On a small bit of coverage east of Nuuk you can see a large number of sharp mountains, powdered in snow. The coverage is somewhat dark due to the thick clouds and the sun being hidden behind the mountains.
About 20 km northeast of Narsarsuaq, you can find a small piece of coverage with large ice blocks in every direction.
In Upernavik, the airport runway is covered on Street View, making it by far the widest paved road found on Street View in Greenland.
This boat, with a white cabin and a red roof, can be found by a multitude of towns and villages on the west coast. However, most of the coverage is in the general area around the city of Aasiaat.
Similar to the previous boat, this one with a red square cabin can be found at multiple locations on the west coast, most significantly by and around Akunnaaq.
A boat with a black box near the front, and a chequered pattern on the bow can be found fairly north on the east coast. While the western part of the coverage is very foggy and somewhat overcast, the eastern parts of the coverage is slightly less foggy and very sunny. A man wearing a black coat can also be seen captaining the boat.
This bright red boat can be found on the east coast near the towns of Tiilerillaq and Kuummiit respectively. While the coverage near Tiilerillaq does not have a cloud in sight, the coverage near Kuummiit is somewhat overcast.
A black and white boat, with a blue roof, is found between the towns of Kuummiit and Tasiilaq.
This small white boat, with a brown wooden top and lights and monitoring devices, can be seen between Tiilerilaaq and Tasiilaq.
A small, rounded red bow can be found on a boat going south of Tasiilaq.
This small, red and black boat, with multiple people sitting in it, can be found in a fjord far north on the east coast.
This wooden fishing boat is found outside Ilulissat.
This small, white boat with a silver handrail on the bow can be found west of Narsaq and east of Qaqortoq. While the sun is in the west on the coverage near Narsaq, it is in the east on the coverage near Qaqortoq.
This large, all white boat can be seen in between Narsarsuaq with the opposing shore.
A grey boat is found east of Nuuk.
A mostly white boat, with extremely tall antennas on the rear can be found going into the fjord east of Nuuk.
Guatemala has short licence plates, which when blurred will typically have either a blue tinge, or a hint of green on the left side.
This grey Street View car with a visible roof rack and side mirrors can be seen on all car coverage in Guatemala.
Guatemala is a tropical country, and is mainly covered by rainforests.
Guatemalan architecture mainly consists of pastel painted stone houses, commonly with rusted sheet metal roofs. It is also somewhat common for buildings to be made out of exposed white brick.
Similarly to Mexico, Guatemalan roads generally have solid white outer lines with a single yellow middle line. Road lines in Guatemala are generally significantly thinner than in Mexico.
Like Mexico and Panama, Guatemala uses the word “ALTO” on stop signs.
In Guatemala you will very commonly see poles painted with either pink, green or a combination of the two.
Guatemala has a fairly low amount of coverage, particularly in the north. Here you can see which roads are covered.
This is a topographic map of Guatemala. Generally speaking, the middle of the country is mountainous, while the south and north are fairly flat.
The southern regions of Guatemala mainly consist of completely flat agricultural land. It is generally more built up than flat areas in the north.
The central regions of Guatemala are generally mountainous.
The northern regions of Guatemala are typically fairly flat. You will however usually see some hills or a slightly rolling landscape, rather than the complete flatness of the south.
Oil palm plantations are primarily found in two general areas: in the southwest and just north of the central mountain range.
Completely green utility poles are primarily found in the southeast of the country, but also on a road in the further north in the east and on a small stretch of road around Melchor de Mencos, near the end of the coverage in the far northeast.
Most green utility poles contain a white pole plate, for which the top two characters will determine which road you are on. These roads and their corresponding characters are shown in this infographic.
In most of the Guatemala coverage, the top right bar will be facing forward. This means that you can see this line on the side facing forward.
The opposite is true in southeastern Guatemala, where the line is facing backwards.
In these regions, you can often see a blue rope on the bottom right bar.
These regions in the south and northeast also have the backwards facing bar. The difference here is that the bottom right bar is missing the thin black cap, which is present in the other regions.
Phone numbers starting with a 2 are unique to Guatemala City.
Similarly, phone numbers starting with a 6 are unique to the Guatemala Department.
Lago de Atitlán is by far the largest lake in the mountainous regions of Guatemala. It is surrounded by mountains, and some volcanoes.
A small dirt road in the middle of a dense jungle can be found north of Tikal, in the far north of the country.
These small white bollards with two black stripes can be found on road 1 northeast of Quetzaltenango.
The PET-11, south of Las Pozas can be recognised by the slightly rolling landscape combined with its completely north-to-south road angle.
The CA9, going between Escuintla and the coast, can be recognised by being a divided highway with concrete pavement.
A trekker featuring several Mayan temples can be found just west of the town of Tikal.
These white rectangular stickers that have the word ‘electricista’ written on them are unique to Guatemala City.
The most common Hawaii licence plate is white with an arcing rainbow across the centre of the plate. When blurred, you can sometimes see the outline of the rainbow. Front plates are required in Hawaii.
Hawaii is the only state to use its own language, though English is still predominantly used. Most place names are in Hawaiian, so you can spot it on street signs, and other road markers.
Hawaii has a fair amount of Generation 2 coverage, compared to other US states. Especially on more rural roads.
Hawaii is known for its lush and tropical vegetation, with a variety of plants and trees. However, being a volcanic island chain, Hawaii has a wide range of landscapes, and as such vegetation as well.
Topography on Hawaii is characterised by many sloping volcanoes, rugged cliffs, hills, valleys and craters. Such distinct topography combined with tropical vegetation is a good way to identify Hawaii.
Contemporary Hawaiian homes are typically 1 or 2 story wooden structures, commonly lighter in colour. Many homes feature retaining walls made of volcanic rock.
Thick yellow bands can sometimes be seen on poles in Hawaii.
Hawaii uses highway shields that resemble a guitar pick, with the numbers on the bottom of the shield. Most highway signs also use yellow signposts.
A stubby antenna can be seen in most Generation 3 coverage on Hawaii.
Raised pavement markers in Hawaii will commonly be placed in a specific pattern: a single reflector, followed by four reflectors put close together and then a single reflector, repeating the pattern.
Generation 2 and 4 coverage can only be found on the islands of Hawaiʻi, Maui and Oʻahu. The other islands only have Generation 3 coverage.
The Island of Kauai is the furthest west island in Hawaii with official Google coverage. This island has deep red soil and has large rugged hills with lush, jungle-like vegetation. This island also has exclusively Generation 3 coverage.
The Island of Oʻahu lies southeast of Kauai. It is known for being home to the Honolulu urban area. It also is home to steep, lush hills, which can be commonly seen from all around the island, especially in Honolulu’s suburbs. Generation 4 coverage is common on Oʻahu.
Honolulu, located on southern Oʻahu, is by far the largest city and urban area in Hawaii. If you are in a dense urban area and can see tall buildings, you will always be in or near Honolulu.
The Island of Molokaʻi is just southeast of the Island of Oʻahu. This island features deep red soil, dry-looking vegetation, and a prominent volcano on the eastern end of the island. Molokaʻi is also very sparsely populated. This island only has Generation 3 coverage.
The Island of Lānaʻi is a small, yet distinct island that lies just south of Moloka’i. A volcano is found just east of the centre of the island, adjacent to the town of Lānaʻi. In this area, tall Cook pines are abundant. In addition, some main roads near the centre of the island are lined with younger Cook pines. The island only has Generation 3 coverage.
Towards the coasts of the island of Lānaʻi, hills dotted with dry grass and shrubby vegetation are commonly seen. These areas are very rural with few buildings.
The Island of Maui sits southeast of Molokaʻi. In the centre of the island, you will find dry and somewhat flat grasslands with one or both of the mountain ranges on the island visible.
Coastal areas of Maui are noticeably more lush and green. Banana plants, palm trees, and views of the mountains are all common.
The Island of Hawai’i (also referred to as The Big Island) is both the largest and farthest southeast island with Street View coverage in the state. The interior areas feature rolling, grassy plains and volcanic rocks. You can typically see one or more of the island’s volcanoes from the road. Both Generation 3 and Generation 4 coverage are common in this area.
The coastal areas of the island of Hawai’i are where most of the towns and built-up areas on the island are located. These areas are typically more lush and have more trees and fern plants than the interior. Generation 4 coverage is very common in these areas, but Generation 3 coverage can still be seen.
Rural roads going through forests within a flat landscape are commonly found south of the city of Hilo, on the island of Hawaiʻi.
Within Hawaii, a distinct green blur can only be seen on the island of Oʻahu.
The infamous “Hawaiian lattice” can be recognized by the volcanic soil and rocks that are abundant in the region. Volcanic vegetation can also be seen lining the roads. Note that the angle of the roads is a big clue for the area, and that this lattice was built on the slope of Mauna Loa.
The town of Kaunakakai is the largest settlement on the Island of Molokaʻi. It is the only area on the island with an ‘urban’ vibe. As it is on Molokaʻi, the town has generation 3 coverage and the soil is red.
The Red Hill can easily be recognised by this unique barren, red rocky landscape. Due to the high altitude, clouds are usually visible below you.
On the eastern side of the island of Molokaʻi lies the Kamakou volcano, leading to a significantly hillier and slightly more vegetated landscape than the western parts of the island.
Martinique, officially the Department of Martinique, is an overseas department and region of France, in the Caribbean between Dominica and St Lucia. As such, for country streaks purposes, it is counted as France.
Habitation Clément is a rum distillery covered by a trekker. Due to it being pinpointable, some locations are on maps such as ACW. There are several landscapes in and around the distillery, including:
The coastal southern trekker can be recognized by a few unique things:
The Jardin de Balata trekker is the most tropical and humid feeling on Martinique. The trekker can be recognized by dark and damp feeling, the trees with buttress roots, ferns and bamboo. This man wearing a black shirt and grey cap can sometimes be seen with the trekker.
Most utility poles in Mexico are made of concrete and have an octagonal shape. There will often be engravings on the side.
Mexico uses short licence plates with a large variety of designs. Front plates are required.
The most typical Mexican road lines are white solid outer lines with a single unbroken yellow middle line.
These small, cylindrical white bollards with a black base are unique to Mexico. A yellow reflector can sometimes be seen, as well as a flat version.
Mexico has two general road shields; one for national highways with “MEXICO” written at the top and a slightly curvy design, and one for state roads which have straight borders, and typically has the state initials written at the top.
Mexican directional signs have a distinctly large, all-caps white font.
Mexican kilometre markers are white, with black font and outline.
Cacti, of many different species, are extremely common in Mexico.
Mexico uses the word “ALTO” on stop signs.
Arrows on signs are noticeably very thick.
Yellow accents on kerbs and bridge barriers are quite common.
You will commonly see wide cylindrical, black or white water tanks on rooftops.
OXXO and Pemex are two of the most popular gas station brands in Mexico.
Many place names in Mexico are of Nahuatl origin, featuring a lot of ‘x’ and ‘tl’ as well as ‘-ec’ and ‘-tlan’ suffixes.
Mexico uses circular electricity counters.
United States car brands are popular in Mexico. In particular, you will see a lot of pickup trucks.
Mexico is one of very few Latin American countries that has Generation 2 coverage.
The Generation 3 coverage in Mexico mainly feature two cars:
The Generation 4 cars in Mexico commonly have a visible front and can feature various different colour patterns. The three most common ones are:
The first digit of Mexican area codes are regional and can be seen on this map.
Similarly, Mexican postal codes can be seen on this map. They will commonly appear at the bottom of street signs, and are ordered alphabetically based on state names.
Every state in Mexico has one or several unique licence plate designs. In this infographic you can find the most common and helpful ones.
Prickly pear cacti are distinct with their flat oval-shaped pads. They are noticeably more common centrally and are rarely seen in southern and coastal states.
Agave salmiana, also known as pulque agaves, have wide, smooth, curling leaves, and a crown-like appearance. They are common in the central Mexican valley and further north around the city of San Luis Potosi.
Vast fields of blue agave (Agave tequilana), used to produce tequila, are mostly found in Jalisco and Nayarit.
Yucca filifera, also known as tree yucca, as well as yucca decipiens are most commonly seen in San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas as well as some of the bordering northern states. They can be recognised by their oblong rosettes of sharp green leaves branching from a single trunk, similar to a tree.
The Mexican Giant Cardon is an extremely common cacti in the Baja California peninsula. It can be identified through its large sprawling arms stemming from a singular trunk and ribbed exterior.
The Saguaro Cacti can be spotted in the western half of Sonora, featuring short curving arms that stem from a main trunk.
Organ Pipe Cacti have long thin stems that often come out from a stem that is around ground level. They are most commonly found in Sonora and occasionally in Baja California Sur.
The Blue Myrtle Cacti have short arms that uniformly curve and point upwards. It is abundantly found in San Luis Potosi, but also common in Queretaro and Hidalgo.
Sugar cane can be found all over the country, but by far most common in Veracruz.
Coconut palms can be found all across the coast, but are often found in large groups in Guerrero and Colima.
Sabal palms are most commonly observed in the east coast of Mexico, the Yucatan peninsula, as well as the state of Nayarit. They feature a spiky, sun-shaped crown, giving the tree a lollipop-like appearance.
The Attalea rostrata is a huge palm recognizable from its upright leaves, almost resembling an umbrella. It is mostly exclusive to Veracruz and Tabasco, and can be rarely found in Chiapas.
Oil palm plantations are most common in Chiapas, and occasionally on the outskirts of the state in Veracruz, Tabasco, and Campeche.
Boojum trees can be recognized by their alien, tentacle-like appearance. They are almost exclusively found in the southern half of Baja California.
Brittlebush are small shrubs with bright silver-grey leaves that are most commonly found in Sonora, especially around Hermosillo.
These thin, white-barked trees can be found in the Yucatan peninsula, but are most prevalent in Quintana Roo.
These gold tufts of grass in a line right next to the road are most commonly found in Coahuila.
These clumps of grass in almost a teardrop shape are common in the region around Tlaxcala.
Red agricultural fields are commonly seen in Zacatecas and occasionally southern Durango.
The Monterrey metropolitan area features tall stunning mountain ranges that surround the city.
The western parts of Chihuahua and Durango can feature a rocky mountainous landscape covered with pine forests. In general, these pines are shorter and more stunted in appearance than pine forests of the central or south.
Extremely dark fields are common in Guanajuato.
These reddish brown-tinged hills, often accompanied by large boulders, are a common sight for the northern half of Baja California.
Almost blindingly white soil in the Yucatan peninsula is most common in Quintana Roo.
These red agricultural fields surrounded by dense forests of tropical trees are most common in northern Campeche.
Panama features short licence plates, most commonly white with a horizontal turquoise strip on the top. Rarely, the strip can have other colours.
Panama features a large white pickup truck which can either be fully visible or mostly blurred. There is always a short black antenna attached to the front of the car. Beware that the antenna can sometimes be blurred.
Panama is a tropical country with a lot of hills. You will find a lot of palms and other tropical plants along with drier rolling hills and fields.
Most roads are paralleled by fences that are partly or fully made out of small trees. The rest of the fence posts are also almost always wooden.
Panamanian architecture often reflects Spanish colonial influences, featuring vibrant colours, and some ornate detailing. The most common type of building has painted concrete or sometimes brick walls with red metal sheets or tiles for a roof. Many windows have bars on them for security.
Panama features a diverse set of road lines, but the most common combination is solid outer white with an inner yellow line. However, those are not unique to Panama. Within Latin America, solid outer white lines with no middle line are almost unique to Panama.
Panama uses a wide variety of poles, but the most common type is a round concrete pole, with a varying amount of insulators. Poles can also be wooden or metallic. They often have plates attached to them. Blue, white, or red numbers are commonly painted on them as well.
Yellow taxis with a chequerboard patterned horizontal stripe are a common sight in Panama. The licence plate will be drawn on the side, containing the city name and a regional code.
Panama uses the Spanish word “ALTO” on stop signs.
Red octagonal signs with an oddly realistic eye are unique to Panama.
While Panama is quite well covered, there is barely any coverage on the north coast, or east of Panama City.
The first digit of phone numbers can be used to regionguess Panama.
The first digit of taxi and bus licence plates can be used to regionguess Panama.
Green tropical landscapes with palm trees and very tall grass are common around Colón and Panama City.
Volcanic rocks that are either scattered on the ground, or built into rock walls, are common north of David.
The area around David is very flat, with lots of fairly open fields. Usually, mountains will be visible to the north and northeast.
The region around Aguadulce is relatively flat and features a lot of agricultural fields along with very brown or orange soil.
The eastern provinces often have tall vertical plates that can be yellow or white. They are commonly attached to poles by black zip ties.
Many poles in the western provinces will have horizontal plates attached to them. However, if one of these is accompanied by an eastern vertical plate, the eastern plate takes precedence.
Thin yellow plates, vertical or horizontal, with a visible black border are most common in the Colón Province.
Wind turbines can be seen south and north of Penonome.
The main covered road in the Ngäbe-Buglé province is very high-altitude and almost above the clouds. The surrounding mountains tend to be quite dry, and the altitude makes for many stunning views.
The road going to Changuinola features a lush and green hilly landscape. The weather is cloudy or overcast on the entire road.
Highway 9 going from Panama City north to Colón is a divided concrete highway. The road is visibly grainy and has a lot of tar lines. The landscape is lush and hilly.
Most of Road 407 features a freshly paved road, with visibly orange soil on the sides of the road. The southern portion is hilly, right before the road quality deteriorates.
A small cluster of dirt on the car can be found on the eastern road.
In a lot of central Panama, the Google car will have either one or two black dots visible on the front.
This small red spot can mostly be found in Panamá Oeste and on the road 2 going from southern Los Santos province to the Verguas province.
The antenna can be seen folded down, most commonly in Colón and Panamá provinces, and occasionally in the city of David.
Panama City can be recognised by the large number of white high-rise buildings.
Colón features a lot of warehouses and rundown multi-storey buildings.
The region around Changuinola is filled with banana plantations.
Sunset coverage can be found in southern Panama on a small road south of Tonosi.
A mountainous landscape with pine trees, volcanic rocks, dry grass, and gravel roads can be found northeast of Volcán.
Yellow pole socks can be found near the Panama Canal, around the town of Gatún.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon, officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, is an overseas department and region of France, south of Newfoundland in Canada. As such, for country streaks purposes, it is counted as France.
Licence plates can be either white or yellow and either short or long. They all have a blue EU strip however, and the white plates will also have a blue strip on the right, as is custom in France. Vehicles may or may not have front plates.
Most houses are boxy, with bold, vivid colours. With a low population density, the general landscape past the houses is a wide open grassland, sometimes with slight hills.
Miquelon-Langlade is a small town in the north of St Pierre. It can be recognized by the houses with timber cladding painted in bold, vivid colours. A shadow of the ATV used to cover this town can also be seen.
Saint-Pierre is the capital and largest town. The coverage in this town is made with a sidewalk trekker. Larger buildings and more cars can be seen, with a more populated feel compared to Miquelon-Langlade.
A slightly hilly, grassy landscape with boxy houses spaced apart can be seen on Île-aux-Marins.
This rural trekker in the far north can be recognized by the rolling, grassy landscape. The trekker can also be seen walking on a wooden path, with trees on either side.
The rural trekker on Saint Pierre island has a more rocky landscape. The trekker also walks on a path with trees on both sides.
This boat trekker between Saint Pierre Island and Île-aux-Marins can be recognized by this man wearing a grey and black sweater.
The US uses American English spelling (e.g. center, color).
Generation 2 coverage is rare in the US. If you have a Generation 2 location in a North American setting, you are more likely to be in Canada.
Road signs in the US tend to use more words compared to their Canadian counterparts. A good example are railway crossing signs, which feature the literal words ‘railway crossing’ on them. In Canada, these signs are typically blank.
The US uses the phrase ‘Speed Limit’ on their speed signs.
Triangular yellow signs with the phrase ‘No Passing Zone’ are exclusive to the US.
American yield signs are shaped like an upside down triangle with a red border, with a white field with the word ‘YIELD’.
American one-way signs are usually a horizontal black rectangle with a white arrow inside of it. These signs will also always have the words ‘ONE WAY’ printed on them. In cities, they are a white vertical rectangle with the words ‘ONE WAY’ on them and an arrow underneath.
Parking indicator signs in the US are typically white metal signs with red, green, or black text. They may include specific information about when you can park on said road, and arrows indicating where parking is (or is not) allowed.
Large highways in the US use large, rectangular, green metal signs with curved edges and white text to mark highway exits, distances to nearby towns, and the names of upcoming roads (mainly in cities).
Leading up to exits on large highways you commonly see large, blue rectangular signs with white text, highlighting services, such as food, lodging and petrol, that are available at the upcoming highway exit.
These rectangular junction signs with a single or double arrow are found in the US.
White and orange fibre optic cable markers are almost unique to the US.
This is an example of the most common type of orange construction barrel in the United States. They are made out of orange plastic with horizontal white stripes and a black rubber base. They are usually used to block off lanes to traffic during times of road construction.
The US uses yellow middle lines and white outer lines. Double middle lines are the most common.
Interstate highways, US highways, and some state roads have rumble strips in each edge of the road; which are small indentations in the pavement perpendicular to the road. These can be located on the outside edges of the road and in between lanes on multi-lane highways.
Small, rectangular manufactured homes, also known as mobile or ‘trailer’ homes, are popular in rural areas of the US. In general, mobile homes are more common in the Southeast but they can be seen anywhere in the country.
Baptist churches are very common in the United States. Similar to mobile homes, these are more common in the Southern Plains and Southeast United States, but can be found in all 50 states.
Pictured here is a group of gas stations and convenience store chains that operate in the United States, but not in Canada. This is not a comprehensive list, but some of the most common American-only chains. Regional gas station chains are found near the end of the ‘Step 2’ section of this guide.
Pictured here is a group of restaurant chains that operate in the United States, but not in Canada (Chick Fil A is the only exception with a few locations in the Toronto area.) This is not a comprehensive list, but some of the most common American-only chains. Regional restaurant chains are found at the end of the ‘Step 2’ section of this guide.
In the US and Canada, especially at large intersections, long metal bars with stop lights attached to them hang over the street. These bars also commonly have street signs, highway signs, or other signs attached to them.
Thin metal sign posts are common. They will typically either have several small holes or have a U-profile.
North America primarily uses wooden utility poles.
This style of insulator, that is raised slightly on top of the utility pole, can be a good clue for the US and Canada. It is not typically found in Europe. It is especially apparent on simple poles with a single insulator.
This style of mailbox, resting on top of a post and with a small flag on the side, is mostly associated with North America.
Here are two common types of water towers seen in towns across the United States and Canada. They are typically very tall, and sometimes have the name of the town and state painted on them, so they can be useful for region guessing.
Generation 3 coverage in the US and Canada generally has no visible antenna. This can be helpful to distinguish it from Europe in low-info rounds. Some European Generation 3 coverage has no visible antenna, but most of it does.
Shown here is the population density of the United States. In General, areas east of the Missouri river are more densely populated than areas to the west.
The US, as well as most of the Americas, uses short licence plates, in contrast to longer European ones. Each US state has their own unique licence plate design. Some of these are recognizable through the blur, and are thus worth learning. Around half of the states also do not require front plates, which can also be useful in determining the state.
Interstate Highways are divided highways that often span large areas of the United States. Even-numbered Interstates are ordered south to north, with the lowest numbers along the Gulf Coast and Mexico border. Odd-numbered highways are ordered west to east, with the lowest numbers along the West Coast.
US telephone numbers start with a three-digit area code. While these area codes are not clustered by initial digits, they are useful to learn.
Each of the 50 states has its own state flag. These appear frequently enough that they are worth learning.
Shown here is a topographic map of the US.
This is a forest density map of the contiguous United States. Eastern and Northern regions of the country typically have much denser tree cover than Western and Southwestern regions.
Corn fields can most commonly be found in these regions. For a detailed overview, see this map.
Soybeans are short, dark green crops organised in long rows and are found in similar regions where corn is grown. They are most common in the Eastern Plains, Midwest, Lower Mississippi Valley, and areas of the Mid Atlantic.
Along the Canadian border in North Dakota, and rarely Montana, fields filled with short yellow canola flowers (Brassica napus) can commonly be seen from the road.
Cotton is a crop that produces large fields of fluffy white flowers. It is most commonly produced in coastal Southeast States, the Lower Mississippi River Valley, Western Texas, and parts of California and Arizona. You can click here for a more detailed map.
Rice production only occurs in a few areas of the US, so it is very useful for region guessing. It is typically grown in large, flat fields that resemble low prairies. It is only grown in north-central California and the Lower Mississippi River Valley in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. You can click here for a more detailed map.
Oil pumpjacks are short, industrial-looking metal structures located at the surface of oil fields and are used to pump crude oil from the earth below. They are most common in western states, particularly in Texas, Eastern New Mexico, and North Dakota.
The Great Plains are in the middle of the United States and stretch from the Canadian border in the North, to central Texas in the South. This area is primarily flat with few trees. Some areas feature agriculture fields, while others feature dry and barren grassy fields.
The area spanning from the Montana Border with Saskatchewan to the Western Great Lakes features many ‘prairie potholes.’ These are areas of low-lying wetlands that feature marshy grasses and small, shallow ponds.
The Appalachian mountain range is a low mountain range that runs through the eastern states. The general landscape consists of low, forested mountains, with beech and oak trees being a common sight.
The loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), and longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), commonly referred to as southern pines in the community, are found throughout the southeastern US. They are a great way to recognize this region, as they are abundant, recognizable and mostly limited to this part of the country. They tend to be tall, with fluffy-looking clusters of pine needles.
Many parts of the Deep South, stretching from Oklahoma to South Carolina, have reddish soil. The exact tint of the soil can range from yellow to deep red.
The Lower Mississippi River Valley is a very flat and open landscape with red soil in areas of Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Northeast Louisiana. Corn and other crops are common in this area.
The area stretching from the Canadian border to Northern New Mexico is home to the Rocky Mountains. These jagged, rocky formations often feature many pine trees and visible snow all-year round at the highest peaks. Some areas of the Rocky Mountain Range are noticeably dry, with few trees.
The Great Basin, centred around Nevada, can be recognized by the tall, sometimes snow-capped mountains in the background. There are dry, but grassy, and slightly shrubby plains leading up to the mountains.
Great Basin Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is a short, shrubby blue-green bush that is common in the interior western United States.It is most common in arid areas.
Extremely tall conifer trees (Douglas firs) with a dark brown bark, and dark green leaves, can most commonly be seen in Cascadia. Notably, they can also be found in northern California, Idaho and as far east as Montana.
Temperate rainforests are found in coastal areas of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. These rainforests feature many broadleaf trees, large conifers, and ferns.
The Southwest, centred around the Four Corners region of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado, feature many mesas and tablelands. Often, these rock formations will be red in colour. Additionally, red soil is common in these areas.
Palm trees are common in coastal areas of the Southeastern states, as well as the Desert Southwest region. Shown here is the Mexican Fan Palm, which is most common in California and along the Gulf Coast, but other palm tree types have a similar range.
Just west of the metropolitan areas of Austin and San Antonio Texas lies a large area of dry, rocky hills featuring many yucca and prickly pear plants. Texas Live Oak trees are the predominant tree type in this area.
The Rio Grande Valley in South Texas is extremely flat and features shrubby trees and agricultural fields. This area borders the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
Spanish moss, appearing as greyish white drapes, can sometimes be seen on trees in the deep south.
Agricultural golden fields can commonly be seen in eastern Washington.
The Nebraska Sandhills are a recognizable region of rolling hills covered with prairie grass in the central-north part of the state.
In the Appalachian area stretching from southern New York to southern Virginia, there are a lot of forest-covered rolling hills, with flat valleys dividing them. A majority of the ridges are oriented Southwest to Northeast.
The Ouachita Mountains stretch from Eastern Oklahoma into West-Central Arkansas. Unlike the nearby Ozark Mountains, these mountains are typically more steep in nature and easier to see from a distance.
The US Minor Outlying Islands are a chain of islands that are US overseas territories. As such, it is counted as the US for country streak purposes.
The coverage on the Midway Atoll was made with a Generation 2 camera.
One of the most distinct features of the Midway atoll is the presence of multiple albatrosses on almost every single location.
A large part of the coverage on the Midway Atoll was taken on two runways, which are the only areas where it can be difficult to spot the albatrosses.
The islands other than the Midway Atoll can generally be characterised by three things. Firstly, the Generation 3 trekker coverage. Secondly, the low, bushy vegetation, and thirdly, the presence of numerous birds.
A nicely paved runway can be seen going west to east on the southern side of the Midway Atoll.
A poorly paved runway can be seen going north to south on the Midway Atoll. The pavement gets increasingly poor to the north.
On the eastern side of the Midway Atoll, you can find a small village.
Southeast Island is arguably the least distinctive island in the chain. It has a small lake near the centre, and a large amount of birds in the sky.
Lisianski Island only has coverage right by the shore and can typically be recognised by the large bushes going around the entire island.
Laysan Island is the only island in the chain where the coverage has almost no clouds.
The French Frigate Shoals is a fairly long and thin island with a shabby-looking runway. The island has by far the largest number of birds out of all islands in the chain.
East Island is the smallest island in the chain. There is barely any vegetation and you can see the ocean in all directions.
The western corner of the Midway Atoll runway is arguably the most common location on the official Geoguessr world map and may thus be worth remembering, particularly for a newer player.
Eastern Island, situated right next to the Midway Atoll, has two small areas of low-quality tripod coverage. It does not have any other official coverage.
The United States Virgin Islands are a group of islands that are US overseas territories. As such, it is counted as the US for country streaks purposes.
Car coverage on the islands will have a large, visible street view car, which will either be red or white. Details about where to find each car can be found in the region guessing section.
A unique blend of architecture is found on the United States Virgin Islands. The primary influences are European Renaissance, Spanish Baroque, Rococo and Victorian styles. Facades with large arches are common; as well as central plazas and courtyards.
Licence plates are short, typically either having a bright blue or a dark blue design.
Primary roads on the Southern US Virgin Island of St. Croix follow a loose grid pattern. Main roads are angled from WSW to ENE, with intersecting roads angled from NNW to SSE. In contrast, the Northern Islands of St. John and St. Thomas have much curvier roads.
The United States Virgin Islands features 3 unique Google cars. The first of which is shown here. This red truck with a red cab can only be seen in the southern island of St Croix. This is the most common car that will be seen as St Croix has the most coverage.
A white car without an antenna can also be seen on St Croix, however it will be less common than the red car.
A white car with an antenna can only be seen in the northern islands of St Thomas and St John. The cab is also noticeably shorter than the other two cars.
Two boat trekkers are found on the north coast of St Croix. The boat cannot be seen, however the trekker can be identified by the blue waters and hilly islands. The area near Buck Island National Park also has a distinct pink tint to the camera.
American Samoa is a group of islands east of Fiji, located in the Pacific Ocean. Since it is a US overseas territory, for country streak purposes, it is counted as the US.
The general landscape consists of green, tropical mountains with many palm trees. Small roads are often made of concrete. Most houses are one storey, and have a simple box design. Plain metal sheet roofs are also very common.
A slightly rusted black truck bed can be seen on the main island of Tutuila.
The front of a silver-grey truck with side mirrors can be seen on Manu’a and Olosega, which are connected by a bridge.
The front of a similar truck can be seen on the easternmost covered island of Tau. However, the truck will be glossy black, with side mirrors visible.
The single-lane bridge, connecting the islands of Manu’a and Olosega, can be easily recognized by the thin wire guardrail, with the two islands on either side of the bridge.
Ofu Airport is small with a concrete runway. The Google Car covering it has two orange straps on the roof. Many palm trees can also be seen on the other side of the runway.
Gum trees (eucalyptus) are by far the most common type of tree in Australia. Their bark is typically light-coloured, with puffy puffy clusters of leaves.
Australian bollards are white, with a red reflector on the front, and a grey reflector on the back.
Australia drives on the left.
Australia uses almost exclusively white road lines, with a few rare exceptions in alpine regions such as Mount Kosciuszko and Mount Hotham.
Outside lines in Australia sometimes feature rumble strips that look like small white stripes perpendicular to the road line.
Give-way signs in Australia have a white border and black text.
Australia uses white on black and black on yellow chevrons.
Green signs with white arrows on either side can be seen at intersections which show nearby towns or cities. A number indicating the number of kilometres away the town can sometimes be seen.
Australian speed limit signs have black text in a red circle on a large white rectangle.
A long antenna can be seen in Generation 3 coverage.
This is a street view coverage map of Australia. The outback is sparsely populated, so roads with coverage are few and far between. Many of these isolated roads are learnable: some of them are described in the Spotlight section.
Different states use different licence plate designs, which can be somewhat visible through the blur.
Australian phone numbers are 8 digits with a 2-digit area code in front. A map of these by state can be seen here. Keep in mind, not all phone numbers will include an area code in front of it.
Each state has a unique bus stop design. These are quite common in urban rounds, so are worth learning. Darwin bus stops are usually concrete shelters.
Yellow signposts are specific to Western Australia.
Bollards with brown paint at the bottom are most commonly found in Western Australia.
These black-and-white stripy bollards are unique to Western Australia.
Poles in Western Australia often have green painted bases, and sometimes a white sticker or a red and white band attached.
A trident-like pole top can sometimes be seen in Western Australia and Victoria.
You can find these dark green property markers on the sides of roads in Western Australia.
You can find these white property markers on the sides of roads in South Australia.
The iconic Stobie pole, made of steel and concrete, is specific to South Australia. The pole tops (trident or rotated letter “E”) are also unique.
South Australia is the only Australian state that uses a 25 speed limit in school zones.
Some signposts in South Australia and Western Australia are flat rather than round.
In South Australia and the ACT, you can sometimes find gaps in the outer roadlines.
These rusty metal poles, containing several holes, are unique to the Northern Territory.
Signposts in the Northern Territory can feature these yellow stickers.
Within Australia, a speed limit of 130 km/h can only be found in the Northern Territory.
Traffic lights with a white outline around the frame are found in the eastern and western states of WA, QLD, NSW, ACT and Tas. Traffic lights without a border are found in the remaining, central states.
Road signs with a fluorescent border are almost exclusively found in Queensland.
These black markings are specific to electricity poles in Queensland. They are often accompanied by diagonal numbers.
Circular blue stickers can be found on Queensland poles. You may occasionally see the same type of sticker in a different colour, or with the colour almost completely faded.
This black-and-yellow bollard is exclusive to Queensland.
Queensland features these unique pole tops with coils that are angled upwards on the sides.
New South Wales is the only state to use red ‘No Stopping’ signs.
Some ‘Keep Left’ signs in New South Wales, Queensland, and the Northern Territory use this thinner version, which does not include an arrow.
This guardrail ending, featuring a black dash on a yellow background, is almost exclusive to New South Wales and the ACT.
The white ‘No Stopping’ and ‘No Parking’ signs that include text are unique to the Australian Capital Territory.
According to a 2006 review, 64% of all concrete poles are located in the state of Victoria.
Victorian pole tops feature 3 circular coils; 2 on the sides, and 1 vertical one at the top. At times, other extensions can be seen on these poles.
You can find these white hydrant poles that feature a blue circle and a red section on top of it in Victoria.
These fire hydrants with red painted tops are unique to Victoria.
Roads that start with the letter ‘C’ are only found in Victoria and Tasmania. In addition, South Australia has some C roads near the border with Victoria.
Olive-green possum guards are only found on electricity poles in Tasmania.
Poletops in Tasmania often consist of a crossbar with an L-shaped cross-section.
White directional signs can only be found in Tasmania.
Reflectors that are shorter in height than the regular ones are most common in Queensland and South Australia.
Western Australia, and especially the Perth area, is known for its reddish-orange soil.
These brush plants are commonly seen in Western Australia.
The vegetation in the area surrounding Darwin is extremely distinct. It features dark red soil, as well as rich green grass and trees. The tree trunks are typically black.
Termite mounds can sometimes be seen in the Northern Territory and rarely northern WA and QLD. They appear as brown, spiky formations rising out of the ground.
The area around Warramboo in SA to Madura in WA has a unique landscape. Vegetation is quite dry and is made up of shrubs and wide crowned eucalyptus. In addition, the soil is sandy with a slight orange tint.
Green or golden fields can be found in this band from the south of the Yorke Peninsula to Echuca. In the SA side, the landscape should be drier than the Victorian side and more wide crowned eucalyptus can be seen. On the Victorian side, the trees generally have more leaves and are taller.
Coastal northern Queensland is very tropical. Typical vegetation consists of palm trees and dark green vegetation.
Sugarcane plantations are very common in Northern Queensland, due to its tropical climate.
The landscape in inland NSW is mostly flat, and the soil gets redder the more inland you go. Vegetation consists of mostly dry pale-green shrubs. There is practically no Generation 4 in the NSW outback, with most of the coverage either Generation 1 or 2. Further east and on the Queensland and Victorian borders, the climate gets more temperate but is still quite dry and more eucalyptus trees can be seen, with the soil transitioning into a more sandy colour as well as more hills being visible.
Tasmania has a cool temperate climate which is uncommon in the rest of Australia and is comparable to central-southern Chile or New Zealand. Typical landscape consists of green rolling hills that can look dry in winter coverage. Eucalyptus trees can be seen on the side of roads and on hills in the distance. Rural Tasmania is also quite hilly with dense eucalyptus forests making up the landscape.
Generation 2 is very common in Tasmania, which may help in deciding between Tasmania and Victoria.
Generation 2 cannot be found in the Northern Territory.
A ‘dolphin-shaped’ leaf can sometimes be seen on the Generation 2 halo in southeastern South Australia.
Australia is home to dozens of rare Google cars, which can usually be found in natural reserves.
For country streak purposes, Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are counted as part of Australia. For example, clicking Australia on Christmas Island counts as a country streak.
The area around Tom Price can be recognized by its red soil, Generation 2 camera and rocky hills.
Alice Springs, an isolated town in the southern part of the Northern Territory, features distinct orange rocks that can be seen in the distance or at the end of roads.
The northern QLD city of Cairns is distinct due to its tropical vegetation and big green mountains around the city.
The area around Mount Gambier, SA features white soil and extensive pine tree plantations, making it recognisable.
Kangaroo Island in South Australia tends to have a distinct look. The vegetation mostly consists of bushes and low, stubby eucalyptus trees with puffy clusters of leaves. The orange soil colour is reminiscent of Western Australia.
The Nullarbor Highway (Latin for “no tree”) can be easily recognized thanks to the flatness, overall grey look and very low vegetation.
On most of the Northern Territory section of the Barkly Highway and a small part of the Queensland section, a wire can be seen on the left side of the car.
Dorat Road (23) in the Northern Territory can be easily recognized thanks to its distinct Darwin area landscape and lack of road lines.
The Sturt Highway from Wentworth to Wagga Wagga can have triple broken centre lines.
The Stuart Highway from Alice Springs to around Pimba, SA can be easily recognized by its bright orange dirt, short trees and blue car Generation 4.
You can sometimes see sloped kerbs in Perth, where it gradually declines to the road, whilst in other cities kerbs go straight down at a 90 degree angle.
Melbourne poles commonly feature these white, rectangular stickers, with a smaller blue square inside it.
A red Generation 3 car with a long antenna can be seen in and east of Melbourne.
All-yellow road lines can be seen on roads around Mount Kosciuszko.
In a lot of Generation 2 around the towns of Morwell and Traralgon in Eastern Victoria, a leaf is visible in the Generation 2 halo. It can also be seen in eastern SA.
In Generation 2 coverage in an area of Eastern NSW, a twig is visible in the Generation 2 halo.
In some of New South Wales’ Generation 2, the halo looks very dirty.
South Australian style Stobie poles can sometimes be found in the NSW town of Broken Hill.
This street sign is unique to Brisbane City Council.
This street sign is unique to Gold Coast City Council.
This street sign is unique to the City of Sydney.
The town of Gascoyne Junction in Western Australia is distinct, as the driver left the car boot open while covering this town, creating a very unique car meta.
Around the Devils Marbles, north of Davenport in the Northern Territory, smoke from a bushfire is visible.
Christmas Island is a small island territory south-southwest of Java. It is an Australian external territory, so for country streaks purposes it is counted as part of Australia.
Christmas Island has two types of coverage: car coverage and a couple of trekkers.
Most of Christmas Island is covered by dense tropical forest. Some unpaved roads feature bright, white sandy soil. A small part of the coverage is in built-up areas. And in some places, palms can be seen.
Christmas Island uses the standard Australian bollard. It is a simple white bollard with a red reflector on the front, and a grey reflector on the back.
Christmas Island has yellow licence plates.
While much of the coverage is on regular roads, the Google car also drove on some very rural trails.
The built-up areas are in the northeast. The rest of the island is mostly covered by dense forest.
There is a boat trekker near the north coast of the island. Some of the boat’s white-coloured deck pokes through the blur. Much of the trekker closely hugs the coast; here you can see the steep, rocky coastline of Christmas Island.
There is an abundance of smaller trail trekkers all over the island. These are mostly surrounded by very dense foliage, but occasionally you can encounter interesting sights like beaches and lookouts.
An exception to the road coverage mostly having car meta is the coastal Jln Pantai road, where a regular trekker was used. On this road, you will not see the back of the car, just a trekker blur.
The harbour area is recognizable by the large cranes that are visible from many vantage points.
This golf course trekker is on the northeast coast. In some places, the Google car also drove on this golf course.
Christmas Island is famous for its red crabs. Near Ethel Beach, you can find a trekker walking among hundreds of these crabs. Another smaller trekker where you can see crabs is near The Dales, on the West Coast. Throughout the island, you can find references on signs to these crabs.
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands consist of two coral atolls. It is an Australian territory, so for country streaks purposes, it is counted as Australia.
The general landscape consists of bright white sand, many palms and mowed grass. Cocos Islands is significantly less forested or hilly compared to Christmas Island.
This unique car with a snorkel at the front right and the edges of the bed visible is found on West Island.
This white car with the rear edges visible is found in Bantam.
Bantam Village can be recognized by the cross-hatched brick pavement.
The Cocos Islands runway can be recognized by it being the widest paved road on the island, with mowed grass on both sides of the runway and this follow car.
Cocos Islands has many trekkers along the coast. Most of them will be walking on white sand, with the ocean to one side and palms the other.
Direction Island can be recognized by the beaches having significantly more litter compared to the other islands. Bricks, styrofoam and dead coral can be seen along some portions of the coast.
The inland trekker on Pulau Luar (Horsburgh Island) can be recognized by the dry, yellow grass, and more sparse vegetation.
This medium boat with a large seating capacity can be seen from West Island to Bantam.
This small boat with black bars at the rear can be seen in the north.
This small dark grey boat with a woman sitting at the back can be seen in the south.
Guam is a United States overseas territory. As such, it is counted as the US for country streaks purposes.
The entire Google car is blurred, however an antenna at the front right and a tiny part of the roof rack can be seen.
Poles on Guam are almost always concrete and commonly very thick.
Guam uses green street signs, unlike the Northern Mariana Islands, which use blue street signs.
Guam has a tropical climate with a lot of dense and somewhat low vegetation.
Both Guam and Northern Mariana Islands often have a very large number of road reflectors.
East Asian languages such as Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and even Russian are common to see in Guam.
Guam is generally hilly in the south and flat in the north.
Some Signposts near the town of Apra View are coloured yellow.
LeoPalace Resort can be recognised by the white, resort buildings with orange tiled roofs, which looks superficially similar to tiled roofs found on Java.
Bollards in New Zealand have a red strip which wraps around the top of the bollard. This strip wraps the whole way around the back and part of the front. The front or back of the bollard often contains a thin yellow or white reflector.
New Zealand uses white licence plates with black text, which appears mostly white through the blur.
The most common pole type found in New Zealand is made of concrete and has one long indent which runs most of the way up the pole. Most concrete poles have small silver possum guards. Circular wooden poles can also be found, but are less common. You can also see concrete holey poles in New Zealand.
Give-way signs in New Zealand have a white border and red text.
New Zealand intersections often use give-way triangles painted on the road.
The majority of directional and warning signs in New Zealand are held up by white posts. Warning signs are diamond-shaped and painted yellow.
New Zealand often uses blue street signs with white text, particularly in rural areas. While street signs of other colours can be often seen, blue is by far the most common.
New Zealand normally uses white outer road lines. Yellow dashed outer road lines can be seen in populated areas. Roads with no outer lines can be seen on smaller roads. Inner lines are either a single dashed white line or unbroken double yellow lines.
New Zealand uses black-on-yellow chevrons with a thin black border. White on black chevrons are very rarely used.
New Zealand uses green directional signs. If the sign is on a state highway, the highway number will always be shown in a red crest.
Bridge markers can be found on most paved roads in New Zealand. If the sign is on a state highway, the highway number will always be shown in a red crest on a white marker. The yellow marker indicates the name of the river or bridge.
It is very common to see ferns growing in forested areas in New Zealand.
Two-digit state highway numbers follow a sequential pattern from North to South, making them easy to find. Single digit highways run through large parts of the country, but are easy to remember due to the small number of them.
New Zealand phone numbers are seven digits with a two-digit area code in front of it. Numbers starting with 02 are mobile numbers.
The first digit of Fonterra farm signs follows the regional pattern seen on the map.
The cities of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch all have unique bus stop signs.
Several New Zealand cities have distinctive rubbish bins. The distinguishing feature of the bins are the council logos on the front. The colour of the bin lid varies within cities.
Vineyards are particularly common in the Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay regions.
Corn is almost exclusively found on the North Island.
Tall hedge and tree rows are particularly common in the Canterbury region. They are mostly found in the Canterbury plains, which comprises very flat, large fields.
Most utility poles in the Marlborough region have a long square shaped olive-brown possum guard. These can appear alongside the usual shorter silver possum guards.
Many of the utility poles in Southland feature a long cylindrical silver possum guard. These are also more rarely found in western Otago.
Holey poles are found most commonly in Southland and around Auckland.
Uneven crossbars, meaning they are off-centre, are found in Otago, Marlborough, Wellington and Taranaki.
Square concrete poles without the usual indent are most common in Southland, but can also be found in Otago, Taranaki and Manawatū-Whanganui.
The Southern Alps, a large, snowy mountain range, stretches throughout the majority of the South Island. Vegetation on the mountains becomes rarer the further south it is.
The flatter parts of the Southland and Otago regions can be recognised by their cold climate and sloping, alpine hills. The vegetation in this area is often quite stunted due to the climate.
The West Coast and part of the Tasman region on the South Island can be recognized by its temperate rainforests and rugged landscape. This can be seen through the hundreds of tall hills and mountains, as well as the dark, compact greenery which is due to the area’s high level of rainfall.
The Waikato and Northland regions are characterised by their drier climate and rolling hills. In particular, the Northland region is quite hilly.
Wooden fences with tightly packed fence posts are most common on the Northern Island and the north of the South Island, as well as on Akaroa.
Wooden fences with a big gap in-between them are most common on the South island as well as in Taranaki.
Fences with thin metal fence posts are almost exclusive to the South island.
Short pieces of wood attached to a fence post, slightly extending it, can often be found on fences in Hawke’s Bay and occasionally in Manawatū-Whanganui.
Similar wooden extensions, which are significantly longer, are mainly found in Southland, but can also be seen in Otago.
While New Zealand flax can be found across the country, if you see them in long neat rows, you should consider Southland.
Generation 2 coverage and gravel roads are particularly common in the Northland region.
Solid outer white lines without middle lines are most common in Gisborne, but can also be found in northern Hawke's Bay and Wellington.
This car with a white and blue front is mostly found on the North Island. It can occasionally be found In Canterbury and Marlborough, on the South Island.
This Street View car features a white-blue-white pattern which is blurred out, and is mainly found on the South Island or around and north of Auckland.
The Street View car with a black front is only found on these parts of the North Island.
This yellow tag, similar in appearance to a cow-tag, is found on most poles in Gisborne. It is also found in a few spots on the South Island, as well as over the border in northern Hawke’s Bay.
A typical bollard, but with a green stripe, is common in southern Canterbury, as well as in some pockets in eastern Southland.
A typical bollard but with a black stripe instead of a red one is commonly found in Wellington, especially in older Generation 3 coverage.
There are many town and city specific street signs in northern New Zealand, which can be seen in this graphic.
There are many town and city specific street signs in southern New Zealand, which can be seen in this graphic.
An easy way to recognize the city of Wellington is by how hilly it is.
Stewart Island only has coverage around the settlement of Oban. It is easily recognized due to the distinct bay, which is often filled with small boats. There is only Generation 3 camera coverage.
The area around Tongariro National Park is identifiable due to the low-lying volcanic vegetation in the area. Mount Ruapehu and Mount Tongariro are in the vicinity, and their tops are often covered by clouds.
Coverage on Mount Ruapehu is easily identifiable due to the dark volcanic landscape and distinct lack of vegetation.
In 2011, Christchurch was hit by an earthquake. As a result, roads on coverage from 2012 often appear in quite bad shape. Water damage caused many driveways to be cut off from streets due to large puddles of water, dirt or mud.
Part of State Highway 85 in Otago has light snow coverage, specifically between the towns of Becks and Morisson.
The cities of Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt can be identified by the wide, green valley they are located in, which runs southwest to northeast.
Blenheim can be recognized by having a large range of hills to the north and the south of the city.
Very tall hedges are found in the Bay of Plenty, mainly around Tauranga.
Mount Taranaki, often referred to as Mount Egmont, is easily distinguished due to its relatively smooth slopes and its pointed, often snowy peak. It can frequently be identified from afar, as the surrounding area is flat.
The area of the Southern Alps, north and south of Queenstown, contains many glacial lakes, which can be recognized by their teal colours and clear waters.
State Highway 80 in the Southern Alps is recognizable by its north-south orientation up a glacial valley. The west side of the road is lined with snow-capped mountains, while the east side of the road runs alongside the Tasman River and Lake Pukaki.
The mountains of Pirongia and Kakepuku are often seen together in an otherwise mostly flat landscape. To the west, we have Mount Pirongia which is a long mountain range, with 2 distinct small bumps. Meanwhile Mount Kakepuku is to the south and has a volcanic cone shape.
The Northern Mariana Islands is a United States overseas territory. As such, it is counted as the US for country streaks purposes.
The entire Google car is blurred, however an antenna at the front right can be seen. The antenna is also noticeably closer to the camera than in the Guam Google car.
Northern Mariana Islands have wooden poles, frequently with a crossbar at the top.
The Northern Mariana Islands uses blue street signs, unlike Guam, which use green street signs.
Northern Mariana Islands have a tropical climate with a lot of dense and somewhat low vegetation.
Royal Poinciana, Flamboyant Tree or Flame Tree (Delonix Regia) is the official tree of the Northern Mariana Islands and very common to see in the territory. Its wide crown with bright red flowers is easy to recognize.
Both Northern Mariana Islands and Guam often have a very large number of road reflectors.
East Asian languages such as Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and even Russian are common to see in the Northern Mariana Islands.
The only island with car coverage is the main island of Saipan. The islands north of that have no coverage. Tinian and Sinapalu south of Saipan only have tripod coverage.
Dense commercial areas can be found on the southern half of the west coast.
The Suicide Cliff is a steep cliff with a lot of exposed rock near the northern tip of the island.
The Pitcairn Islands are a group of four islands in the South Pacific Ocean and a territory of the United Kingdom. As such, it is counted as the UK for country streaks purposes.
Coverage is limited to two islands: Pitcairn Island and Henderson Island. The following clues will be focused on Pitcairn Island, as Henderson Island only has a very small amount of beach coverage.
All coverage was taken with a Generation 3 trekker.
Pitcairn Island is a semi-tropical and densely forested island, with most of the coverage being taken on small dirt tracks going through the forest.
The soil is commonly very red.
Adamstown is the only settlement on Pitcairn Island, and is found near the northeastern shore. Some of the roads going through the town are made of concrete rather than dirt.
The coverage on Henderson Island is limited to two white sand beaches on the northern and eastern shore.
A dock with the POI “The Landing” containing a large number of small ATVs can be found at the eastern end of Adamstown.
Vanuatu is an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, northeast of Brisbane between the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and Fiji.
This unique volcano trekker can be found in the middle of the island.
A distinct plateau with dark brown soil and patchy grass is seen east of the volcano.
Tropical plants and many ferns can be seen in this jungle further to the east. A man with a red cap is also seen with the trekker.
A beach with black sand can be seen on the east side of the island.
This dirt road with tire tracks and slightly purple soil can be seen east of the beach.
Endu Pahakol, the only village with coverage on Ambrym Island, can be recognized by the small thatched huts and dark soil.
Argentina uses two types of licence plates: a black one, which will be visible on street view with a black dot in the middle, and a white one with a blue bar at the top.
Argentina has a black Google car in Generation 3 coverage.
Round concrete poles sustaining three electricity lines in an alternating pattern are very common in Argentina.
Wooden poles are somewhat common in Argentina, they can be found either with a crossbar or without.
Argentina typically uses white-and-red chevrons.
Road lines in Argentina are mainly dashed white, double yellow or a mix in between.
These highway markers are unique to Argentina and indicate the highway number on top.
Yellow and red rectangular reflectors can often be seen on Argentinian guardrails.
While Argentina features a plethora of different landscapes, most of the country is relatively flat, mostly treeless, and sparsely populated. In the absence of better clues, you should consider Argentina when you see landscapes like this with a very “wide open”, desolate feel.
These Argentinian cities have unique and recognisable taxis.
Far western Argentina typically features a mountainous landscape.
Red soil is typically found in the Misiones province.
In the Chaco and Formosa provinces, you will often see sandy soil with an abundance of vegetation; mainly low trees and bushes.
Grassland with a few separated tree plantations is generally found in this area.
Small lakes near the road are occasionally seen in the province of Buenos Aires.
Flat and barren landscapes like this are typically found in central southern Argentina.
If you see this kind of vegetation with flat grass and a low number of bushes, you are almost certainly in the state of Tierra del Fuego or southeastern Santa Cruz.
The majority of tree plantations in Argentina are located in the Entre Rios province.NOTE: Uruguay and southern Brazil have them as well. Make sure to look at other clues before guessing.
Beech forests are commonly found in the state of Tierra del Fuego.
Coperinicia alba, also known as the Caranday Wax Palm, have short, fan-like leaves that tend to grow in low-density, single-species forests. Most common in Formosa, they can also be found in Chaco, Corrientes and northern Santa Fe.
Trithrinax Campestris, or the caranday palm, not to be confused with the Caranday Wax Palm, is a rustic palm native to the Sierras de Córdoba with a broader distribution in San Luis and northern mountainous Argentina. It can be identified by its compact fan-like leaves with a trunk hidden by a coat of dead-leaves.
The Butia yatay palm has arching, pinnate leaves and often grows at an incline with varying heights. It is most common in Corrientes and Parque Nacional El Palmar, Entre Rios.
Trichocereus atacamensis, or the cardón, is a cactus native to the high elevation mountain ranges of Catamarca, Tucumán, Salta and Jujuy. It can be identified by its candelabra-like appearance and fuzzy golden brown spines.
Stetsonia coryne, or the toothpick cactus, is a large tree-like cactus with many branches and spines resembling toothpicks. Its habitat includes a hotspot between Catamarca and Cordoba as well as the border area between Chaco, Salta and Formosa.
Wild sunflowers (Verbesina encelioides) are often found in Salta, Jujuy and Tucumán.
Sugarcane plantations are most common in Tucumán, with hotspots appearing in Salta and Jujuy.
Fields of sorghum can most commonly be seen in Santa Fe, Córdoba and Buenos Aires. It can be identified by its dark red flowerheads.
Corn fields can be found in most of northern Argentina, however they are most common in Córdoba, Buenos Aires and Santiago del Estero.
Fields of sunflowers are mainly found in southern Chaco, and less commonly in Buenos Aires and southern Córdoba.
Within Argentina, these Latvian style wooden hook poles are unique to La Rioja and Mendoza.
You can find these unique markers on provincial roads in Cordoba.
T-Junctions in La Pampa sometimes have these yellow rectangular signs, with a chevron pattern on the bottom, and the Road Number(s) above, with an arrow on both sides.
Salt pans in Argentina are typically found in Jujuy.
Red bricks, similar to what is common in Bolivia, can be found in the northwest of the country, especially in western Jujuy.
These red mountains are unique to the RN68 valley in southern Salta.
These volcanic rocks in Generation 4 coverage can only be found on the RP43 south of Antofagasta de la Sierra in northwestern Catamarca.
The western part of the RN65 in western Tucumán can easily be recognized by this small, dangerous road in the clouds.
Red soil with a barren landscape and mountain ranges, can often be seen on the RN76 in Parque Nacional Talampaya in western La Rioja.
These mountains are typically found west of Córdoba.
This horse trekker can be found in southwestern San Juan.
If you see vineyards with mountains in the west and flatness in the east, you are most likely in the outskirts of Mendoza.
Semi-coastal grass hills are seen in southern Buenos Aires, especially northeast of Bahía Blanca.
The monkey puzzle tree can be found in western Neuquen. The most specimens are seen on state road 23.
Sunrise coverage with bad image quality and multiple blurs is found on a short part of the RN251 and RN22, west of Río Colorado.
The “sawdust” car is found in centre-south Argentina and has a unique sandy dust on its visible black back.
Villa Dique Florentino Ameghino in northeastern Chubut is surrounded by these rock formations.
Comodoro Rivadavia is built on the slopes of Chenque hill, making the city recognisable.
This snow coverage is found on the eastern RP25 in eastern Santa Cruz.
Melting snow coverage is seen on the eastern RN293 close to the Chilean border in southwestern Santa Cruz.
These snowy mountains to the north can only be found in Ushuaia.
Bolivia has short, white licence plates with blue text. The blue text can be hard to see through the blur, so plates might appear as plain white.
Bolivia only has Generation 3 camera coverage. All of the country was covered by a white Google car with no antenna.
Many buildings in Bolivia consist of large red bricks. Buildings often have an ‘unfinished' look.
Middle road lines can be all-yellow, yellow and white, or all-white, while outer road lines are always white.
Bolivia has a lot of standard asphalt roads, but concrete slab roads are also fairly common.
There are also a lot of cobblestone roads. These roads often have a specific pattern, with several neat lines of stones separating the more disorganised cobblestones in between.
Bolivia typically uses bulky, white square signposts.
Guardrails sometimes feature yellow and black markings. These markings always have the yellow stripes on the outside.
Two types of utility poles are common in Bolivia:
Many wooden utility poles, particularly in the eastern parts of Bolivia’s Street View coverage, are noticeably curvy and look like they are made from locally sourced tree trunks.
Kilometre markers are black and white. The top part is black and features the abbreviation ‘Km’, while the bottom part is white and shows the distance. These markers do not have road numbers.
Many Bolivians wear traditional clothing, especially women. Folk dress for women typically consists of bowler hats, colourful shawls, and big pleated skirts (pollera).
Bolivia’s ruling political party is called Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS). Political graffiti often features the words MAS and Evo, short for Evo Morales, who was president of Bolivia at the time the country was covered by Street View.
Bolivia has a second official flag, called the Wiphala. It is a square patchwork of seven diagonally arranged colours. It is sometimes seen on government buildings and project signs.
In urban areas, you will often see ads for the telecom company Tigo, with its distinct blue logo. Crucially, this company does not operate in Peru, meaning it can help you solve urban 50-50s.
If all else fails, and you have a tough 50-50, it can help to look at the colour of the rocks and soil, which often have a distinct reddish tint in Bolivia, more so than the other Andean countries.
Coverage in Bolivia is very limited, both in geographic scope and the density of roads covered.
The Altiplano (“high plain”) is an immense highland plateau that dominates most of western Bolivia. It is covered in grasslands that range from green to arid. Some parts are suitable for agriculture, whereas other parts are extremely dry. Grass growing in tufts is common (sometimes referred to as “Bolivian hedgehogs” in the community).
The grasslands of the Altiplano tend to look more lush in the more northern half: the area close to El Alto and La Paz.
Conversely, the Altiplano looks more arid in the more southern half: around Oruro, and the roads going southwest towards Chile.
Lake Titicaca, on the border with Peru, is the most significant body of water in Bolivia. It is located entirely within the Altiplano. It can be seen from two roads:
If you are surrounded by tall mountains, you are likely in the Andes, which goes roughly northwest to southeast inbetween the Altiplano and the Amazon rainforest.
The area east of the Andes is very green and tropical, with lots of agriculture – especially around Santa Cruz. This area is mostly very flat, though you will see large hills on some of the roads closer to the Andes. The soil tends to have a pink colour.
Within this tropical area, coverage on unpaved roads is only found around Santa Cruz. These roads again prominently have the pink soil that is very characteristic of the area east of Andes.
La Paz and El Alto are twin cities that together form one big metropolitan area. However, despite being located right next to each other, they each have a very different look. See the tips below for more information.
La Paz is a very hilly city. Most of La Paz itself is situated in meandering valleys, surrounded by hills that often tend to be covered in green vegetation (as opposed to the more dry hillsides found in many other Bolivian urban areas).
Downtown La Paz is the only place in Bolivia where you will find very tall buildings (10+ storeys).
In many parts of La Paz, you can see these heavily eroded, pillar-like rock formations on the hillsides. They consist of a very recognizable yellow-beige sandstone.
El Alto is situated on a very flat, highland plateau. It looks much drier and dustier than La Paz. The layout of its streets is also more regular and grid-like.
This type of pavement, consisting of rectangular grey bricks with slightly wavy edges, is very common in El Alto.
In El Alto, you can sometimes see a local type of architecture referred to as Neo-Andean. Buildings in this style are colourful, with elaborate, futuristic-looking façades. The style is really unique and is almost completely limited to El Alto.
Gates and doors in El Alto are sometimes painted with a gradient pattern, usually dark green to light green, or red to yellow.
Cochabamba is situated in a large flat valley, where you will almost always see an imposing wall of mountains to your north. This is the single most useful and consistent way of distinguishing this city from other places in Bolivia.
Of all the major cities in Bolivia, Oruro is situated in by far the most dry landscape.
Sucre is situated in a very hilly landscape, and as a result you can see many elevation changes in its streets. Uniquely, you can see these round, tree-covered hills in many parts of the city.
Sucre has a well-preserved historic city centre, with lots of old colonial buildings. The downtown area can be recognized by the white walls, orange tiled roofs, and generally more historic look than other places in Bolivia.
Potosí is also situated in a very hilly landscape, like Sucre. However, its landscape is much more arid, with little to no trees atop the hills.
In many parts of Potosí, you can see this colossal pyramid-shaped mountain called Cerro Rico. It is famous for having massive quantities of silver ore, and as a result its surface is stripped bare by extensive mining – which is distinctly visible in the street view coverage.
Santa Cruz is the only large Bolivian city located in a tropical (and flat) landscape.
Ruta 1 west of El Alto is a paved road that runs through green grasslands. The road itself is mostly flat, but you will usually see hills nearby. On the road, you will often see numbers marked in white paint.
The section of Ruta 3 around Pongo, northeast of La Paz, can easily be recognised by the breathtaking views of enormous mountains, which are often surrounded by low-hanging clouds. The mountains are also recognizable by their dark grey rocks lightly covered in greenish grass.
The N Yungas Road (also popularly known as Death Road), is a bendy, small and unpaved road, high up in the mountains east of La Paz. The vegetation is very tropical. The coverage in the southern part of the road is very foggy. True to its unofficial name, this road looks like a very dangerous drive. You can sometimes see some daring cyclists.
Ruta 1 and 4 between La Paz and Oruro is a large divided highway that runs through the Altiplano landscape of western Bolivia.
A long section of Ruta 4 has a distinctive square smudge on the front left of the camera. This coverage starts in the altiplano near Vila Vila, going east through Cochabamba, all the way to Buena Vista in the flat Amazonian part of Bolivia.
Around Morochata, northwest of Cochabamba on Ruta 25, there is a small isolated piece of coverage that looks extremely similar to Peru. It is a dirt road that meanders through a mountainous landscape. Knowing this road can be extremely helpful for country streak purposes.
Ruta 1 between Machacamarca and Guindal runs through an arid landscape where you will often see patches of snow on the hilltops, and sometimes even next to the road. Weather conditions range from cloudy to fully overcast, lending this coverage a gloomy look.
The section north of Challapata runs in a general NNW direction, with straight roads in flat terrain, with hills on one or both sides. Weather conditions are a little bit better, with some of the sky visible, especially when looking south.
The section southeast of Challapata tends to be more curvy and hilly. The weather is much worse, with grey skies.
The section of Ruta 7 between Mairana and the outskirts of Santa Cruz has coverage with a camera bug that causes a visual glitch. It is a distinctive, neon-like discoloration, that (depending on the road angle) is usually more or less to your north.
The roads around the town of Mataral have recognizable coverage: a very green, hilly landscape, and sunny weather with only a couple of clouds. While the hills are very green, the vegetation is not very dense, and quite low.
In the aforementioned Mataral area, you will often see large cacti hiding between the bushes, as well as trees with yellow flowers.
The eastern section of Ruta 4, east of Santa Cruz, runs in a general east-west direction, through a mostly flat, green landscape. In some places, you can see some low hills. This road has both asphalt and concrete pad sections.
The section of Ruta 5 around Chaco, just north of Sucre, has distinct sunset coverage. Most of this road has concrete pavement, and meanders through semi-arid hills.
The section of Ruta 4, southwest of Patacamaya, runs through a semi-arid grassland landscape. Many parts of that road between Patacamaya and Callapa have worn-down grainy asphalt.
On the southwesternmost section of Ruta 4, you can usually see the Nevado Sajama, an isolated snow-capped volcano that is very distinct and unlike any other mountain in Bolivia.
The section of Ruta 6 between Tarabuco and Zudáñez is paved with extremely light-coloured concrete, bordering on white. This pavement is very recognizable and unique to this road.
Between the villages of Villa Catalina and Coipasa, there is an isolated stretch of coverage where the Google car drove through extremely arid desert terrain. This small road is located close to the southwestern end of Ruta 12, near the Chilean border. It can be hard to spot on the map, because it blends in with the salt flat.
Sajama National Park was covered by this unique Google car: it has a black roof rack with a series of metal bars.
Licence plates in Brazil were white until 2018. Now, a white plate with a blue stripe on top is used. Red is still used for commercial vehicles.
Portuguese is spoken in Brazil, as opposed to most Latin American countries which speak Spanish. Compared to Spanish, some essential differences are that Portuguese uses -ão rather than -ón, -ch instead of -ll and -nh instead of -ñ.
Soil in most of Brazil is distinctly red. It can range from a light pink around Mato Grosso to a deep maroon near the Paraná river. The soil is usually not red in the North East, or in the majority of Rio Grande do Sul, however.
The most common poles in Brazil have some resemblance to a ladder in the bottom portion. They are rectangular, have long segments running through the bottom, and small holes near the top.
Most Brazilian road signs have the backs painted black.
Blue road markers with the road number and kilometre can be seen on the sides of roads.
Brazil uses yellow on black chevrons, as opposed to most of South America, which use black on yellow chevrons.
Roads in Brazil will usually feature double yellow middle lines, with white outer lines. Roads can occasionally have a single dashed yellow line.
There are frequently white painted kerbs on Brazilian roads.
Many houses throughout Brazil have orange tiled roofs.
It is fairly common to see transparent satellite dishes, which within Latin America is generally unique to Brazil.
Blue Fortlev water tanks are often seen on Brazilian roofs.
In Generation 3 coverage, you can see two different cars:
The Generation 4 cars you can find in Brazil have a visible front, and have one of the following three colour patterns:
Most of the coverage in Brazil is along the eastern half, with only sparse coverage in the Amazon.
Area codes are common to see in Brazil. They are often notated using parentheses, or at minimum as two separate numbers. Phone numbers are sometimes without area codes, and without them will be 8 numbers long for landline and 9 for mobile.
Each Brazilian state has a two-letter acronym. These show up most prominently in the numbers of state roads (found on kilometre markers). They can also be found in other contexts however.
Postcodes (CEP) are seen frequently on street signs in Brazil (though sometimes hard to read). The first two numbers will depict an area, a state or multiple states. The numbers go anti-clockwise from São Paulo, ending in Rio Grande do Sul.
Shown here is an elevation map of Brazil. It can help to have a rough mental map of where you can find mountains, and which regions are more flat. The highest mountains are generally found near the southeastern coast.
Northeastern Brazil can be identified by its dry soil, shrubs and succulents (the Caatinga landscape). In rainy season coverage, the shrubs are still recognisable, but can be deceptively green.
The Amazon is a dense rainforest that comprises 40% of Brazil’s total area. Not many roads are within it, but those that are, mostly go through either biodiverse forest or grassy hills with sparse trees.
Acre has a unique landscape of small grass hills and sparsely growing trees. The roads often do not cut around the hills like in most of Brazil, but ride the hills instead. A similar landscape can also be seen near Maraba in the state of Pará.
Rural locations in Roraima are mostly open grassy plains with large, distant mountains in the background. Occasionally, you are on roads within the mountains. Furthermore, the grass in Roraima is distinctly thin, and grows in bunches.
The landscape in Rio Grande do Sul can be hilly or flat with lush, green fields. Southern areas can have some resemblance to Uruguay.
Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo often have rolling grassy hills.
Espírito Santo, and the surrounding areas, often have large mountains with exposed rock.
These distinct trees, called Paraná pines, have long horizontal branches with leaves only at the end. They grow mainly in the southern Brazilian states of Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul.
Coconut palm trees have long leaves, can grow very tall, and have thin trunks. They are common across the north eastern states and sometimes further west or south along the coast.
Carnaúba palms have short but strong, fan-like leaves and a trunk that is smooth at the top and spiked at the bottom. They are common in Ceará but are also in Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte.
Babassu palms have long, robust leaves comprised of many leaflets. Trunk length can vary from short to tall. They are found throughout the Amazon, or more rarely, down the east coast.
Açai palms produce fruits that are popular globally. Most of these palms are found near Belem, but can be seen across the Amazon. They are distinct in the way the leaflets droop downward along with their unusually thin trunks.
Moriche palms have leaves with a rounded fan shape. They are most common in Amazonas, Acre, and Roraima, but can be found in all of the Amazonian states.
Macaw palms have thin leaves compared to other palms, and often have a visible spear shaped top. They are very common around Mato Grosso do Sul and the surrounding states, but can be seen much further out sometimes. These palms should be used with caution, and single trees are much less of an indicator than multiple trees.
This species of plant, with long stems and many leaves growing up, are very common in Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, and Paraíba. In the dry season, you can still make out the distinct long stems without leaves.
Very tall grass can be often seen in the centre of the country, most notably in the Tocantins, Goiás, Bahia, and Minas Gerais states.
Eucalyptus Grandis, when fully grown, is a very tall tree with plantations all over Brazil. You can find them in both large and very small plantations., as well as randomly growing anywhere. You can see them all over the south, but there are some large plantations in Amapá too.
Sugar cane is by far most common in the state of São Paulo, and in the coastal north east states, especially Alagoas and Pernambuco.
Soybeans appear as small, leafy soil grown plants. They are most commonly grown in Mato Grosso, Paraná, and Goiás.
Coffee beans are by far the most common in Minas Gerais, but also can be found in Espírito Santo and northeastern São Paulo.
Alongside ladder poles, round poles can often be found across the south of Brazil, especially São Paulo. These poles are cylindrical and made of concrete.
Some states also use wooden poles. They are most commonly seen in Rio Grande do Sul, Roraima, Amazonas, and Rio de Janeiro.
Markings on poles are used by the electricity companies to identify them. This pole ID is long, yellow pole paint with a black code. The ones that start with a letter are found in Bahia and Pernambuco.
Similar to the Bahia and Pernambuco poles, Goiás poles also use long, yellow pole paint with a black paint code, but it always starts with a number. They also have a rarer yellow on black pole ID, which can be either paint or a plate.
This small yellow or orange plate attached onto the pole by thin metal or zip tie is found in Rio Grande do Norte and Pernambuco. This ID is usually much higher up the pole in Pernambuco than in Rio Grande do Norte.
Pole IDs in Paraná are usually made up of black paint and yellow or white painted text.
Most poles in Maranhão have a small beige plate with numbers built into the surface of the pole. This pole ID can be found in Pará and Piauí more rarely.
Utility poles in Paraná on intersections are sometimes painted with the street name. This can sometimes extend to Santa Catarina or Rio Grande do Sul if there are ladder poles in the city.
Insulators that resemble brown mushrooms are only found in Pernambuco.
Insulators that resemble white mushrooms are found in Bahia and rarely Brasília.
Transparent insulators are mostly in Alagoas in the northeast, and Santa Catarina in the south. They can be seen rarely in Sergipe, Ceará, and Brasília.
These insulators have a shape resembling a spool of thread. They are found mostly in Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, and have been seen in Ceará.
Poles that have one insulator on top and alternating horizontal insulators can be found in Mato Grosso and southern Acre. It is also very rare in Rio Grande do Sul.
Poles that have a smooth cone on top, often called a pencil pole, are common in the state of Rio de Janeiro and rarely in Brasília.
Insulators in Ceará can sometimes be uniquely long and thin. They are in Goiás too, but are rare.
Poles with horizontal insulators are very common in Pará and less so in Mato Grosso. They are rarely found in Acre, Amapá, Tocantins, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.
Long grey insulators, not including when they are horizontal, are most commonly found in Pará, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Bahia, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná and Santa Catarina.
Poles with these wide insulators in a trident formation are common in Maranhão. The insulator itself is common across many states, but not in this configuration.
These insulators are spherical or cone shaped and suspended on a rod above the insulator bar. They are often referred to as “lollipop” insulators. They are very common in Rio Grande de Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, and more rarely, Sergipe.
These dark brown insulators with grey bases are found almost exclusively in Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.
Brazil often uses metal trash baskets outside houses. In Acre and Rondônia, however, it is much more common to see them made of concrete.
Minas Gerais lamps will often feature two parts to them. They are also common in Goiás.
Lamps in urban northern Paraná sometimes have no lamp arm. Styles contrast, and are either colourful, plastic and industrial, or look fancy and ornate. Both versions are most commonly found in northwest Paraná.
The vast majority of poles in Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Pernambuco have the lamp arm attached to the pole, as opposed to it being attached with a plate, which is much more common generally.
Lamps in Roraima have a similar style but have different colours in the main cities. Boa Vista, Normandia, and Mucajaí have red lamps, Rorainópolis has blue lamps, Pacaraima and Iracema have green, and Caracaraí has yellow.
Lamps in Ceará often have a fancy and colourful arm, whether as lampposts or attached to utility poles. It sometimes says the town on the arm.
São Paulo has far more divided highways than any other state.
Phone numbers can sometimes be seen underneath kilometre markers in São Paulo.
Cobblestone pavement is most common in the northeast and in Rio Grande do Sul.
Roads with hexagonal concrete tiles can be found across Brazil, but they are more common in Santa Catarina and Minas Gerais.
Some roads in Acre are made of red brick.
Cobblestone roads with randomly sized stones are most common in southeast Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais.
These uneven but mostly square stone roads are seen in western Rio Grande do Sul and west Santa Catarina. The soil will often be very dark in these regions too.
You can often see pavements in Rio Grande do Sul that have brown tiles but are either jagged and random, or square. This style can sometimes be seen in Santa Catarina.
Buildings in the southern states, mainly Santa Catarina, can be of European influence (typically vaguely German) in design and style.
Wooden houses on stilts are very common in the state of Acre.
Most roads in Piauí have red gravel on the side of the road. Some roads in Generation 4 now have tarmac and kerbs, but some gravel shoulders remain.
In all Generation 4 coverage in Amapá, the front right of the camera is smudged. In addition, all Generation 4 coverage in Amapá features the white car with the blue stripe.
You can often see rifts in Alagoas Generation 3 coverage.
These spheres on top of utility poles are João-de-Barro nests. They are common across the south of Brazil.
The landscape near the town of Uiramuta, in northern Roraima, features a very distinct landscape. It is dry, with large mountains containing numerous “folds.”
Coastal regions in Rio Grande do Sul are recognisable due to being a rare flat wetland, which is uncommon in Brazil.
São Paulo has a square, yellow pole ID paint. It has three letters on top followed by two numbers, a black line, and four more numbers. The three letters represent the municipality within São Paulo, but are rarely visible.
Street signs in Campo Grande and Joinville are stickers wrapped around a pole at intersections. Campo Grande signs usually have extra information and a red and yellow stripe.
Lamps in Rio de Janeiro are curved through the whole of the lamp arm, which is not seen anywhere else.
Teresina lamps are usually blue with an orange arm.
Belém lamp heads are often orange.
Cuiaba lamps are usually a light green, and is one of the few cities that has poles with multiple electricity metres, sometimes 6 to 12.
Lamps in Belo Horizonte and Uberaba in Generation 4 can have a white, numbered plaque attached to the lamp. In Belo Horizonte, the tag starts with 0 or 1, and in Uberaba, it starts with a 1 or 2.
Lamps in Caxias do Sul usually have a zig-zag bent pole and a yellow head.
Poles on Santa Catarina Island (Florianópolis) are painted white with blue and red stripes.
Northwest Rio Grande do Sul has coverage with this camera glitch in Generation 3.
The 364 through Acre is very recognisable due to the rollercoaster-like landscape and road: the road uniquely rides the hills rather than snaking around them. There is usually no traffic, and is covered mostly by Generation 3 with an antenna.
The Amazonas 319 has a very lush, bright green and tropical landscape, as it cuts through the Amazon rainforest. The road is flat and mostly unpaved, featuring bright orange soil. However, closer to Manaus the road becomes paved. There are wooden or ladder poles alongside the entire stretch. It is covered by the blue Generation 4 car.
The Pará section of the 163 is often hilly, curvy, dry, and sometimes hazy. It has a wide range of amazonian vegetation. The road is frequently trafficked, usually by transportation trucks. It is covered by the blue Generation 4 car.
This Amazonian trekker combines boat and walking coverage on and near the Madeira and Aripuana rivers, south of the 319. They are seen travelling through dense rainforest and small villages.
The beautiful National Park of Northeast Maranhão, known for its sand dunes with pools of water, has walking trekker and vehicle coverage. The truck is white with a black bed. The landscape can vary from beach to sandy wetland.
Ilha de Fernando de Noronha is a Brazilian island with official coverage approximately 340 kilometres northeast of Rio Grande do Norte, and the country itself. It is covered by a white buggy, which is visible at the front. The island is similar in vegetation to the closest part of mainland Brazil, and has large exposed rocks. There is also boat coverage around the island.
Chilean road lines are either all white, or all yellow:
Chile has a white Google Car with no antenna in Generation 3. There are two variants:
Chile uses square concrete poles with an indent on both sides. They are somewhat similar to Brazilian poles, however have fewer horizontal supports in the indent. The upper part typically has small pinholes.
Regular vehicles have white licence plates, while commercial and taxi vehicles have orange plates.
Slots can often be seen at the top of signposts.
Chilean bollards are similar to Spanish style bollards, with a white reflector at the front and a yellow-orange reflector at the back. They are not super common.
While regular bollards are somewhat rare in Chile, you may sometimes find this orange, temporary bollard, with two white stripes at the top.
Bridges in Chile often have red painted fence posts.
Shown here is a Köppen climate map of Chile.
Chile uses a memorable regional road naming system, where the first letter increases between A and Y from north to south. For more information on specific provinces, see here.
Chilean phone codes will sometimes have a two digit area code in front, followed by seven digits. The patterns of the codes are easily memorable. Most of the central states also have different area codes for specific provinces, which can help you make accurate guesses.
The Atacama is an extremely arid desert covering the northern third of Chile. Some parts of it experience the lowest rainfall on the planet. As a result, many locations in this desert are almost completely devoid of any vegetation: you will often just see sand and bare rock without any plants in sight anywhere.
The province of Arica y Parinacota can be recognized by the smooth, sandy mountains that may look slightly eroded, or have bulbous formations. Valleys are also common, which are rarely seen in other parts of Chile.
These rocky, uneven mountains are most commonly seen in Atacama and northern Coquimbo.
This brownish red soil can sometimes be seen in Atacama province.
Eucalyptus plantations combined with a somewhat dry climate are a good indicator that you are in southwestern Valparaíso.
The region around Santiago can be recognized by its semi-arid climate, having dry hills and scattered vegetation.
Compared to the area around Santiago, the Maule province has a similar look. However, it has a Mediterranean climate, and is generally greener. Vineyards are also commonly seen in this region.
Concepcion pines, scientifically named Pinus radiata, can be recognized by their puffy needles. They are most commonly found in Bio Bio, where the city of Concepcion is located, and less commonly in Ñuble and Araucania.
Narrow roads with trees on both sides can commonly be seen in the provinces of Bio Bio and Araucania.
Monkey puzzles, scientifically named Araucaria araucana, are found in far eastern Araucania.
A rolling, agricultural landscape, comparable to New Zealand, can be seen on Isla Grande de Chiloé.
Chilean rhubarb can commonly be found on Isla Grande, and on the mainland east of it. Chilean rhubarb can be recognized by its large, cabbage-like appearance.
Lush green valleys, with rocky mountains and often overcast coverage, can be seen in southern Los Lagos and northern Aysén.
Southern Aysén can be recognised by autumn coverage, having orange and red coloured vegetation. Keep in mind that not all coverage in this region will have fall colours.
The A-31 can be recognised by its high altitude, with a steep drop into a valley to the north. The road also has Gen 3 sunset coverage.
Generation 4 sunset coverage can be seen on Ruta 21 from Calama to San Francisco de Chiu Chiu. In the west near Calama, the sun has just started to set, causing a giant white dome in the sky. In the east, the sky has a warm gradient, and the tops of the volcanoes are seen glowing pink.
More Generation 4 Sunset coverage can be seen on B-710 and Ruta 5.
Ruta 1 is a coastal road that is easily recognized by the wall of mountains to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. This image shows the various weather conditions faced on the road to help you make closer guesses.
Part of Ruta 41 is located in a valley, with snowy mountains seen in the distance. Many trees and vineyards can commonly be seen toward the west. Triple yellow lines can also be seen from this point.
These purple flowers, named Large-leaved Lupines, can commonly be found along Ruta 240.
All yellow lines on a concrete road are a good indicator that you are on the paved section of Ruta 9, in the very south of Chile. The landscape tends to be barren, grassy, and treeless.
A distinct landscape consisting of a line of snow-capped mountains with two other isolated, symmetrical snow-capped volcanoes are seen in Lauca National Park. Most of the roads are newly paved and have a smooth, dark look.
The northern section of Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve can be recognized by the Tamarugo trees lining the road. The road itself is mediocre quality, and in a consistent north-west direction.
Alto Loa National Reserve can be recognized by the vast, open landscape, followed by salt pans leading up to snow-capped volcanoes. The reserve does not have any paved roads.
Smooth mountains with a reddish tint are seen in Los Flamencos National Reserve. Salt pans are also a common sight. The reserve uses triple yellow lines, with short dashes in the west.
In the west, Nevado Tres Cruces National Park can be recognized by the vast, open landscape, followed by salt pans leading up to a line of mountains. The sand has a reddish tint.
Llanos de Challe National Park can be recognized by the brown coloured dirt on the roadside, patches of light sand, juniper plants, and dark coloured mountains. The sky is overcast in most of the coverage.
A vast, mostly treeless landscape combined with triple yellow lines are seen in Alto Bio Bio National Reserve. While the reserve may look dry, there is a distinct cold and high altitude feel. Monkey puzzles are also seen toward the east.
Puyehue National Park can be recognized by the dense vegetation surrounding the road. The pavement itself has triple yellow lines, and tar snakes are frequently seen. In the east, many dead trees can be seen with a lack of leaves.
A slight, sandy ridge with a gradual incline can be seen in Arica.
A larger, towering ridge can be seen in Iquique.
A rockier, and more uneven ridge can be seen in Antofagasta.
San Pedro de Atacama can be recognized by its clay brick walls, commonly with triangles at the top.
Orange street signs can be seen in the city of Lanco, present at almost every intersection.
O’Higgins can be recognized by the large mountains to the east, often casting a shadow over the town. To the west, snow-capped mountains are seen further in the distance.
Orange lamps can most often be seen in Calama and Chañaral, and rarely in Antofagasta.
Lamps that look like green domes can be seen in Copiapo.
Lamps in Santiago very commonly have photocells. You will rarely find them in other cities such as Valparaiso, Osorno and Loncoche.
Grey lamps with a thin, flat top and a rounded underside can be found in Talca.
Blue rectangular lamps with a yellow stripe can be found in Concepción.
This lamp, with a silver top and grey bottom, can be found in Puerto Montt and Temuco.
Poles in Arica feature white paint with a black number, while the other cities in the Atacama Desert feature poles with yellow paint. Keep in mind the paint may have faded, making it look white.
Round poles with black paint can be seen in the town of El Salvador.
The Google car can be seen towing a white and silver trailer with the word ‘Outback’ north of the Chilean National Zoo in Santiago.
A grey Toyota Hilux, with various gear loaded and a snorkel on the front right, can be seen from around Baños Morales to this point, where the trekker continues the journey on foot.
Conguillio National Park can be recognized by this white truck with visible side mirrors and an antenna on the front right.
Puerto Williams, the southernmost town covered by street view, can be recognized by this white pickup truck with visible side mirrors.
The Atacama Large Millimetre Array can be recognized by the many radio telescopes in a barren, snowy environment.
ALMA OSF can be recognized by the large radio telescopes and rural facilities.
This horse trekker can be seen to the northwest of San Filipe.
The Torres del Paine area can be recognized by the sharp peaked mountains, and the trekker walking on a glacier along with other people in orange helmets.
Colombian licence plates are typically yellow.
In Generation 3 coverage, a short thick antenna is sometimes visible with a black, white or grey car. In Generation 4 coverage, a white or silver car is commonly found.
Signposts in Colombia are made of white metal, and join to form a distinct cross on the back of signs.
Colombia uses two types of kilometre markers: a tall green version with the letters “Pr” at the top, and the traditional stone marker with black lettering. Both designs are unique to the country.
Colombian poles are often marked with unique black-and-yellow or black-and-orange stripes.
Wooden fences are particularly common in Colombia.
Colombian taxis are always this pastel yellow colour. As opposed to private vehicles, they have white licence plates, which are often printed on the side and roof. If unblurred, you will often see the city name.
Colombian poles are generally concrete with a variety of pole tops.
In Colombia, it is particularly common for sidewalks to be decorated with reddish tiles.
Coverage in Colombia is mainly found in the north and east. The islands of Providencia and San Andrés, northwest of the mainland, also have coverage.
The Northern part of the country is characterised by white, sandy soil and an arid landscape.
East of the Andes lies a vast lowland called Llanos. It is characterised by open tropical grasslands, savannas with scattered trees, small areas of forest and seasonal flooding.
These pole markings with one short black strip on the top and bottom, and a longer yellow section in the middle, are most commonly found in the Antioquia department. Sometimes, you can find them in the Cordoba department as well.
As a result of slave trade, the Pacific coast of Colombia is home to an overwhelming majority of Afro-Colombians.
A camera glitch that makes a part of the image look very saturated can be found in southern Colombia.
This unique vehicle can be found in and around Leticia, the Southernmost town in Colombia.
Coverage on the Caribbean island of San Andrés was taken by this distinct white car.
The island of Providencia, located roughly 90 kilometres North of San Andrés, is home to this unique grey truck.
Providencia street lights are green and supported by a trapezoidal sheet of metal underneath.
This landscape is typical of the far Northern province of La Guajira: extreme dryness, low vegetation and occasional cacti.
You can recognise the narrow Ruta 90 landbridge between Barranquilla and Cienaga thanks to the dashed yellow lines, dried foliage and shallow bodies of water next to the road.
Ruta 78 West of the town of Pailitas is easily recognisable thanks to the towering mountains and very low clouds ahead.
Curaçao is a constituent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands located north of western Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea. As such, for country streaks purposes, it is counted as the Netherlands.
Curaçao uses square licence plates that appear completely white through the blur.NOTE: While front plates are mandatory, a minority will still not have front plates.
This black car with a roof rack is unique to Curaçao.
Due to Curaçao’s semi-arid climate, cacti can commonly be seen.
Much of the architecture on Curaçao consists of simple, one storey bungalows that are pastel coloured. Metal roofs are common on smaller shacks, while tiled roofs can be seen on more expensive houses. Additionally, multi storey villas can sometimes be seen.
The coloured border or road signs can typically be seen continuing onto the back of the signs. These will generally be red or blue.
Blue street signs attached to the top of yellow signposts are common in Curaçao.
White and black striped traffic light posts can be seen in urban areas.
Wooden poles with three horizontal, alternating insulators are common.
The western half of Curaçao is characterised by a semi-arid rural landscape with green, but dry hills. Houses are spread apart, with the roads in the west quite narrow in width.
A line of wind turbines can be seen at this wind farm toward the southeast of Curaçao. The coverage is also notably rainy.
The Queen Juliana Bridge is a wide four lane bridge in Willemstad. It can be recognized by the yellow and blue guardrails, and the view over the city.
The standard licence plates are white and can be short or long. In street view, you will often see a mix of both sizes.
All Generation 3 coverage is made with a white car, with a short and thick antenna (“stubby antenna”). The antenna and or car are not always visible.
All Generation 4 coverage was captured using a white pickup truck with a black trunk and no antenna.
Google used a weird, low-quality camera in Ecuador. This camera is known as the official Ari (or “Shitcam”). It has a wide circular car blur and often somewhat brownish colours. A good map will not usually include this coverage, but it is good to be aware of its existence, in order to not be caught off-guard by it.
Ecuador is one of the few Latin American countries where bollards are very common.
Most poles in Ecuador are round and made of concrete. These poles are fairly generic and not all that useful to identify the country.
Concrete roads are relatively common in Ecuador.
Double guardrails are very commonly used. This is much less common in other South American countries.
Ecuador often uses a lot of chevrons in road curves (“chevron spam”), usually considerably more than most other Latin American countries.
Ecuador uses a lot of square road signs with a white background, of the design shown in the image.
Kilometre markers are green and have the distinctive Ecuadorian highway shields on them.
Sometimes, the back of the signs are painted a teal blue colour. The signposts are thin and made of metal.
Most houses are made of grey bricks and have metal roofs.
In urban areas, you can sometimes find this pavement consisting of hexagonal tiles.
Most of the coverage in Ecuador is centred around the western part of the country. A large part of the Amazon rainforest has no coverage.
The Google car antenna has two distinct variations:
This is an elevation map of Ecuador. The imposing Andes mountains run through the middle of the country. The east and west of the country are more flat.
Banana plants, and especially plantations, are most commonly found in the southwestern part of the country.
This extremely dry landscape is only found in the coastal region between Guayaquil and Manta.
The flattest region is located around the city of Guayaquil. This is most easily seen on the E-25 and E-48. The Amazon area is also very flat, and will be described below.
The Amazon area is very distinct. It is fairly flat, and contains many of these trees with white bark (Cordia trichotoma), and oil palms.
The province of Esmeraldas can look similar to the Amazon region, but it is significantly hillier.
The southern regions have many winding mountain roads and exposed brownish red dirt.
The province of Chimborazo is semi-arid, and has an abundance of pine trees.
Taxis in Ecuador are very common, and the first letter on each taxi can be used to determine the province you are in. The first letter of the taxi and the first letter of the province (with the exception of P, which can be seen almost anywhere in Ecuador) are often the same.
The E-40 between Salinas and Guayaquil is one of the only divided highways in Ecuador, and the only one in the dry area near the southwestern coast.
The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago located west of mainland Ecuador. There are only trekkers and boat coverage on and around the islands. There is a wide variety of landscapes, including volcanic soil, low shrubbery, and craters (with Galapagos turtles onlooking).
The Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory east of the Tierra del Fuego Province of Argentina. As such, for country streaks purposes, it is counted as the UK.
The Carcass Island trekker can be recognized by the open plains, with the ocean clearly visible. The ground may also get rocky.
Open plains with slightly yellow grass can be seen on West Point Island. The ocean will not be clearly visible on this trekker.
This boat trekker can be seen in the West Point Bay, with yellow hills in the distance with the MS National Geographic Explorer in the bay with the trekker.
This sandy beach with other people in red and blue jackets can be seen on New Island.
Inland New Island can be recognized by the dark brown soil. Tire tracks may also be visible.
Distinct steep cliffs can be seen on New Island.
Peruvian licence plates are either white or yellow. In contrast to the white plates, yellow plates are less likely to be seen.
In Gen 3 coverage, Peru uses a black and a white Google car.
An important thing to note is that Peru has Generation 4 Street View coverage, whereas the neighbouring countries of Ecuador and Bolivia do not.
Peruvian roads always have white outer lines. On highways, you will find either single yellow dashed or double yellow middle lines. On rural mountain roads, you will most likely see white outer lines without any centre line. On divided highways, the road lines may be completely white in colour.
Peru often has black-and-white striped signposts. In some areas, black-and-yellow signposts can be seen.
Bollards in Peru are painted red or yellow, and the country mainly uses a variety of triangular-shaped concrete bollards. Occasionally you will also spot other designs, such as these circular concrete variants.
Black-and-yellow stripes on guardrails are seen throughout the country. You might sometimes find different designs, such as this sharp arrow design.
Kilometre markers in Peru are made out of concrete and are painted black and white.
Peruvian metal signposts feature concrete blocks at the bottom.
The country uses a variety of poles. They are made out of either concrete or wood, and sometimes feature distinct horizontal concrete bars.
Some poles in Peru have painted bottom sections. Most commonly they will be black or black-and-yellow.
Bridges in Peru are commonly painted orange.
Peru largely consists of semi-arid mountain ranges and valleys.
Tuk tuks, called mototaxis in Peru, are frequently seen in the country, especially in major cities such as Lima, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura, and Iquitos.
Sol is the currency of Peru. You will occasionally spot it on street view and its symbol is S/.
Peru has many political party logos and all of them are unique to the country. Here is a list with other parties in Peru.
Peru is home to diverse and somewhat unique architecture. Here are a few examples of types of buildings commonly seen in Peru; ranging from Colonial-era buildings, contemporary “boxy” buildings, and traditional red brick buildings.
Street View coverage in Peru is mostly located in the west and on main highways. There are some exceptions in the east near Iquitos and along the 30C.
The country is generally flat in the east and mountainous in the west. However, an exception is the often flat desert near Piura in the northwest.
Peru has a diverse climate, dominated by a dry desert in the west, and a tropical rainforest in the east.
Highways in Peru are mainly located in the west, and the numbers increase from north to south. The 1, 3 and 5 are the longest and traverse through multiple departments.
These three landscapes are typically found along offroads in Tumbes. You will always see sandy soil with either green or withered bushes.
The southwestern landscape of Piura is generally dry, featuring a low amount of vegetation with a few shrubs and bushes. The landscape is mostly flat, but you will sometimes see rolling hills.
Northwest of the city of Piura lies an area with similar vegetation to the area mentioned previously. However, this area is noticeably hillier.
Coconut palms (and other species of tall palms) can sometimes be seen in coastal areas of Peru, mainly north of Lima. They are mainly found in the agricultural areas which are typically found around the major coastal cities.
Olive tree plantations can be found in the far southern region of Tacna.
Most of the sugar cane production is found in the northern coastal regions of Peru near the cities of Chiclayo and Trujillo. Typically you see large fields of sugar cane in these areas. Smaller areas of sugar cane can be found further south in other valleys close to the Pacific coast.
Similarly to sugar cane plants, banana plants are generally found in agricultural regions adjacent to the coast in the northern half of the country.
A flat landscape in the mountains of Peru is usually seen in central Puno and around Lake Chinchaycocha.
Low grass, a few hills, stone walls in villages and brown brick buildings are typical for the region south of Lake Titicaca in eastern Peru.
Far north Peru features mountains that are often covered in shrubby trees and bushes. Closer to the coast and the Ecuador border, these mountains are often quite dry in appearance.
Pine plantations are typically found in higher elevation areas of the country, away from the coastal deserts and Amazonian Regions. The most common types of pine trees planted are Pinus radiata and Pinus patula.
The areas adjacent to the northern Amazonian city of Tarapoto feature moderately tall foliage-covered mountains and can bear a similar resemblance to the hilly areas of Colombia or Brazil.
In higher elevation areas near the centre of the country, exposed rocky outcroppings are commonly seen in the sides of hills and mountains. Some areas with the highest concentrations are near Lago Chinchaycocha (Junin District) stretching south towards the city of Ayacucho.
Similarly, taller mountains near the middle of the country often feature rocky and sharp mountain tops. The main region of these mountains stretches from near the city of Huaraz southward to the city of Cusco; generally away from the coast.
Patches of light green lichen can be seen covering rocks and growing on the ground in high elevation areas of central and southern Peru.
Dark red-tinted soil is found in several areas of Peru. Some notable areas include the areas near Cusco and Ayacucho in the south of the country, as well as areas near the northern cities of Cajamarca and Tarapoto. It can be found to a lesser extent in adjacent regions.
Areas near the cities of Ica, Arequipa, and Tacna feature barren and mostly flat desert landscapes that can resemble areas of northern Chile. You can typically see mountains in the distance, primarily while looking to the east.
Coastal agricultural valleys in the middle and south are commonly sandwiched between dry mountains with no vegetation. The general orientation of these valleys are southwest-northeast.
As a general rule, the closer you are to Lake Titicaca in Peru, houses and buildings made out of red brick become more common. This type of architecture resembles the predominant type of building seen in parts of western Bolivia, which is helpful for remembering where it is seen most commonly. Additionally, buildings with blue tinted glass can be seen most commonly in the same areas.
Buildings with overhanging roofs with wooden supports are mostly found in northern regions of Peru. These buildings are sometimes brightly coloured as well.
Tuk-Tuks with open front compartments are primarily found in the northern half of Peru, and are especially common in northern Amazonian adjacent regions.
This cylindrical bollard, with a black and yellow stripe at the top, is unique to the state of Moquegua, which is located in the south of Peru.
The 1N near the Piura and Lambayeque border has a distinct looking landscape. It features a semidesert landscape and has overcast coverage in Generation 3. The new Generation 4 is drier but still looks somewhat similar.
Highway 1N/S is divided in the highlighted area on the map.
The 1S south of the city of Ica is not divided and mostly follows the coast. The soil is often red or orange in these areas, and there is little-to-no vegetation. This road is also entirely covered with the Generation 4 camera.
Ruta 5N between the towns of San Alejandro and Esperanza is a relatively straight, flat road in good condition. This road primarily runs north-south through the rainforest.
Ruta 30C in eastern Peru uses a white Street View car in Generation 3 between the cities of Planchon and Iñapari. It features dense forest, few villages, and resembles interior areas of Brazil. Some of this area has been overwritten with Generation 4. Most of this segment runs north to south.
Ruta 28B between the towns of Kimbiri and Echarate is a paved road with very faded or missing road lines. It is also characterised by being a relatively small road with Generation 4 coverage, which hugs the hillside and is located next to a river valley.
The valley connecting the cities of Jauja and Huancayo features a flat plain with plentiful trees, agricultural areas, and small villages. North-south oriented mountains can be seen on both edges of the valley.
The coverage on the north side of Lake Titicaca was taken during a significantly wetter season than the coverage taken on the south side of Lake Titicaca.
North of the city of Huancayo lies a shallow lake called Lake Chinchaycocha (also referred to as ‘the middle lake.’). This lake is generally marshy and a range of mountains can be seen to the east of the lake. This lake can look similar to Lake Titicaca, but is generally less densely populated and features fewer trees.
Volcanoes are often seen in and around the city of Arequipa.
Most of the boulevard-type streets in Peru are in the city of Lima. These boulevards are typically long, straight streets divided by concrete or a grassy berm.
The east-central Amazonian city of Pucallpa, which lies close to the Brazil border, has a consistent street grid of WSW to ENE. All of the coverage in the city was taken with the Generation 3 camera.
Iquitos is a city in northeast Peru. It is an isolated city with only Generation 3 Street View coverage. Three-wheeled tuk-tuks, overcast skies, and rolling Amazonian landscapes are commonly seen in the area. This coverage is isolated from other areas of northern Peru.
The southern city of Cusco is recognizable by its prevalence of both red brick and Spanish colonial style buildings. Cusco is surrounded by mountains on all sides and features an airport in the middle of the city. Due to its proximity and similar architecture, Cusco superficially resembles the Bolivian city of La Paz.
The city of Tacna in the far south of Peru has this distinct dry ridge to the north.
Within Peru, this white Street View car is found in central Cusco. It drives from the remote town of Aguas Calientes up to Machu Picchu.
A train track covered by a trekker is located between Aguas Calientes and Cusco.
This is the stereotypical Uruguay round. The coverage often, but not always, features overcast weather. Most of the landscape consists of open grasslands with gentle hills. Occasionally, you might see separated tree plantations. Roads are generally in worse condition than in neighbouring countries.
Uruguayan licence plates are plain white with black characters.
Uruguay only has Generation 3 coverage. Coverage was taken by a black Google car without an antenna.
In a lot of coverage, the camera quality is somewhat smudgy.
Uruguay uses thick wooden signposts, which are typically painted white. They often have up to four rectangular notches at the back of the post.
Uruguay often has these triple road lines, that consist of double yellow roadlines with white dashes in between. This is a design not seen anywhere else in the Americas.
You can also find two other, non-unique road line patterns:
These white bollards, with one side often painted yellow, and stone barriers, are specific to Uruguay.
Uruguay uses a handful of different utility poles. One very common and useful one are the so-called trident poles, which get their name from their distinctive pole tops with three insulators that point upwards.
You can also see a variety of other pole designs, including:
Uruguayan guardrails have a small, rectangular yellow or red reflector, which is the same as in Argentina. They can be differentiated by the shape of their support.
This green-painted stone kilometre marker is unique to Uruguay.
Like most of Latin America, chevrons are yellow with black arrows.
As mentioned before, most of Uruguay is slightly hilly, even though the overall elevation is fairly low. Although it is by no means a mountainous country, roads generally have at least a slight incline.
In many parts of Uruguay, you can find reddish soil. The tint can range from light pink (pictured here) to deep red.
Many Uruguayan houses are made out of concrete, and are somewhat cube-shaped. Walls often have drab colours and tend to look weathered. Flat roofs are relatively common.
Occasionally, you might see palm trees. These short and stocky species of palm tree are particularly common.
Cattle farming is an important part of Uruguay’s agriculture. Cattle outnumber people four by one, so you will see a lot of them around in rural rounds.
Coverage in Uruguay is somewhat limited. The densest coverage is in the south, in and around Montevideo. Outside of this area, most coverage is confined to yellow roads. This makes angle guessing a powerful tool to potentially get very close guesses.
Subtle differences in elevation can help when trying to region-guess Uruguay.
The landscape near the town of Minas is recognizable: some of the tallest hills in the country, with lots of exposed rocks, and often heavy bushland vegetation.
You can also find tall hills in the north of the country. These can be recognized by their noticeably darker soil. These hills also typically do not have the exposed rocks that are visible in the Minas hills.
Tree plantations are a defining feature of much of Uruguay’s countryside, but they are especially common in two areas in the north and northwest.
The region near Lagoa Mirim and the Brazil border in the southeast of the country is noticeably very flat, in contrast to the slight hills found in most of the rest of the country.
There are only a couple of divided highways in Uruguay, all of which are close to Montevideo:
These bins with orange lids are specific to Rocha Department. However, you can still find these black bins in both the Rocha and Canelones Department.
Montevideo is by far the largest city in Uruguay. More than half the Uruguayan population lives within its metropolitan area.
Punta del Este is a seaside resort town with a recognizable look. It is an affluent and touristic place with a developed downtown that consists of many tall, modern apartment buildings. Its main attraction is its large, sandy beach.
The small island of Isla de Flores is located off the coast of Montevideo. It has a trekker where you can see abandoned buildings, and usually also the lighthouse.
This unique Google car is found in the coastal town of Cabo Polonio. It can be recognized by the orange strap on the left.
This unique Google car is found in the Valle del Lunarejo natural park, located west of the town of Tranqueras. The car has a white front and a curved black backside with a brown strap.
Global leaderboard distribution of ratings as of March 15 2022. (Image source: reddit user MATTISINTHESKY).
Percentiles of GeoGuessr ratings as of March 15 2022. (Image source: reddit user MATTISINTHESKY)
Use the 50/50 feature in Battle Royale after you have had 2 incorrect guesses and are unsure where you are.
A map showing the locations covered by Street View in 2018 and thus GeoGuessr. The blue countries are possible locations in GeoGuessr. (Source: Eugen Simion 14, Wikipedia). A larger map can beviewed here.
Poor picture quality locations in GeoGuessr indicate that you are in the US or Australia. They don’t indicate that you need to make an appointment with an optometrist.
The red compass point always points north. In this example, we are facing west.
Note the direction of the compass (the red end being north) and the shadows’ tips also pointing north. The direction that the shadow’s tip points generally indicates what hemisphere we are in- in this case the Northern Hemisphere.
In this example, we are facing north (as indicated by the red compass). The sun is therefore in the northern hemisphere, making our location the southern hemisphere.
Notice the dish facing south at quite an extreme angle (almost perpendicular to the ground). This indicates that we are in the Northern Hemisphere and probably relatively far north.
The red countries drive on the right side of the road and the blue countries drive on the left side of the road. The grey countries aren’t in GeoGuessr. (Image source: Avery Johnson).
Noting the side of the road that the cars are driving on/parked on can be useful in GeoGuessr. In this example, the car is driving on the left, which significantly narrows down the country.
Although there are no cars visible, we can see a sign facing drivers who drive on the left. This suggests that we are in a country that drives on the left.
If you look carefully on this occasion you will see a floating antenna. This is mainly found on the back of the Street View car. In this instance we can determine that people drive on the right in this country.
In almost all locations, right side of the car steering wheels= a left side driving country and left side of the car steering wheels= a right side driving country. In this image, the steering wheels are on the left (from the driver’s perspective) thus the cars drive on the right side of the road.
This map shows the most common road lines used in each GeoGuessr relevant country in the world. A larger version of this map can befound here.I don’t know who created this map but thank you whoever you are- it is one of the most important maps for GeoGuessr players.
Most of North and South America have some iteration of yellow centre lines.
Most European and Australian roads have some form of white centre lines.
Dashed white lines on both sides of the road are most commonly found in Sweden, Norway and Iceland.
Norway also commonly has yellow centre lines and white side lines.
Sweden commonly has the aforementioned white dashed side lines and a white centre line.
Many main roads in Denmark have this distinct short-dashed edge marking.
Yellow side lines and white centre lines are a common sight in South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho.
Smooth and well-maintained roads are typically found in Western Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan as well as other richer nations. If you see a road that has many cracks, faded road lines or has been poorly maintained, you are likely in Eastern Europe, Asia or Africa.
License plates in Europe are generally long and skinny. They also typically have a blue section on the left of the plate. Long and skinny license plates are rarely found outside of Europe.
License plates in some other western countries outside Europe, such as the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia are typically short.
In Europe, yellow license plates are mainly found in the Netherlands and Luxembourg. In Asia, yellow plates are mainly found in Japan and Israel. In South America, yellow plates are found in Colombia. The UK, Sri Lanka, Botswana, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda are the main locations with yellow rear plates but white front plates.
If you notice a car without a front license plate, you are most likely in the south-eastern US or perhaps a state stretching up to Michigan or a southern state stretching across to Arizona.
On the left of this image is the circle containing an arrow. Placing this as far down the road as possible whilst it retains its circular shape is the key to moving quickly. On the right appear two white arrows that will move you one step at a time.
Clicking on the flag icon will take you back to your starting point.
If you encounter a sign with the name of multiple locations you don’t recognise, search the map for the location that is furthest away as it is likely to be larger hence easier to find on the map. In this example, we would search for Rosario.
Zooming into the map makes more things appear like these Peruvian state names.
In the top image, I’m facing north (as determined by the red compass). The red, diagonal arrow in the top image shows the direction of the road (north-east to south-west). I can then match the direction of the road onto the map to look for suitable roads facing in the same direction.
If you wish to determine the exact direction that the road is facing, which is often a useful process in GeoGuessr, then pan so you are looking straight down. Make sure you are facing north and the road beneath you will be running in its true direction.
The dark gray rectangles on the zoomed in map represent structures such as houses. It can be useful to match these to your Street View surroundings if you are after a perfect score.
If you want to move quickly in GeoGuessr, press enter while holding down on an arrow using your cursor. If you release your cursor but continue to hold down enter, you will move at lightning speed down the road.
The symbol for US County Highways as it appears on the map.
An example of a US County Highway sign
Another example of a US County Highway sign
A Texas Farm Road as it appears on the map (the same symbol as US County Highways)
A sign indicating a US Texas Farm Road
State Highways in the USA appear with this symbol on the map.
A map showing the specific State Highway shield for each USA state. Note that in 2016, North Dakota’s state highway sign switched to an outline of their state with the words ‘North Dakota’ above it. (Source: Mdcastle, reddit)
The symbol denoting United States Highways on the map
The United States Highway Shield
Interstate Highways as they appear on the map
The shield indicating Interstate Highways for the USA.
This map shows some of the even numbered US interstates that run east-west. The map also highlights that even numbered US interstate highway numbers gradually increase the further north you travel (I-10 is in the south of the US whilst I-90 in the north). Note: only the US interstates ending with ‘0’ are shown on this map so as to provide an idea of the US interstate highways system. Other even numbered US interstates aren’t shown but they do exist! (Image source: CCP Grey, Youtube).
A map showing odd numbered US interstate highways. Notice that these odd numbered interstates run north-south. Also observe that they gradually increase in highway number as you travel east (I-5 is on west coast whilst I-95 is on the east coast). Note that only the odd numbered US interstates ending in ‘5’ are shown on this map so as to provide an idea of how the US interstate numbering system works. The other odd numbered US interstates aren’t shown however they do exist. (Image source: CCP Grey, Youtube).
‘Interstate minors’ are interstates consisting of three digits with the 2nd and 3rd digit being the same as the interstate major that it runs off. For example, the interstate minor ‘470’ runs off the interstate highway 70. As the 470 starts with an even number, it connects back to the interstate highway 70. As the above map indicates, the I-470 deviates around Topeka.
Another interstate minor example is pictured above The interstate minor 180 runs off from the interstate major 80. As the 180 begins with an odd number, it will never connect back to the interstate major 80.
Trans-Canada Highways as they appear on the map
A shield indicating a Trans-Canada Highway
A possible symbol indicating a Canadian Provincial Highway on the map
One of many possible signs indicating a Canadian Provincial Highway
A map showing the various Canadian Provincial Highway shields. (Source: Pyrobove, reddit)
A Mexican federal highway shield. Note the curved sides and word Mexico on top. These features distinguish the shield from a state highway shield.
A Mexican state highway shield. Note the straight sides and flat top of the shield. The letters on the shield denote the specific state that the shield is from. By zooming in to the right level on the GeoGuessr map, you can work out the matching state. For this example, ‘SON’ represents the Mexican state of Sonora.
A Brazil National Highway sign
A map showing the vast E-road network that spans Europe.
E-road signs have a green background with white lettering.
Look for signs like this in Russia. This one says road A-166 in smallish writing.
A typical Russian road marker pole. This one shows that the road has extended 238km to this point.
A map showing motorway zones for Great Britain. If you find a road starting with an ‘M’, the first digit of the road will indicate which area on the above map the road is in. (Source: Nilfanion and Dr Greg, Wikipedia)
A map showing the zones for ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads in Great Britain. The first digit of the ‘A’ or ‘B’ road indicates which of the above zones that road will be in. An example is that road A299 is found in the zone marked ‘2.’ (Source: Liftarn, Wikipedia)
A map showing the provinces of Spain. Many Spanish road numbers have letters preceding them indicating the province they are found in. (Source:XXXX)
A National road sign in Norway
National roads in Norway appear like this on the map.
A Primary county road sign in Norway
Primary county roads in Norway appear like this on the map.
A general guide to where Norway’s roads are located. By simply looking at the first digit of the road number, you can work out which region you are in. For instance, if your road starts with a 4 eg 42, then you are in the south or Norway. The roads that defy the zoning, numbering rule are routes 12 and 17 which are located in the north of Norway. (Map source: Poorly made by me).
One and two digit roads in Sweden with this blue sign denote national roads. The numbers increase the further north you travel in Sweden. Road number 9 is in the south of the country and road 99 is in the very north of the country.
This is what Swedish national roads look like on the map.
Swedish county roads contain 3 digits and range from 100 to 404. The lower numbers are in the south and numbers increase as you travel north.
This is what Swedish county roads look like on the map.
1st class Finnish roads range in number from 1-39. These roads connect major Finnish cities. These road numbers appear with a red background on signs.
1st class Finnish roads appear like this on the map.
2nd class Finnish roads range in number from 40-99. These roads generally increase in numbering as you travel north in Finland.
2nd class Finnish roads as they appear on the map.
This map of Finland illustrates that 1st class roads (those with red signs, shown with red lines) connect the major Finnish cities. The map also shows that 2nd class roads (those with yellow signs, shown with yellow lines) connect regional centres in Finland. (Source: Migro, Wikipedia)
Regional roads in Finland contain 3 digits. They increase in numbering as you travel north. This means road 100 is in the south of Finland and road 999 is in the north of Finland.
Regional roads in Finland as they appear on the map.
Connecting roads in Finland contain 4 digits. They increase in numbering as you travel north in Finland. This means road 1000 is in the south of Finland and road 9999 is in the north of Finland.
How connecting roads in Finland appear on the map.
How Japanese prefectural roads appear on the map (they are hard to find).
How Japanese prefectural roads appear on signs: a number within a hexagon.
How Japanese national highways appear on the map.
The triangle with rounded edges denotes Japanese national highways.
A table indicating where to look for specific Japanese national highway numbers (the roads denoted by rounded triangles containing a number). An explanation of this table occurs in the next paragraph. (Source and more info on Japanese roads:XXXX)
Road warning signs around the world. (Source: Fry1989, Wikipedia). A larger map can beviewed here.
This type of warning sign (a thick red outline with yellow colouring) with various images on it occurs in Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Greece, North Macedonia, Vietnam and South Korea.
This type of warning sign (thin red outline and yellow coloured) with various images on it occurs only on Poland.
This type of warning sign (yellow and diamond shaped) occurs throughout virtually all of North and South America as well as Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Japan and most of south-east Asia.
This type of warning sign (with various images on it) featuring a red outline and white middle occurs throughout most of Africa, Asia (not south-east Asia) and Europe.
Note the colour of the grassland and lack of vegetation.
The above GeoGuessr location was located within southern Saskatchewan which is depicted on the map as a similar colour to the grassland. The GeoGuessr map, when zoomed in to the correct degree provides clues about the landscape around the world and thickness of vegetation.
When you zoom in further, the meaning of the colours on the map changes. Green represents forests and national parks at these higher zoom levels. The grassland colours are no longer relevant at these zoom levels.
The north-east part of the US tends to have this grand, Colonial style of wooden, (typically white-coloured), two-storey house that has a fairly steep roof. Ranch style houses often appear in the southern USA states. California bungalows appear (as the name suggests) throughout California. Conch houses are found in Florida.
The eastern parts of Canada have many houses that are made from horizontal pieces of wood.
Urban Mexico (which is where most of the population lives) often consists of houses and buildings that have walls on the narrow footpath. The buildings are typically made of concrete.
The majority of houses in the rural part of Ireland have some semblance to the house pictured. They are generally either white coloured or stone and have these dark roofs. Looking at the houses from the road, they tend to be wide but not very deep (they look like a rectangle from above). They are normally one or two storey. Brick is rarely visible in Irish buildings whilst it is quite common in Great Britain. Ireland tends to have longer driveways than Great Britain.
Scotland tends to have a higher percentage of grey coloured houses and buildings than England.
Townhouses, like those pictured, are common in the U.K. Bricks are used to construct a large portion of houses in Great Britain whilst in Ireland, brick is very rare.
Many Portuguese houses are white or light-coloured and many have tiled, terracotta coloured roofs.
Spanish houses are generally either white or a shade of some warm colour such as red, orange or yellow.
Buildings in Andorra are typically multi-storey, affluent looking and made of gray stones compressed together. This unique, stone building style is the best way to identify Andorra.
French towns typically consist of two-storey buildings made out of visible stone. The buildings virtually join one another and are built right on the edge of the footpath.
Houses in Brittany, a western region of France, are coloured white with dark roofs.
Many houses in Belgium have an older look to them. Houses with a visible red brick exterior are a common sight in Belgium. Most of the houses in Belgium have slanted roofs.
Townhouses are the most common form of abode in the Netherlands. Some townhouses have flat roofs whilst others have extremely steep roofs.
The standard Mediterranean house style is popular in Italy. It features a white (or light coloured) exterior and a terracotta tiled roof.
Houses of this distinct reddish-brown colour are a common sight in the Nordic countries.
Greenland tends to have a range of colourfully painted houses.
Houses in Denmark are typically painted light colours. They also have steep roofs with new-looking tiles. Although Danish houses can have visible brick, visible brick houses are much more common in Belgium, the Netherlands and France.
Much of the German Street View coverage is focused around greater cities. German houses in these areas tend to be apartments between 3 and 5 stories high, painted fairly drab colours and situated very close to the road or footpath.
Austrian houses often have slanted, dark-terracotta coloured roofs. The houses are often two-storey, well-maintained and are painted light colours. The houses regularly have TV satellite dishes.
The houses in Switzerland are often wooden and multi-storey with terracotta-coloured slanting roofs. Swiss houses are known for their high number of window shutters.
Polish houses often have small wooden or metal fences around them.
Rural Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian houses often have eternit roofs (that look like corrugated iron) that are different shades of gray/silver. The roofs tend to face the road. These houses are one of the easiest ways to identify the Baltic countries.
Slovakia and Czechia houses are typically cream-coloured with slanted terracotta roof tiles that have a unique shade.
Slovenian houses are typically fairly close to white (often a very light pink) in colour and two-storey. They often have pronounced, triangular roofs. Roofs are commonly brown or terracotta coloured. Sometimes the very top, pointed part of the roof is flat (see the far house in the right of the image).
Single storey houses are more common in Hungary. These houses have lower roofs than many of the previous countries that have been mentioned. Hungarian houses are often a light colour such as pink. The standard roofs are a pink/red/terracotta colour. The roofs are less likely to be like a triangular half-open-book shape than the previously mentioned countries. The roof edge elevations tend to meet together at a few common points on top.
Houses in inland Croatia tend to come in more of a range of colours and styles than many of the previously mentioned countries. The roofs’ colours tend to be shades of terracotta with more of a range of these colours than some other countries. Croatian houses are commonly two-storey.
Greek houses are usually white or light coloured. They typically all share the same shade of terracotta as their roof colour. Like Albania, Greece has some water heaters on the roofs of their houses.
Small Romanian towns often have houses with pyramid shaped roofs. The houses are commonly separated from the footpath by metal fences.
Although Albania is full of two-storey houses, the houses are typically run-down and look unfinished and lack windows or bricks. Water heaters also commonly appear on Albanian roofs.
Houses in North Macedonia mainly have terracotta tiled roofs and multiple chimneys. They are often two-storey and occasionally you will see houses with a curved front element; for example, the house on the left has front windows that curve outwards.
Montenegrin houses tend to come in a range of styles and colours. They most commonly have the terracotta coloured roofs.
Serbian homes are another great way to recognise the country. They often look like cottages and are typically fairly run-down. They often also have square-prism shaped chimneys.
Bulgarian houses feature roofs that aren’t very steep. The roofs also tend to be the same shade of terracotta. Bulgarian houses are predominantly light coloured or have a brick exterior. The houses are often run-down.
Rural Ukrainian houses come in a range of styles. Those houses pictured, with a triangular prism roof, small window upstairs and made of wood are common in Ukraine. Wooden fences are common around Ukrainian houses.
Russia has a range of house styles. One of the more common are wooden houses that have triangular-prism shaped roofs. Wooden fences are also common around Russian houses.
Streets in Maltese cities are narrow, often with high rise, old buildings that are the same creamish colour.
Houses in the Australian state of Queensland are most commonly made of horizontal pieces of wood. They are also often elevated off the ground (not necessarily as high as the house pictured).
Bungalow style houses are particularly common in the Australian suburbs.
New Zealand houses are often white in colour and bungalow-styled. White coloured houses are much more common in New Zealand than Australia and this can be another clue to help distinguish between the two countries.
High walls and fences around houses are a common sight in South Africa.
Ghanaian shops and houses often have corrugated iron roofs.
The urban areas of Senegal typically feature brick buildings painted white or light colours. These structures often show signs of wear such as parts of the building crumbling or the painting having eroded away.
Bhutanese houses and apartments can be quite elaborate looking. They often feature flat roofs that extend beyond the walls, white walls, arch windows and detailed wooden elements.
There are a number of common house styles in Japan. The first of these is the house with a compacted square-based pyramid for a roof. Japanese houses are often two-storey. This style of house also has a roof for its lower storey.
Most South Korean residents live in apartments. Despite this, there is quite a range of house styles in the country. A common feature of South Korean houses involves having elaborate roofs. This includes having decorations, protrusions or stylised parts to the roof. In addition, the corners of the roofs often have pieces that arch upwards.
Many Cambodian houses are elevated on posts. Some homes will have part of the home elevated on posts and the other part of the home on the ground.
Thai houses and buildings come in a huge range of styles. They often have corrugated iron roofs or roofs made from tiles like the image above. Thai houses can best be distinguished from Cambodian houses as Thai houses are much less likely to be elevated on stilts. Many Thai houses can also look quite affluent and be two-storey and fairly large. Affluent houses seem rarer in Cambodia.
Taiwanese houses are most commonly boxy in shape.
Most houses and buildings in the UAE are white or light coloured. They also tend to be boxy in shape and have flat roofs.
Apartments are often this cream colour in Jordan. This style of building tends to be 3-4 stories high, a rectangular prism in shape with a flat roof and many windows.
Cream-coloured apartments spanning at least several stories are the most common form of habitation in most of Israel and Palestine.
Mongolia has many small villages and towns. These areas are often contained by wooden fences. The houses tend to have bright roofs of different colours.
Indonesian houses most commonly have terracotta/brown coloured tiles on their roof. Some of the more remote Indonesia houses/businesses have corrugated iron roofs. These corrugated iron roofs are more common on Sulawesi, Borneo and Sumatra.
A large number of houses in Malaysia tend to have some form of vertical column as part of the house or holding up the verandah. This is a fairly unique feature that is rarely found in other countries. Malay houses often have corrugated iron roofs that are triangular prism shaped.
Houses in the Philippines come in a wide range of styles. The most common roof type in the Philippines features corrugated iron, normally in a triangular formation. The second most common roof type in the Philippines is a hand woven roof that uses something resembling reeds.
Sri Lankan houses most commonly feature terracotta tiles on their roofs. There are normally concrete walls separating Sri Lankan houses from the narrow, paved paths that are found everywhere in Sri Lanka.
Houses in Singapore tend to be double storey and very affluent.
Many Turkish residents live in apartments that are a number of stories high with a terracotta, tiled roof. Some of the higher Turkish apartments have flatter roofs.
Brazilian houses come in wide range of styles. They are made from various materials, can have virtually every style of roof and can come in a range of colours.
Argentina and Uruguay tend to have flat roofs, visible brick making up lots of houses and if not visible brick then painted brick. The bricks are often quite large in these countries.
Ecuadorian houses come in a high range of styles. They can also have any roof style from tiles to corrugated iron to vines. Ecuadorian houses are most commonly built with gray coloured bricks. This contrasts most other South American houses which are mainly built using red brick.
Colombia often has colourful houses with corrugated iron roofs.
Peruvian houses can often be brick or be painted a range of colours. The Peruvian roofs tend to be flat. The houses are typically very low in height. If a Peruvian houses is built out of brick, it is often a brown-coloured brick. This brick colour is fairly rare in South America outside of Peru.
Bolivian houses tend to look quite similar to Peruvian houses. They are mainly made of red brick and have flat roofs. The bricks tend to be quite large. This contrasts the browner, smaller bricks used in Peru.
Houses in the south of Chile (and Southern Argentina) tend to be wooden, painted a range of bright colours and have slanting roofs made from corrugated iron. Houses in central Chile are more likely to have terracotta tiled roofs.
North-western USA largely consists of thick forests with this specific type of tall tree.
Cornfields are most common in the US and Southern Europe.
A map showing the corn production distributions across the USA. The areas that are coloured dark-green are where you are most likely to be positioned if you are next to a corn field in GeoGuessr. (Source: The US Department of Agriculture).
A map showing corn production regions of Europe. Note that the primary corn countries are France, Italy, Romania, Serbia and Hungary (Source: Eurostat).
Olive trees can be found around the Mediterranean.
Olive tree distribution in Europe appears above in a coincidental ‘olive’ colour. Mostly Mediterranean areas are home to olive trees, with the bulk in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal.
The Irish landscape often has hedges alongside the road. Hedgerows are also very common among the southern part of England.
Birch trees are only found in the Northern Hemisphere and are typically found north of the 40th parallel. If you see birch trees (the white coloured ones) on the side of a European road, you are likely in a Nordic country. Finland seems to have more birch trees than Sweden and Norway. The further north you travel, the thicker the density of birch trees. They can be found elsewhere in Europe, including the northern Baltic areas. Birch trees can also be found in North America, namely right across Canada and the northern parts of the US.
The eastern half of Russia contains many of these trees. They have a thin trunk, are relatively short and have pine needles. They are often found in large groups and can be a great way to work out if you are in eastern Russia.
Trees often have black coloured bark in the northern part of Australia, especially around Darwin.
Australia stands out thanks to Eucalyptus trees. They are typically tall with white bark.
These short trees are a common sight in parts of Botswana. They often don’t have leaves in the Street View imagery.
Japan’s northern most island- Hokkaido (and sometimes northern Honshu) house this unique cabbage looking vegetation.
These trees, known as oil palms, are found in Indonesia, Malaysia and southern Thailand.
These trees (similar to Australian Eucalyptus) are found in the Andes.
Parana pines are these unique looking pine trees that have no branches until the top section of the tree. The branches span from the tree almost horizontally. Parana pines are most commonly found in the Brazilian state of Parana and the two states to the south of Parana- Santa Catalina and northern Rio Grande do Sul.
These trees (that remind me of African acacia) are found in the northern part of Peru.
Pine trees are mainly found in the Northern Hemisphere.
A fir tree. These are typically found in colder regions.
This umbrella thorn acacia is found across large swathes of Africa and parts of the Middle-East.
A type of palm tree. Palms are typically found in the tropics.
A map showing the distribution of palm trees across the earth.
A map showing the forest and woodland distribution across earth as well as the specific type of tree found in each forest and woodland area. A larger map can beviewed here.
The Ford F150, the most popular car across large parts of the USA
This map indicates the top selling car model for each country in the world. The map can be useful if you observe a certain model of car repeatedly in GeoGuessr. A larger version of the map can be viewed here:XXXX
The most popular European cars. I find cars in Europe as being the most useful in helping identify which country I’m in.
The most popular South American cars
The most popular North American cars
The most popular cars in Asia
The most popular new cars by US state. (Source: USA Today)
According to this study I found (XXXX) if you notice more sedans than pickup trucks in an American city, there is an 88% likelihood that you are in a Democrat area. If you notice more pickup trucks than sedans, there is an 82% likelihood that you are in a Republican area. This means that by examining whether there are more sedans or pickup trucks around you in the US, you should have an idea whether you are in the blue or red area on the above map: Blue= Democrat vs red= Republican. (Image source: Kingofthedead, Wikipedia). If you notice more boats around you, then you are probably in the sea (or a boat museum).
Taiwanese utility poles are everywhere. They are cylindrical in shape and typically have their lower section covered in diagonal black and yellow stripes which stretch all the way to the ground. South Korea also has diagonal black and yellow stripes on their utility poles however in South Korea the black and white stripes don’t reach the ground.
South Korea has diagonal yellow and black stripes on many of its utility poles, much like Taiwan. It also similarly has cylindrical utility poles. Taiwanese stripes mainly stretch all the way to the ground whilst the stripes in South Korea shouldn’t reach the ground. Note: Japan also rarely has South Korean style stripes on their utility poles.
Japan has cylindrical shaped utility poles that occur throughout the country. Japan also has unique yellow and black vertical stripes on many of its poles. On rare occasions, the stripes are diagonal in Japan. In Taiwan and South Korea, they also have the yellow and black markings on some poles however these countries have diagonal stripes, not vertical like the standard Japanese stripes.
The red and white striped arrow pointing downwards indicates that you are in Japan, most likely on the island of Hokkaido or possibly on the island of Honshu near mountains.
Malaysia commonly has these black rectangles with white lettering on their utility poles. These black rectangles only occur on the Malaysian mainland and never on Borneo. Utility poles on Malaysian Borneo are generally slightly thinner than utility poles on mainland Malaysia.
Utility poles in Thailand comes in all shapes and sizes. Fortunately, they can be easily recognised as they virtually all have small holes in them, running vertically. They look like someone has drilled into them. This small hole facet of the poles is rarely seen in utility poles across the rest of the world (they do occur in Belgium).
South Korean utility poles stand out as they mainly have what resembles a long, sharp, pointed spike extending upwards from the top of the main pole.
Stobie poles are the utility poles used in the state of South Australia. These poles essentially aren’t used outside of this state. The poles consist of steel on both sides and concrete in the centre.
The Northern Territory in Australia uses these metal utility poles with holes in them.
Approximately 50% of utility poles in the Australian state of Tasmania have these olive metal wrappings around the pole, generally around 2 metres above the ground. These wrappings are often hard to see unless you zoom in as they are a similar colour to the utility pole. These olive colouered wrappings aren’t seen outside of Tasmania.
New Zealand utility poles come in several forms however regardless of form, they mainly have a lone piece of metal (normally silver or white coloured) wrapped around most of the pole.
These concrete utility poles with large holes that go all the way down to the ground are mainly found in Romania and Hungary. In the country specific section further down this article, I’ve posted the primary utility pole from each country.
Romania can often be recognised thanks to their concrete, hollow poles featuring a dash of yellow paint (Hungarian poles sometimes also have a bit of yellow paint too). In addition, a large number of Romanian utility poles are painted with a white base (Ukrainian utility poles sometimes also have a white base).
Hungarian utility poles are thinner and narrower than Romanian utility poles.
French utility poles can have holes as well however these are often smaller holes.
This is another variant of French utility poles. Spain can have similar utility poles that are white in colour.
Portugal has two main types of utility poles. The first type is more unique looking and has small holes running vertically up it. Sometimes Portuguese utility poles of this style will have less holes. The second type of Portuguese utility pole is wooden. It often looks fairly rudimentary and can have lumps on its surface.
In Ireland, approximately one third of utility poles have a yellow, triangular ‘danger’ sticker on them. These stickers are sometimes visible in the UK however they tend to be rarer there.
There are a number of types of utility poles used in Lithuania. They mainly have a large number of pine cone looking things pointing upwards near the top of their poles.
Latvian utility poles come in several styles but they often have the ‘pine cone’ looking things that hang upwards at different levels. In the image above, the three ‘pine cone’ looking things are at three different levels.
Estonian utility poles are more likely to resemble a crucifix. Utility poles are one of the best ways to distinguish between the Baltic countries.
This concrete cylindrical pole is the most common type of utility pole found in Czechia and Slovakia. It is also found in a number of other places. The Czech and Slovak poles often have several small metal circles going around the pole. They also sometimes have a small white box and a wire running up the pole, as pictured.
Many Ukrainian utility poles have their base section painted white (as do many Romanian poles).
Turkey uses a wide range of utility poles. Some of the more recognisable poles are metallic with large holes in them.
Nigeria’s most common utility poles often have a number of indents, like sections have been cut out but not quite enough has been cut out to form holes.
Senegalese utility poles typically have three of these pine cone shaped objects either pointing upwards or downwards.
This is the second type of Senegalese utility pole. Note the pine cone shaped objects pointing down. Also note the indents in the pole, similar to the Nigerian utility poles.
Brazilian utility poles can comes in a range of styles. The most common type is wider at the base and narrower at the top. They also have indents in them. They look similar to Chilean poles however Chilean utility poles have one long indent whilst Brazil typically has 3 indented sections.
Chilean utility poles have one long indent that runs up the pole.
A large number of Peruvian utility poles have part of their lower section painted. There is no single colour they are painted; some are black, blue, yellow, etc or some mixture of colours. Also, some are only painted a few feet up whilst others are painted almost half-way up.
Octagonal shaped utility poles are some of the most common in Mexico and seeing them can be an easy way to identify the country. These poles are rarely seen in other countries however they do sometimes occur in Colombia.
The US and Canada have cylindrical, wooden utility poles- as do many other countries around the world. The US and Canada’s poles sometimes stand out because they can have a singular hook on top of the pole, as pictured (this can be seen in several other countries however it is more common in the US and Canada).
Square utility poles are common in the Dominican Republic.
Although bollards are relatively rare in the UK compared to some other European countries, they are rather unique looking and consist of black and white sections with a large red rectangle on top.
Portugal uses these fairly generic bollards. The front contains a vertical, white rectangle encased in the black section. This helps distinguish the country from Spain. The back of Portuguese bollards feature two white circles in the black section. Similar looking bollards can be found in Luxembourg, Sweden (without the circles on the back) and Latvia (narrower bollards). There is a rarer type of Portuguese bollard that has a fatter orange rectangle in place of the white rectangle.
Spanish bollards are fairly unique. They feature the standard European black and white bollard with a bright yellow rectangle encased in the black section of the bollard.
There are two types of French bollard, both are the same distinct shape and different from typical European bollard shapes. This is the first type with a gray reflector strip running around it.
This is the second type of French bollard. It has a red reflector strip running around it. Like the first type of French bollard, it has a unique shape, different from standard European bollards.
A few types of bollards are visible in the Netherlands. This type is the most commonly seen. Similar looking bollards are found in Turkey and Australia.
This is the front view of a German and Luxembourg bollard; they look rather generic. The back of the bollards contain two white circles in the white section. Portugal and Sweden have similar bollards to Luxembourg.
The most common Italian bollard has a front that features a vertical, red rectangle inside a black, diagonal strip. Note that the black part goes to the top of the bollard- this is rare in the bollard world. Albanian bollards look similar however bollards are rare in Albania. The rear of Italian bollards have a white rectangle rather than the red rectangle of the front.
The island of Sardinia (Sardegna) has similar bollards to mainland Italy however the rectangle is orange in colour.
This is the type of bollard found in Sicily. Note the rectangle’s width and the fact that it can be orange or red in colour.
Albania has the same looking bollards at Italy featuring a red rectangle in the black section of the bollard that extends to the top. Bollards are fairly rare to see in Albania compared to Italy. Albanian bollards have a white rectangle on their rear.
Finnish bollards are either cylindrical or look cylindrical from the front. This cylindrical shape isn’t shared by the bollards of the other Nordic countries. Otherwise, Finnish bollards look like fairly generic, black and white, European bollards. Finnish bollards look similar to Estonian bollards.
This is what the front of bollards in Denmark look like. They are a unique looking bollard and occur abundantly throughout the country. The rear of the bollard lacks the yellow section.
These distinctive yellow bollards are visible right across Iceland.
The reflectors on the front of Austrian bollards are either blackish or dark red in colour. Seeing this black reflector and the black hat on the bollard is one of the easiest ways to tell that you are in Austria. No other countries have both of these features on their bollards. Slovenian and Montenegrin bollards look similar however they have a bright red rectangle.
Swiss bollards are often this curved-cylindrical shape. This is the front of the bollard. The back of the bollard features two white dots in the black section.
Polish bollards have a red diagonal stripe wrapping around the bollard.
This is what the front of Lithuanian bollards look like- they have a white rectangle on the rear instead of orange. These plastic bollards (that look like wood) with an orange rectangle are one of the best ways to distinguish Lithuania from the other Baltic countries (and other European countries). Latvia and Estonia both have bollards with a white rectangle on the front and white dots on the back. Bollards are found every few metres on well-frequented roads in Lithuania. The Lithuanian bollards are thinner than typical plank bollards.
The most common type of Latvian bollard is a thin plank with a generic white rectangle on the front. The rear of the most common type of Latvian bollard has two white circles.
Standard Estonian bollards are cylindrical. This contrasts the narrow plank bollards of Lithuania and Latvia. The front of Estonian bollards have the white rectangle encased in the black section, similar to the Latvian bollards. Estonian bollards will on rare occasions have a yellow rectangle rather than the white rectangle. Estonian bollards have two white circles on their rear. Estonian bollards look similar to Finnish bollards.
The is a Czech and Slovakian bollard. Both Czech and Slovakian bollards have these unique fluro orange stripes in the black section of the bollard. The back of Czech and Slovakian bollards have a white rectangle in the black section.
This is the front view of Slovenian and Montenegrin bollards. Serbia also have similar looking bollards- albeit with the red rectangle far to one side. Slovenian and Montenegrin bollards look like many Austrian bollards however Austria has a black or darker (blacker) reddish rectangle.
This is the front view of Hungarian, Bulgarian, Croatian and North Macedonian bollards. These countries also share the same white (rather than red, like the front) rectangle on the back of their bollards.
This is the main type of Serbian bollard. It resembles the bollards of Slovenia and Montenegro however the difference is that the Serbian red rectangle is always to one side- not in the centre.
This is the rarer version of Serbian bollards. Note that the red rectangle is also to one side. The rear of the bollard has a white rectangle. Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary and North Macedonia have similar looking bollards but instead have the red rectangle centred.
This is the most common type of Ukrainian bollard. It has a red rectangle that is wider than the rectangles of Hungary, Bulgarian, Croatia and North Macedonia. Ukrainian bollards look like Russian bollards however Russian bollards are attached to a narrow support pole. Ukrainian bollards are typically run-down with the rectangle often damaged.
This is a Russian bollard. Russian bollards often have a unique feature- a narrow support pole on one side of them. This makes them unique from Ukrainian bollards. Russian bollards are primarily found at intersections.
The first type of bollard in Australia features a red rectangle. This bollard looks similar to bollards in Turkey and the Netherlands.
The second type of Australian bollard features a red circle.
Rural bollards in the state of Western Australia often have these brown/gray segments on their base.
New Zealand has unique bollards lining their highways that have a red/orange strip that stretches around the higher part of the bollard.
These narrow, red and white signs are in some ways the bollard equivalent in South Africa. They are very common.
The front and back view of Japanese bollards.
Cambodian bollards look a bit like fat matches. They have a white body and red head.
Thai bollards have an obelisk shape. They have alternating black and white sections.
Malaysian bollards have two red rectangles on them. Some bollards have two gray rectangles on one side.
Kyrgyzstan has bollards painted white with a black section. They look like thick planks of wood.
Mongolian bollards remind me of the pins from ten-pin bowling. Sometimes they lack the stripes and are just white.
Bangladeshi bollards look like chimneys and are painted in alternating red and white sections. Sometimes the bollards are shorter than this image and thus have less red and white sections.
These bollards are a common sight throughout Turkey and resemble the Australian and Netherlands bollards however they have a slightly fatter rectangle in Turkey.
Ecuador has a number of different shaped bollards. The type pictured is the most common- featuring two red stripes. Another Ecuadorian bollard contains just one red stripe.
Peru’s most common bollards look like cigarettes. They sometimes have the black stripes pictured here but on other occasions they lack these black stripes.
Mexican bollards are white and cigarette shaped. They have a black section on the base of the bollard or near the base.
Flags of Europe. (Source for all flag- world map images is Transparent 6lue, Wikipedia)
Flags of North America
Flags of South America
Flags of Asia
Flags of Africa and a bit of the Middle East
USA state flags. (Source: SiBr4, Wikipedia)
The above flags are similar enough that you may be able to trick opponents in Battle Royale. For example, if you are located in Romania, you can guess Chad. The Chad flag will then be displayed in the list of incorrect guesses. The other players will likely think that Romania has been ruled out (due to the similar looking flags) and hence avoid guessing Romania. (Source: Gilabend, Reddit).
If you notice a distance sign to towns, it is generally possible to get a fairly accurate idea of where you are positioned using ratios. Firstly, locate some of the towns on the map. In this example, I would look for Crafers (7km away) and Bridgewater (14km away). I would then look at the general direction that the road is travelling beyond the sign (in this case, east). Finally, I would work out the ratio of the locations. In this example, Crafers is located half-way between my current location and Bridgewater. I would then look at the map (below).
Using ratios, I would place my fingers over the map and measure the approximately distance between Bridgewater and Crafers and extrapolate that again, thus working out my approximate location. When ratios are more complicated, eg once location is 17km away and another is 104km away, I would round the numbers off to 20km and 100km. I would then determine that there are 4x20km sections between the towns (1/4 of the distance) and that is the approximate distance between me and the closest location.
In the bottom right corner of this photosphere appears the name ‘Casper Van Hooren’. Analysing the name’s origins can be useful in determining the photosphere location.
The colour of post boxes around the world. I find this most useful in distinguishing Canada (red post boxes) from the USA (blue post boxes). A larger image can be viewed here:XXXX: NuclearVacuum, Wikipedia.
By looking at the soil colour alone, it is possible to make surprisingly accurate guesses. For example, the Brazilian state of Goias has reddish soil, which contrasts the soil colour across most of South America. Playing the potentially unintentionally pun-named map ‘A Soiled World’, you can improve your soil expertise: Play NMPZ-XXXX
A map of chevron designs around the world. Chevron are signs with arrows on them that generally indicate a corner on a road. (Source: Bullfrogggy) A larger version of this map can beseen here.
A map showing what style of stop sign is used around the world. A larger version of this map can beviewed here. Thanks to whoever made this map.
A map showing deserts around the world. Note that the orange colour on the map indicates a semi-desert which is somewhere that receives a low amount of rainfall but not as little as a desert. (Source:XXXX)
A map indicating the maximum speed limit by region. The key shows both km/h within the red circle and miles/h written on the black and white sign. (Source: Amateria1121, Wikipedia) Note that NZ has a maximum speed limit for most of the country of 100km/h (only two of its roads have a limit of 110km/h). A larger map can beviewed here.
Most major cities have distinctive street signs. Whilst some of the more notable unique street signs are mentioned in this article, there are hundreds that are worth knowing. Militantcyclist has createdthis amazing 45 page long documentthat shows the unique street signs by major cities across the world.
In countries or areas with few main roads, it is important to look at the road orientation before you guess. This is particularly true in areas including Patagonia, Botswana, Mongolia, Jordan and outback Australia. As there are so few major roads in these areas that you can be on, by looking at the road orientation, there is a high chance you can guess the precise road you are situated on. Firstly, pan down so you are facing the road directly, secondly, orientate your position so the compass is facing north and finally, look for roads on the map that run in the same direction as your road.
If you are in a remote area, there are a number of clues you can use to determine the best direction to travel to reach civilisation. One clue is to look for dirt tracks stemming from driveways. These will generally head towards civilisation. In the above image, the dirt tracks lead to the far side of the road, and cars drive on the left in this country, therefore, civilisation is likely to the left. If there are no clues on which direction to travel in a remote area, it may be worth travelling in the direction the Street View car came from as it more likely that the car came from a major road than it is heading towards one. Travelling downhill is also generally a good idea.
If you pan down in certain countries, the bars protruding from the Street View car are visible. This occurs in: Guatemala, the Faroe Islands, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, the Dominican Republic, the US Virgin Islands and Curaçao. Parts of Bangladesh, parts of Nigeria and parts of Laos also have the bars visible.
Ghana can be recognised as it has a piece of black coloured tape around one of its four bars.
Kenya sometimes has the bars visible as well as a black ‘snorkel’ at the front of the Street View car. Seeing this snorkel indicates that you are in Kenya.
The white edges of the Street View car and the black, side view mirrors can easily be seen in Uganda.
This ‘camping equipment’ look is often found under the Street View car in Mongolia along with the bars.
The rear side mirrors are an alternate option to the ‘camping equipment’ view and also indicate Mongolia.
Kyrgyzstan has the bars under the car visible as well as black/white side mirrors.
Guatemala has the bars visible as well as the black mirrors.
The front of the Street View car is normally this ghostly, black colour in Argentina and Uruguay. Occasionally, in updated coverage it will appear white but this is rare. Across the Americas, this black car is rare although you will sometimes see it in Peru.
The back of the Street View car appears white in much of South America. I tend to see a floating white section of the car (like the one pictured above) most commonly in Peru, Bolivia and Colombia.
If you pan down, Ecuador has a short antenna under the back of the car. Sometimes it can be challenging to see.
The majority of Chile can be recognised thanks to the white rear of the Street View car being visible.
South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini and Botswana should have the white car as visible. This contrasts the rest of Africa in which the white car generally can’t be seen. In South Africa, you will see the white car or a large, blurred circle under the car.
Pictured above is the Kenyan car that took the new coverage. The car sometimes lacks the snorkel and/or antenna or has a double antenna. The alternative Kenyan car has bars and a snorkel (pictured further up this meta section).
The remainder of the new Senegal coverage was taken with this silver truck.
Most of Ukraine has a red car with a long antenna.
If you pan down in most of Russia, you should see some semblance of a black car with a long aerial.
If you pan down in Norway and Denmark, you should see a very faint blue Street View car. Sometimes it can be hard to tell that it is indeed blue unless you possess superhuman abilities or are of a different species.
Street View coverage in Vietnam was recorded on a motorbike. In Vietnam you will either see the motorbike, the blurred outline of the motorbike or a helmet.
This white car is used in the Qatari coverage (although it may appear blurred). It looks similar to the white Senegal car; however, the Qatari car has a narrow antenna on the far-left. In contrast, the white Senegal car has s stubbier, black antenna on the front-centre.
A black car is visible if you pan down in Jordan.
If you pan down in the United Arab Emirates, you will see a white car or truck. This can be a good way to distinguish the country from Jordan which has a black car.
Kazakhstan can be easy to identify thanks to this white truck that captured the entire country’s Street View imagery.
These bars with thick black lines indicate that you are in the Dominican Republic or Mongolia.
The Japanese and Swiss Street View car appears wider than the normal Street View car. Rarely the Taiwanese car will also appear wide.
Japan and Switzerland both have a lower than normal camera positioning on their Street View cars. This means you will feel lower to the ground when you look around Japan and Switzerland. Rarely Taiwan and Sri Lanka also uses the low camera.
Sri Lanka’s Street View car has blue, white and red stripes, resembling the French flag.
In the Philippines, you should generally see some sort of white outline of the edge of the Street View car.
Across almost all of Eastern Europe, the Street View car’s aerial is visible. It is also visible in a number of other places in the world.
North Macedonia and Serbia are the two countries in the Balkan region (and largely Eastern Europe region) where you shouldn’t see the Street View car’s aerial. There are instances where you will see an aerial but it is rare. The rest of Eastern Europe typically has the aerial visible (although on occasions it won’t be).
In Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Czechia, you will sometimes see tape on the Street View car’s antenna.
In Israel, you should often see the Street View car’s long aerial.
This map indicates what you are likely to see when you pan down to look at the Street View car. (Source: Thanks to Alok for producing this brilliant map!) A larger version of this map can beviewed here.
If you pan up in Senegal, you will sometimes see giant rifts in the sky.
Everywhere approximately outside the red oval, you will see rifts in Montenegro. Within the red oval, the sky should appear normal.
Albania has rifts in some parts of the country. Montenegro has rifts across almost all of the country.
Across some of Nigeria, a 4-wheel drive escort follows the Street View car. This 4-wheel drive is silver coloured in greater Lagos. If you are followed by a white pick-up truck with police lights you are outside of Lagos. A black 4-wheel drive follows the Street View car in two small areas in Nigeria: Benin City and the E1 south of Logbara. The full details of this following car’s colour in specific, Nigerian areas are in the Nigeria section further down this article.
This dark green Mazda follows the Street View car in almost all of the Tunisian Street View coverage (note the red and black license plate). There is a map situated in the front- centre of this car’s window in Sfax and Gabes. There are some small parts of the country that the dark green Mazda doesn’t follow the Street View car. A darker green Toyota follows the Street View car in Tunis.
Some of the time in Kenya, you will see a 4-wheel drive following you that is providing an escort to the Street View car. The car can come in different colours. Sometimes the car will be 100 metres behind you.
In some parts of Alaska you will see another Street View car down the road from you will an elevated camera on top.
A map indicating which generations of Street View camera are used in each GeoGuessr relevant country in the world. (Source: Many thanks to Alok for creating this amazing map). A larger version of this map can beviewed here
The generation 1 camera is of ridiculously poor quality and is easy to spot. If you encounter it, you must be in the US, Australia or New Zealand.
The generation 2 camera produces bright colours and slightly inferior image quality relative to the generation 3 and 4 cameras.
The generation 2 Street View camera often produces a halo around the sun, shows images as bright and is of slightly worse image quality than the subsequent cameras. If you recognise that this generation 2 camera has been used, you can narrow down the country you are in.
The generation 2 camera also tends to produce a circular blur beneath the Street View car.
The generation 3 camera is the most commonly used in Street View. It produces good quality images. Identifying this camera is rarely useful as it is so ubiquitous.
The generation 4 camera produces more vivid colours and has a higher quality image than generation 3. Identifying this camera can prove useful as it is not used in large parts of the world (see the above map).
The generation 4 camera often produces a ghostly, blue car if you pan down.
If you notice the generation 2 camera has been used in southern Africa, (and you are considering Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana and South Africa, then you must be in South Africa, as these other countries don’t use the generation 2 camera.
Across the entire German coverage, the generation 2 camera is used.
If you are tossing up between the USA and Mexico and notice the generation 2 camera has been used then you are likely in Mexico as the USA generally doesn’t use this camera much.
Large parts of Europe around the Mediterranean use the generation 2 camera.
The generation 2 camera is predominantly used in a number of small countries or regions. These include: Monaco, San Marino, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Macau.
If you are in Latin America and notice the generation 4 camera has been used/you see a blue car then you are in Mexico, Brazil or occasionally Argentina. The other Latin American countries don’t use the generation 4 camera/have a blue car. Mexico, Brazil and Argentina also use other generation cameras in tandem with the generation 4 camera.
A map showing the distribution of generation 1 coverage. Note: Japan no longer has any generation 1 coverage. A larger version of this map can beviewed here.Image source: I don’t know who created these 4 maps but thank you whoever you are!
A map showing the distribution of generation 2 coverage. A larger version of this map can beviewed here.
A map showing the distribution of generation 3 coverage. A larger version of this map can beviewed here.
A map showing the distribution of generation 4 coverage. Note that Switzerland also recently got some generation 4 coverage. A larger version of this map can beviewed here.
The blue stripe on the left of the license plate is visible despite the blurring in GeoGuessr and indicates a European location.
A license plate from the Netherlands. The Netherlands and Luxembourg have these yellow European front and rear plates. The UK has yellow rear plates and white front plates. France has a small number of vehicles with yellow rear plates.
A license plate from Portugal. Note the yellow vertical stripe on the right to go with the standard European vertical blue stripe on the left.
A license plate from Italy. Albania has similar plates.
Some French license plates have a narrow blue section on the right of the plate (as well as the standard, thicker blue on the left.
A license plate from Belgium. The lettering is red and this red hue is just visible.
A license plate from Switzerland. In Europe, Switzerland, Iceland, Russia, most of the Croatian plates and some plates in North Macedonia are white. These stand out for lacking the typical blue, left, vertical stripe of Europe.
A license plate from Ukraine. Notice the small amount of yellow and blue on the left side.
The second most common license plate in Albania has a red section on the left. The most common Albanian plates are listed further up and have a blue strip on each side.
The main feature of the Alabama plate is the top third being yellow. Green and blue are more subtle colours on the rest of the plate.
Alaska has many yellow license plates.
The other common license plate in Alaska contains a blue upper horizontal stripe and yellow lower horizontal stripe.
This is the third most common license plate in Alaska. It features an orange glow in the centre and blue/green outer.
Most of the time Californian plates will appear white. If you look carefully, you may be able to see a slight red upper glow and red upper-right corner on Californian plates.
Connecticut has a light blue colour on the top of their plates.
Delaware has grey plates.
Florida has an orange in the middle of its license plates.
You will see a range of plates in Georgia. This plates featuring a green upper section and orange lower section is one of the most common and recognisable in Georgia.
Most of the time, Hawaiian plates look white. If you look carefully, you may be able to see a rainbow on the plates that arcs around.
Idaho has a brown/maroon thick line across the top third of its plate. These are similar to Ohio plates.
Illinois plates have blue and white on them with the blue either appearing on the top or bottom of the plate horizontally.
This is another fairly common plate in Illinois, featuring a large, blue upper-right section and white remainder of the plate.
Iowa has a plate with a blue top stripe and yellow bottom stripe.
Kansas plates are mainly blue with a square white section near the base of the plates.
Kentucky has blue and white plates in various forms.
Louisiana has a wide variety of plates. This type, featuring black shading, is fairly common.
Maryland’s main license plate has what appears to be a fire colour on its base, almost forming the shape of a pyramid.
Massachusetts plates tend to have a faint red writing that can be seen if you look carefully.
Michigan has a number of license plates with two most commonly occurring. This is one of these most common plates, featuring a dark blueish glow comprising two, vertical stripes. There is also a blue, horizontal line on top.
Michigan’s other most common plate has a blue blotch near its base.
The plates of Minnesota have a sky blue upper blue section.
Montana has a number of license plates. One of the most common has a blue glow across the entire plate.
Nebraskan plates vary however this is one of their most common. It has a faint, orange-gray horizontal section on top.
Nevada has some blue plates.
New Hampshire has green on the right side of their license plates.
New Jersey plates have this upper section of yellow.
New Mexico has a portion of bluish coloured plates.
As well as blue plates, New Mexico also has many yellow plates.
New York has distinctive gold coloured plates.
North Dakota has the top of the plates as light blue. I remember this as the ‘north’ of the plate is blue therefore North Dakota.
Some plates from Ohio have a red top stripe, a white middle stripe and blue lower stripe. These are similar to Idaho plates.
Not all but some Oklahoma plates have this blue pattern.
Oregon has a green mid-section of their plates. I remember this as a partial anagram of Oregon: ‘o-gren-o’ which to me looks a bit like the word ‘green’ in the middle.
Pennsylvania has a blue upper part of the plate and yellow lower part of the plate. These plates appear frequently in the TV show The Office. The Pennsylvanian plate appears similar to the Iowa plate.
Rhode Island’s license plate features a blue base and blue wave emanating from the base.
South Carolina has the bottom section of their plate as orange.
South Carolina also have a plate with a blue outer and white mid-section.
South Dakota plates have an outline of Mount Rushmore.
Tennessee plates have some form of olive colour. The olive colour can often be hard to see therefore they regularly appear white.
Many Utah cars have the outline of a large orange pyramid on the right of their plates.
The second type of Utah plates have an orange top section.
Vermont has green on their plates. This can be remembered as Vermont (verd mont) means “green mountain” in French.
Washington State contains this blue smudge on many of its plates.
West Virginia has a range of plates. The most common has a blue upper section and blue glow around the bottom 3/4.
Wyoming plates are mostly blue with yellow appearing on the base and left side of the plate.
USA license plates are useful for determining what state you are in.
The above plate is from New Brunswick and has red lettering that can just be distinguished. Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador also have similar red lettering on their plates.
Saskatchewan plates have green lettering that can normally just be seen.
Nova Scotian plates typically contain blue.
Manitoba has a green section on the left and right parts of their license plate.
Quebec has either white plates or plates with a delicate blue colouring in the upper right and upper left sections of the plate.
About 1/4 of license plates you see in the state of New South Wales in Australia are yellow.
New South Wales is located on the eastern side of Australia. Northern Territory appears in the top-centre. Sorry to Tasmania for chopping you off from Australia.
Indonesia, Malaysia and Macau have variations of black license plates.
The most common type of Indonesian plates have black areas which divide the plate into three white sections. This contrasts Malaysian plates which are divided into two white sections.
The most common type of Malaysian plates have black areas which divide the plate into two white sections.
Singapore has many different types of license plates. Some cars have black plates, some have yellow rear and white front plates and some have almost square-shaped plates with black on the sides.
The Philippines has various iterations of green and white plates.
Laos typically has yellow license plates.
Plates from Bhutan have a unique red colour.
Note the distinctive red vertical line on the plates of Kyrgyzstan.
Plates from Israel shouldn’t be confused with UK or Netherlands plates despite their similarity. Israeli plates are narrow, yellow and have a vertical blue stripe on the left.
The rear of Sri Lankan plates are yellow and the front plates are white. Hong Kong and Botswana also have yellow rear plates and white front plates.
Tunisia has black plates that are narrow and long.
Some plates in Tunisia have a red left side and black remainder.
Many plates in Ghana are yellow.
Senegal has blue license plates.
Many Kenyan back plates are yellow.
An example of a plate from Uganda. Sometimes the plates in Uganda are more elongated than this image.
License plates in Rwanda are elongated. There are yellow rear plates and white front plates.
Colombia has a reasonable portion of yellow plates.
Trucks in Brazil have red coloured plates.
A typical example of a European license plate. Note the letter on the left hand side of the plate. In this instance, the letter ‘E’ is visible. This means the license plate is from Spain (Espanol).
How the most widespread European license plate appears when blurred in GeoGuessr. Notice that the plate is long and skinny and has a blue vertical stripe on its left edge.
The capital ‘B’ at the start of this license plate indicates that it’s from Berlin. Many cities and regions can be deduced or guessed if you see an actual license plate as opposed to the blurring.
An example of a Russian license plate. Note that the number above the Russian flag (in this case 78) indicates the administrative region of Russia that the license plate is from. 78 corresponds with St. Petersburg.
Note the number ’24’ on this bus above the ‘RUS’. This denotes the bus being from the region marked ’24’ on the below maps
A map showing the Russian license plate codes (the number that appears above the Russian flag) for each region in West Russia. Note that a list version of this information can be found here:XXXX(Source: fremantleboy, Wikipedia)
A map indicating the Russian license plate codes for every region in East Russia
A map indicating the states of the USA that don’t require front license plates. This can be particularly useful if you spot the lack of front license plates on cars.
A map showing which Canadian states require just rear license plates (blue states on the map) as opposed to both front and rear plates (green states on the map). (Source: bryan89wr, Reddit).
A Venn diagram showing which Cyrillic symbols are shared and which are unique to GeoGuessr relevant countries. If you see a Cyrillic letter used by one country then you are in that country. (Source: reddit, Porodicnostablo. Updated by: reddit, olsnes.)
This flow chart indicates which letters are unique to which European languages. A larger image can be seen if you click on the chart in this website:XXXX(Source: Scutigera, duolingo)
North American Street View coverage. The dots indicate Photo Sphere locations (ignore them).
If a road is marked in North America, it will typically have some form of yellow centre lines. This contrasts the majority of Europe which tends to use white centre road lines. On average, roads tend to be a bit wider in North America than in Europe.
North America predominantly uses narrow license plates. This contrasts Europe which uses elongated plates.
The USA often uses a double, yellow, centre line. This contrasts Canada which mainly uses a single, yellow, centre line. The USA will sometimes use the single, yellow line but it is less prevalent than in Canada.
US Flags are a common fixture in the United States and are commonly sprinkled throughout towns.
In the USA, they write the words ‘SPEED LIMIT’ on their signs indicating the maximum speed in the area. This contrasts Canada which writes ‘MAXIMUM’ on their equivalent signs.
The USA tends to use metal signs posts, often with small holes in them, to hold up road signs. In contrast, Canada mainly uses wooden sign posts, often painted white. Canada does use some metal sign posts but they are less prevalent than US sign posts.
The US uses wooden, cylindrical utility poles. Canada also uses these poles, as do many other countries around the world.
The Rocky Mountains running down the western part of the USA tend to be true to their name and rocky. They also tend to be higher and drier than the Appalachians.
The Appalachians running down the eastern side of the country tend to be greener, smaller is size and more akin to rolling hills than the Rocky Mountains.
Many roads in the south-eastern US states contain sand along their sides.
North-western USA largely consists of thick forests with this specific type of tall tree.
If you have a poor image quality location in the northern hemisphere that has fairly flat terrain, there is a good chance you are in either North Dakota or South Dakota.
In parts of Arizona and other sections of the south-west you may see large rock formations amongst the dry desert.
The southern and south-western US states are generally dry with large parts of these areas lacking vegetation and comprising desert.
Many parts of the far north-eastern US and some parts of south-eastern Canada, had their coverage taken during the autumn months. This means you will see colourful leaves.
Alaska is a mountainous state with tall trees and spectacular scenery. Additionally, Alaska typically has generation 3 coverage. This contrasts the northern Canadian territories which were covered with generation 2. This means if you see generation 3 coverage in northern North America, you should be in Alaska.
Hawaii looks quite different from the contiguous USA. The dual presence of Hawaiian and English with hilly, sometimes volcanic terrain and tropical flora makes it a unique location. Hawaii also contains the typical American mainland signs.
The Street View car’s short aerial is typically visible in Hawaii. You will rarely see an aerial in mainland USA.
The centre of many Hawaiian roads contain small yellow reflectors approximately every 5 metres. These are often found in between the two yellow lines.
Many parts of Hawaii contain a soil that has a reddish colour. It is often obscured by grass but if visible, it has a recognisable colour.
An example of the treeless prairies that run through the central US up into southern Canada.
A map indicating the regional grass lengths of the USA Prairies. Light green = short grass, medium green = mixed grass and dark green = tall grass. (Source, Wikipedia: user: Theshibboleth)
Seeing corn fields in the US can significantly narrow down your location to the upper-central US states.
A map showing the corn production distributions across the USA. The areas that are coloured dark-green are where you are most likely to be positioned if you are next to a corn field in GeoGuessr. (Source: The US Department of Agriculture).
US cities often have a horizontal bar stemming from utility poles or traffic lights at intersections. This horizontal pole holds up street name signs, other signs and traffic lights.
This image shows the state-specific bollards that are found in the US. Although bollards are relatively rare in the US, knowing these 5 bollards can be useful. (Image source: I don’t know who compiled this image but thank you whoever you are!)
A number of US states tend to have a larger gap between the two central, continuous road lines. The states with the wider gap include: Oregon, Washington, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas. This image shows a wide gap- the gap between the two yellow lines is larger than the width of a car tyre.
These are the road lines in Pennsylvania (ie with a typical US road line gap). Note how the lines are closer together and the gap is smaller than a tyre gap.
It’s common for signposts in Texas to have a yellow white band around them.
The north-east part of the US tends to have this style of white-coloured, two-storey house that have fairly steep roofs.
Almost every pole in Northern Wisconsin and the peninsula of Michigan (this is north-east of Wisconsin) have these white stickers with orange sections.
Sometimes in Alaska you will see another Street View car that is about 100 metres away from you.
A map indicating the states of the USA that don’t require front license plates. In the ‘License Plate’ section of this article, each recognisable license plate in the US is pictured. Cars lacking a front license plate are fairly rare in the world outside parts of the USA and Canada.
A map showing the most common suffixes to denote roads across the USA. Note the yellow region representing the abundant usage of the word ‘Street’. (Source: TIGER/Line)
In the US, the direction home TV satellites point can help you narrow down your location. TV satellites on homes in the US point to a location just south of Texas. In this example, we can see the satellite pointing south-west. From this information we can tell that we are in a state north-east of the south of Texas satellite location- in this case we are in Arkansas.
In this example, the home’s satellite dish points in a south-southeast direction. This puts us north-northwest of the satellite that is just south of Texas. In this instance we are in Salem, Oregon.
According to this study I found (XXXX) if you notice more sedans than pickup trucks in an American city, there is an 88% likelihood that you are in a Democrat area. If you notice more pickup trucks than sedans, there is an 82% likelihood that you are in a Republican area. This means that by examining whether there are more sedans or pickup trucks around you in the US, you should have an idea whether you are in the blue or red area on the above map: Blue= Democrat vs red= Republican. (Image source: Kingofthedead, Wikipedia).
Canadian Street View coverage is clustered around the southern parts of the country. There is very little coverage in the northern territories or even the northern sections of the southern provinces.
In Canada, road signs are typically held up by wooden poles that are sometimes painted white. This contrasts poles from the US which are metal.
Letterboxes are more of a common fixture in the US. They rarely appear in front of houses in Canada.
This speed limit sign is Canadian as is says ‘MAXIMUM’. This contrasts US speed limit signs which say ‘SPEED LIMIT’.
A single, continuous, yellow, centre road line on a road otherwise void of lines suggests that you are in Canada. Single yellow, continuous road lines are more prevalent in Canada than the USA where double, continuous, yellow roads lines are more common. Canada will sometimes have double, yellow road lines and the USA sometimes has single, yellow road lines.
The eastern parts of Canada have many houses that are made from horizontal pieces of wood.
The south-western Canadian province of British Columbia is largely mountainous as is the western part of the next province to the east- Alberta.
The Canadian Prairies stretch across much of southern-central Canada, This includes: Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The Canadian Prairies feature a largely flat landscape with little vegetation other than grass.
The eastern Canadian provinces tend to have thicker, green vegetation.
In general, Ontario and Quebec tend to have a mixture of grasslands and areas with trees.
Manitoba is notable for these trees that look like a miniature forest. The trees are often found in small clusters or lining the sides of the road.
These tall trees, that remind me of Christmas trees, are particularly common in the eastern parts of Canada, especially on the far-east island of Newfoundland.
Prince Edward Island (the island just north of Nova Scotia) often has a reddish soil that seems out-of-place in Canada.
If you see exposed rock in Canada, you will mainly be in either the eastern half of Ontario or the western half of Quebec.
The Canadian province of New Brunswick has words on signs in both English and French. On this sign we can see the English word ‘West’ and the French equivalent ‘Ouest’.
The French province of Quebec has French as its only official language. You will therefore rarely see English in this province. On the sign above, there is only the French word for North on the sign.
Nova Scotia typically has double yellow lines which contrast most road lines in Canada which are single yellow.
The French word ARRET appears on stop signs in Quebec.
Stop signs in New Brunswick will typically have both words ‘STOP ARRET’ on them. On occasions, they will just display the word ‘STOP’.
This checkerboard black and yellow sign is unique to Canada.
This version of the sign, on a rectangular backing, is only found in Newfoundland.
If you notice a barrel, like the one pictured, near a house, it is a bin from Newfoundland.
The back of some (but not all) signs in British Columbia are green.
Ontario often has this black section covering 1/5th of the bottom part of the ‘Maximum’ signs. The remainder of Canada doesn’t have this.
Within Canada, these red and white chevrons are only found in Quebec.
Other than Alberta’s primary bollard that is mentioned above, bollards are fairly rare in Canada. This image shows each Canadian bollard and its location. (Image source: I don’t know who created this amazing image but thank you!)
Ontario and British Columbia both have a number of electricity poles with spirals coming off them making them resemble a person.
Most utility poles on Prince Edward Island (the island just north of Nova Scotia) have these small white rectangles on them.
Canada uses wooden, cylindrical utility poles (as does the US and many other countries). The hook on top of the pole is quite common in Canada and the US are is rarely seen outside of these countries.
If you are tossing up between the US and Canada, then imperial vs metric measurements on signs can be useful. Kilometres= Canada, miles=USA.
A map showing which Canadian states require just rear license plates (blue states on the map) as opposed to both front and rear plates (green states on the map). (Source: bryan89wr, Reddit).
Plates in British Columbia can be only white or white with a small red section.
New Brunswick plates have red lettering that can be distinguished despite the blur
Manitoba has a green section on the left and right parts of their license plate.
Plates in Ontario tend to be white.
Saskatchewan plates have green lettering that can normally just be seen.
Alberta has red lettering on its plates.
Quebec has either white plates or plates with a delicate blue colouring in the upper right and upper left sections of the plate.
Newfoundland and Labrador have red lettering on their license plates.
Nova Scotian plates typically contain blue.
White and black spots that are visible when you pan up indicate that you are in a remote Canadian area, most likely in the northern part of the country. The northern Canadian territories also typically have generation 2 coverage. In contrast, Alaska should have generation 3 coverage. This means if you spot the circular blur beneath the car or other generation 2 clues, you should pick the northern Canadian territories over Alaska.
If you see a gravel road and are tossing up between Canada and the US, you are much more likely to be in the Canada. Whilst Alaska has some gravel roads, they are very rarely found in the rest of the US. In contrast, Canada has a reasonable number of gravel roads.
If you notice the generation 2 camera has been used and are tossing up between Canada and the US, you are much more likely to be in Canada. The US rarely has generation 2 coverage whilst this coverage is relatively common in Canada. Generation 2 coverage is denoted by a circular blur under the Street View car, a halo around the sun and more vivid colours with imagery of a slightly inferior quality.
Street View coverage in Puerto Rico is centred around San Juan. It also extends down to Caguas, west over to Ponce and further west to Mayaguez. The coastal areas of Puerto Rico are also covered.
The Street View car in Puerto Rico has the car’s aerial protruding from the front-right of the car (see the right of the image) and there should be a fairly subtle blur beneath you. The Northern Mariana Islands and Guam also have an aerial protruding from the front-right of the car and they also have the blur beneath you however the blur is more vivid in the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam.
Cars in Puerto Rico typically have no front license plate. For me, this is one of the easiest ways to recognise Puerto Rico.
Spanish is the dominant language in Puerto Rico although English appears on occasions.
Puerto Rico uses the word ‘PARE’ on their stop signs like South America. The Dominican Republic in Central America also use ‘PARE’ on stop signs.
Puerto Rico uses kilometres in contrast to the USA which uses miles.
These red and white ‘Clasificados Online’ signs are everywhere in Puerto Rico.
There are a wide range of utility poles in Puerto Rico. Many of the poles are painted with a white or gray base.
There is quite a tropical feel in Puerto Rico. Much of the land is undulating and there are often many electrical wires connecting utility poles.
The Puerto Rico landscape can be quite varied. In general, Puerto Rico is relatively tropical looking and green.
Street View coverage in the Dominican Republic is largely limited to Santo Domingo and Santiago De Los Caballeros.
The Dominican Republic car is unique as it is particularly long.
Many cars in the Dominican Republic lack front license plates.
License plates in the Dominican Republic have a yellow top half and white bottom half.
Buildings in the Dominican Republic are rarely white and often a range of colours. The peach colour pictured appears commonly on buildings throughout the country.
Street View coverage in Costa Rica is limited to footpaths as it was captured by a person walking around and not a car.
A big clue in identifying Costa Rica is that you won’t be able to leave the footpath. You will also reach dead ends and will only be able to move in a narrow area.
License plates in Costa Rica have a blue blur on both front and rear plates.
The word ‘ALTO’ appears on stop signs in Costa Rica. Mexico and Guatemala also use the word ‘ALTO’ on their stop signs.
Costa Rica’s landscape on Street View features lush, green vegetation. The roads appear high quality and well maintained.
If you pan down in Mexico, you will sometimes see the Street View car’s short, stubby aerial. Within Latin America, you may also see this aerial in Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil. You shouldn’t see it in the US (except Hawaii) nor should you see it in Canada.
If you are in Latin America and notice that the generation 4 camera has been used/you see a blue car, then you are in Mexico, Brazil or rarely Argentina.
Pink coloured taxis are endemic to Mexico City. It should also be noted that Mexico City is known as ‘Ciudad de México’ in Spanish (hence the letters CDMX on the pink taxis). There are many signs with these words in Mexico City.
If you see ‘S.A de C.V.’ written on a sign, then you are in Mexico. Many Mexican businesses have these letters displayed on them.
ALTO is written on stop signs in both Mexico and Guatemala. This contrasts South America in which the word ‘PARE’ is written on stop signs.
Mexican bollards are white and cigarette shaped. They have a black section on the base of the bollard or near the base.
Mexican electricity counters are visible on most Mexican houses. They are circular in shape and normally on an outer wall of the house. This is one of the best ways to identify Mexico. Similar electricity counters can be found in Guatemala, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
Mexico often has large amounts of visible power lines.
A common type of utility poles in Mexico resembles a crucifix.
Octagonal shaped utility poles are some of the most common in Mexico. These poles are rarely seen in other countries however do sometimes occur in Colombia.
In rural areas, these Eiffel Tower like structures carry the power lines.
PEMEX are a common petrol station (gas station) company throughout Mexico.
Urban Mexico often consists of houses and buildings that have walls on the narrow footpath. The buildings are typically made of concrete.
These large, black water tanks are a common sight above Mexican houses.
Large parts of Mexico (away from the northern deserts) are undulating. Smaller trees and rambling bushes are common in Mexico.
The southern parts of Mexico have a tropical feel that resembles the jungles of Guatemala.
Parts of Mexico bordering the Yucatan Peninsula are lush and tropical.
The Yucatan Peninsula area also commonly has small, rock walls.
The northern section of Mexico is largely occupied by desert. Generation 2 imagery is often used in this part of Mexico yet seldom appears in the southern US deserts. Looking for signs of the generation 2 coverage can help identify the Mexican desert. These signs include: the circular blur beneath the Street View car, the halo around the sun and the slightly inferior image quality with more vibrant colours.
It is possible to work out where in Mexico you are located by looking at the first digit of phone numbers, as this map indicates. (Image source: Aromovf, Wikipedia.)
In this example, the phone number begins with a ‘5’. This means, looking at the above map, we are in Mexico City.
Guatemala is a very hilly country and it is rare to find a flat section. The landscape is largely a lush, thick and green jungle with a tropical feel.
Even urban Guatemala is often hilly, such is the undulating nature of the country. Like Mexico, there are often plentiful electrical wires overhead. Some urban parts of Guatemala have these cobbled streets.
Like Mexico, the word “ALTO” appears on Guatemalan stop signs. This contrasts the word “PARE” appearing on South American stop signs.
Guatemalan utility poles are sometimes painted towards the bottom of the pole. Some Guatemalan utility poles are completely green.
Other than the red car, the white car is sometimes visible on the southern island although it is distinctive as it lacks the black, antenna holder on the front-left of the vehicle and the antenna on the front right (both of which are seen on the northern islands- see the below image).
The black antenna holder on the left and the antenna on the right are only visible on the Virgin Island car on the northern islands.
Vehicles drive on the left side of the road in Bermuda and there is most commonly a single, yellow centre line on the roads.
Houses in Bermuda are rather unique looking. They are typically painted a semi-faded shade of a bright colour. In addition, the roofs are almost always completely white. The roofs look like they are newly painted and they are so white, they blend in with the sky. The houses’ window frames are also painted with this same white colour.
In Bermuda’s official Street View coverage, you will see either a black truck, a jagged blurred car or both, as pictured below. This is all the same vehicle taking the Street View imagery, just sometimes the black truck has been completely blurred out. In the unofficial coverage, you will see the word ‘Bermuda’ on a big blue circle beneath you when you pan down.
Bermuda has real tropical island vibes with lots of palm trees and a holiday resort feel. These small walls, as seen on the left of the image, are also common.
License plates in Bermuda are fairly long and narrow. If you look very carefully, there should be a slight blue section on the top-central and bottom-central part of the plate.
Street View coverage in Panama is mainly centred around the country’s largest urban areas. All of Panama City is covered; this means if you land in Panama in an urban area, you are most likely in Panama City. The roads between the largest cities in Panama are also covered.
The Street View car in Panama has this unique antenna that is found nowhere else on Earth. It should be visible when you pan down- although not necessarily as visible as this image.
The Street View car itself is another easy way to recognise Panama. The car is big and bulky. It should appear white or transparent blurred (or both, like in this image).
Arguably the best way to region guess in Panama is based on the taxi numbers. Every taxi plate in Panama begins with a number. This initial number tells you where the taxi is from. (Image source: Reddit user AlbertELP).
The order of the taxi numbers in the Panama provinces isn’t random. It’s in alphabetical order. This map shows the names of the Panama provinces. The most important province to remember is Panama Province whose taxis begin with the number 8. The second most important province to remember is Panama Oeste Province, whose taxis begin with the number 13. These two provinces account for most of Panama’s Street View coverage. (Image source: Wikipedia,123Hollic)
This taxi begins with a 4, which tells us (based on the above map) that we are in the west Panama province of Chiriqui. Taxis in Panama also often say the city/province name beneath their number; however, these can be hard to read. In this example, the taxi says ‘DAVID-CHIRIQUI’. David is the largest city in the province of Chiriqui.
One of the easiest ways to tell you are in Panama is by looking at the cars. Cars in Panama typically don’t have front plates. Be careful not to confuse the country with Puerto Rico, which can look similar and also lacks front plates.
The west part of Panama tends to be more dry.
Panama has yellow central road lines (either dashed or continuous), Mexican style houses and tropical trees. Although not pictured, it also has ALTO written on its stop signs like other Central American countries.
Panama flags can be seen everywhere in Panama City.
A map showing specifically what parts of Europe are covered by Street View.
Most countries in Europe have marked roads consisting of some form of white central road line. This contrasts North America and South America which almost always use yellow central road lines.
The standard license plate in Europe is elongated and white with a vertical blue stripe on the left that can be seen despite the blur. There are a few European countries with deviations of this generic plate. Elongated license plates are relatively rare outside of Europe.
Knowing the subtle differences between each country’s bollards is useful in Europe.
A chart showing the pedestrian crosswalk signs across Europe. (Image source: Simco_, from Wikipedia).
A map showing the above pedestrian sign types across Europe. A larger version of this map can be found here. I don’t know who created this map but thanks whoever you are.
A map showing elevations across Europe. Note the high mountains centred around Switzerland. (Source: worldatlas.com)
A map showing corn production regions of Europe. Note that the primary corn countries are France, Italy, Romania, Serbia and Hungary (Source: Eurostat).
Olive tree distribution in Europe appears above in a coincidental ‘olive’ colour. Mostly Mediterranean areas are home to olive trees, with the bulk in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal.
Olive trees.
Within Europe, these roadwork signs featuring a yellow centre and red outline are commonly used. They shouldn’t be confused with warning signs. Only a handful of countries in Europe have this style of warning sign.
European city and town signs. If you don’t recognise a city/town name then the sign’s appearance will lead you to the country you are in. Note: Switzerland can also have white signs whilst Belgium can also have yellow signs. (Source: Europamapas)
The second part of the European city/town signs. (Source: Europamapas)
A red line through a town’s name indicates that you have reached the end of the built up area of that town.
The chevron colour schemes for each country in Europe are pictured here. These are essentially the arrows that appear on the outside of curves on the road. Chevrons are most common in Turkey (red arrows on white background), the Austrian alps (yellow and red or white and red) as well as the mountainous parts of the Balkans, which vary in colour depending on the country. (Source: reddit u/isaacSW.)
How to say “Street” in Europe. Source:XXXX
This map shows the road quality in Europe by country. The darker pink countries have the worst road quality, while the darker green countries have the best road quality. (Image source: viborc)
This map shows the colour of reflectors on European guardrails, by country. (I don’t know who made this map but thank you whoever you are!) An example of every reflector and every guardrail type from every European country can be found inthis document.
This map shows the shape of guardrails by European country. An example of A-profile, B-profile and thin B-profile are provided below. (Once again, thanks to whoever created this map!)
This is an example of an A-profile guardrail (red areas on the above map). The top row, the bottom row and the middle indent are all curved.
This is an example of a B-profile guardrail (the purple areas on the above map). Note that the top row, bottom row and middle row all consist of 90 degree angles.
This is an example of the Thin B-profile (yellow on the above map). Note that the the central hollow section is about the same height as 3 of the top rows. This contrasts the standard B-Profile guardrails which (as shown in the picture above this one) have a central hollow that is the same height as just one top row.
Irish cars drive on the left- which is a rarity in Europe with only the U.K. and Malta also driving on the left out of the Street View covered countries.
Irish license plates look like typical European plates- white and elongated with a blue vertical stripe on the left. They do however help distinguish the country from the other major European left side of the road driving country: The U.K., which has yellow rear plates.
Irish road signs will typically contain both English and Gaelic. The majority of the writing around Ireland such as on shops and buildings is in English.
Another key difference between Ireland and the U.K. is that Ireland uses the metric system. As a result, you will see kilometres on Irish signs as opposed to miles in the U.K.
The majority of houses in the rural part of Ireland has some semblance to the house pictured. They are generally either white coloured or stone and have these dark roofs. Looking at the houses from the road, they tend to be wide but not very deep (they look like a rectangle from above). They are normally one or two storey. Brick is rarely visible in Irish buildings whilst it is quite common in Great Britain. Ireland tends to have longer driveways than Great Britain.
Low, rocky walls are a feature of Ireland although these often occur in the UK and on other islands.
The Irish landscape is green, lush and often has hedges or small walls alongside the road. Green paddocks are also common. The country has many narrow, windy roads. In general Ireland has a great resemblance to parts of the U.K..
A good method to tell Ireland apart from the U.K. is to look for yellow, dashed edge lines on the road. These are quite common in Ireland but very rare in the U.K..
One of the easiest ways to recognise the U.K. is via their yellow rear license plates. UK cars have white front plates. This combination of plate colours is particularly rare in the rest of the world.
Cars in the U.K. drive on the left which is a rarity in Europe with only Ireland and Malta also driving on the left.
The U.K. also stands out as one of only two Street View covered areas to use miles, yards and pounds- the other being the US.
Roundabouts are a common fixture in the UK. They often provide useful information about nearby town names and road numbers.
The UK often has two continuous yellow road lines on the sides of marked roads.
Small rocky walls are a common fixture in the U.K., especially in Scotland (Ireland also has an abundance of these walls as do some islands). It is fairly rare to see rocky walls in the southern part of England.
A good technique to determine what part of the UK you are positioned in is to look at the sides of the roads. If there are hedgerows then you are more likely to be in the southern part of England. Stone walls are more common in the rest of the U.K.
TV satellite dishes in the UK point south-east.
Scotland tends to have a higher percentage of grey coloured houses and buildings than England.
Townhouses like those pictured are common in the U.K.
The UK stands out from Ireland as it has these warning signs. This is the most common warning sign in Europe but contrasts the yellow diamond of Ireland.
Although rather rare, Scotland has these white, cylindrical bollards that have either a red or white horizontal ring. France has similar looking bollards with the red ring that are far more common.
The U.K. has a varied landscape. Northern Scotland has few trees.
Much of the U.K. has narrow, windy roads, hedges skirting the sides of the roads and green fields.
In Jersey, you will often see a yellow line that covers the road at intersections. This is a great way to distinguish Jersey from the remainder of the UK.
Portugal stands out for its license plates. The right side of the plates have a vertical yellow stripe that is clearly visible. Portuguese plates also have the standard, European blue, vertical stripe on the left of their plates.
Many Portuguese houses are white or light coloured and many have tiled, terracotta coloured roofs.
Parts of Portugal (especially the north of the country) are hilly. Olive trees are a common sight right across the country.
Much of Portugal has a warm, Mediterranean vibe.
Portugal uses these fairly generic bollards. The front contains a vertical, white stripe encased in the black section. There is a rarer type of Portuguese bollard that has a fatter orange rectangle in place of the white stripe.
This is the fairly generic rear of the Portuguese bollards.
Portugal has two main types of utility poles. The first type is more unique looking and has small holes running vertically up it. Sometimes Portuguese utility poles of this style will have less holes.
The second type of Portuguese utility pole is wooden. It often looks fairly rudimentary and can have lumps on its surface as opposed to being smooth.
Portuguese ‘no hunting’ signs will sometimes appear on the edge of farms. These signs come in two forms- the tiny red and white diamond as pictured above or a small, red and white sign that looks identical to the Indonesian flag.
If you are in a Portuguese town/city, you should see a sidewalk. Portuguese sidewalks are unique and consist of small white squares placed together at a diagonal from the road. They resemble a mosaic.
Portugal and Brazil are the only Portuguese speaking locations in GeoGuessr (although Macau also uses the language). There are a few easy ways to tell Portuguese from Spanish. Portuguese has the ‘Ç’ symbol whilst Spanish doesn’t. This is a regularly occurring symbol in Portuguese so many signs will house it. Another tell is that many words in Portuguese end in ‘ção’. Finally, Portuguese has the symbol ã which is an ‘a’ with a squiggle on its top (this is different from an accent).
The island of Madeira is one of two autonomous regions of Portugal. It is recognisable thanks to the Portuguese licence plates with the yellow vertical stripe on the right, the utility poles which have horizontal strats and often holes, the white blocks along the sides of some roads and notably the mountainous terrain across the entire island.
The second autonomous region of Portugal is the Azores. The Azores archipelago has Street View coverage on São Miguel Island (the island that houses Ponta Delgada) and Terceira Island (the island that contains Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória). Although the Azores has the same license plates and utility poles as Madeira, it stands out as it is much flatter and whilst having some rolling hills, lacks the steep mountains of Madeira.
Spanish bollards are fairly unique. They feature the standard European black and white bollard with a bright yellow, narrow rectangle encased in the black section of the bollard.
Dacia Sandero cars are found across much of Spain. They are also found abundantly in Bulgaria and Romania. They can be identified by their logo, pictured.
Other than the written language sounding Spanish, there are some specific things to look for to identify Spanish and distinguish it from Portuguese and other languages. Look for is the letter ‘y’ as its own word. This means ‘and’ in Spanish. Also, Spanish sometimes has the letter ‘ñ’ appear which is the letter n with a squiggly line over the top. The Basque language is spoken in a small pocket of north-eastern Spain. This region has signs in both Basque and Spanish.
The Pyrenees Mountains stretch across North-Eastern Spain and continue into France. The hill bases next to the roads are often rocky, there are many trees and the roads are typically high quality.
Spain is one of the hot spots for olive trees with the southern 2/3rds of the country being particularly full of them.
Most of Spain has a warm feel. The main roads are typically of a high quality and much of the country has a Mediterranean vibe.
Spanish houses are generally either white or a shade of some warm colour such as red, orange or yellow.
This map shows the annual rainfall distribution across Spain. The orange coloured areas receive such little rain that they resemble a desert. The northern blue and purple coloured areas receive high amounts of rainfall and are therefore lush. (Image source: Iberia Nature).
This is the orange coloured part of Spain on the above map, (between Madrid and Murcia). Due to the lack of rain, the area resembles a desert.
This is the blue/purple part of Spain on the above map (the northern section of Spain). Due to the high rainfall, the area is very green and lush.
Guardrails in Spain have these yellow-orange reflectors which are typically found every few meters. These yellow-orange reflectors can also be found in Italy.
Scattered right across rural Spain on the outskirts of rural Spanish properties are small flags. The most common of these flags are black and white in colour and indicate ‘no public hunting’. Although the black and white small flags are by far the most common, there are small flags featuring a number of colours on Spanish properties including red as well as green and white. These small, Spanish flags are typically mounted on tiny stakes around 50cm high.
The green top on Spanish bollards only occurs in Extremadura in Spain- Extremadura’s location is on the below map.
The location of Extremadura in Spain- where there are green tops to the Spanish bollards. (Image source: TUBS, Wikipedia).
The word ‘CALLE’ means ‘STREET’ in Spanish and often appears throughout Spain and Latin America.
The Canary Islands stand out for their volcanic rocks, blue skies and steep drops into the ocean.
This type of bollard with the typical European white and black style enclosing an orange rectangle is found in the Canary Islands. Similar looking bollards are also found rarely in Portugal.
Andorran locations are mainly at the bottom of a valley with mountains rising up around you. The mountains are a blend of trees and rocks. The roads look well-maintained.
Buildings in Andorra are typically multi-storey, affluent looking and often made of stones compressed together. This unique, stone building style is how I identify Andorra.
Andorran license plates are less elongated than typical European plates. They also lack the blue vertical stripe of standard European plates. The left side of Andorran plates feature an orange blotch. It should be noted that some European plates venture into Andorra.
These tall and distinctively coloured snow marker poles line many roads in Andorra.
One of the best ways to identify France is by looking for French car brands. The above image shows the Renault logo.
Citroen cars are another common French car brand. The above logo is the Citroen logo.
The Peugeot car brand is also popular in France.
France has many license plates that have a thick blue stripe on the left and a rather narrow blue stripe on the right. Albania and Italy have similar plates however Albania and Italy have thick stripes on both sides of the plate.
The French language is my favourite language in the world as each sentence sounds like poetry. As well as France, French in Europe is spoken in western Switzerland and southern Belgium. It’s also fairly easy to identify if you read the words aloud and they sound French. Letters include the ç (also found in Portuguese), ë, è, é, ï and à.
There are two types of French bollard, both are the same distinct shape and different from typical European bollard shapes. This is the first type with a gray reflector strip running around it.
This is the second type of French bollard. It has a red reflector strip running around it. Like the first type of French bollard, it has a unique shape, different from standard European bollards. Note: Scotland very occasionally has bollards that look similar to this French red and white bollard; however, Scottish bollards are wider.
This is one version of French utility pole. Note that there are no holes but rather indents. Spain can have similar utility poles that are whiter in colour.
This is another fairly common French utility pole. The concrete pole has holes in it. Romania, Hungary and Poland have holes in their poles however these countries have less holes than French utility poles. Turkey can also have holes in their metal utility poles.
Some wooden French utility poles have a small, blue rectangular shape on them.
French towns typically consist of two-storey buildings made out of visible stone. The buildings virtually join one another and are built right on the edge of the footpath.
Minor roads in France are known as ‘D’ roads (departmental roads). They are denoted by the letter ‘D’ and a number inside a yellow rectangle. If you want to learn the D road numbering system- don’t! It is insanely complicated and illogical.
Many French roads have these very long, white dashes along both sides of the road. Nowhere else in Europe has such long side dashes as French dashes. In rare cases, France has shorter dashes on the sides of the road.
The word ‘rue’ translates from French to English as ‘street’. On metropolitan street corners, it’s standard to see the word ‘rue’ on signs.
The most common French license plates you see will be the standard European plate, which isn’t particularly useful for GeoGuessr purposes.
Parts of southern France are still covered by the generation 2 Street View camera. As a result, you may rarely see the odd yellow license plates on the rears of some French cars.
France is a diverse looking country. It has many grass fields and after Poland is the second country I will guess if I see a European grass field without other clues.
The above map shows telephone prefixes for France. For example, if you spot 03 at the start of a phone number in France, you are in the north-east quadrant of the country. (Source: Babsy, Wikipedia)
This map indicates the French secondary department phone area codes. If the first two digits of a French phone number are visible (eg 01, 02, 03, 04 or 05) you can work out what quadrant of the country you are situated in based on the map above this one. The two digits following 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 provide you with the specific department you are situated in (as seen in this map). For example, if you see a French phone number beginning with (02) 98, you know you are in Brest, in the north-western corner of France. If you see a number (04) 95, you know you are in the northern half of Corsica. (Source: I don’t know who made this amazing map but if you know please tell me so I can credit them).
Based on the above two phone area code maps, if you see the above phone number you can tell you are in the south-eastern quadrant of France thanks to the (04) first two digits. You can also tell you are specifically in the Lyon region thanks to the 72 third and fourth digits.
The French region of Brittany in north-western France has bilingual road signs featuring both French and Breton.
The bilingual road signs indicate the French region of Brittany.
Houses in Brittany, a western region of France, are coloured white with dark roofs.
Street signs in Paris will typically have a number followed by ‘Arr’ on them. In this example 15th Arr is displayed. ‘Arr’ means arrondissement which is the equivalent of a district. Paris is divided into 20 arrondissement and these appear on the map.
If you zoom in the correct distance on the map, the 20 arrondissement in Paris are visible. The street sign in the image above this one shows that we are in the 15th arr. We can see the 15th arr above.
As well as Paris, Lyon and Marseilles are also divided into arrondissement. In this example we are in the 3rd Arr in Lyon. We can zoom into the map of Lyon and find the 3rd arrondissement.
A street sign from Marseille. Notice ’14th Arr’ on the top of the sign. This indicates that we are in the 14th arrondissement of Marseille which we can find on the map.
A map showing where the names of different French towns are distributed throughout France. Some notes: ‘Commence par’ means ‘starts with’, ‘Fini end’ means ‘ends with’ and ‘Contient’ means ‘contains’. (Source: Clement Bouchere).
Many towns in France are situated on a river and this is reflected in their name. In these instances, the town will be called ‘name s/ river’ or ‘name sur river’. In the above example, the town is called Cosne S/ Loire. This means we need to look along the Loire River for the town.
The French island of Corsica often has shorter, white dashes on the sides of the road. It also has mountains in the centre of the island and a Mediterranean feel elsewhere.
Many rear license plates in Corsica are yellow with the vertical, blue left stripe of the standard European plates.
The easiest way to identify Belgium is via its license plates. Belgium has the standard European plates with a unique red lettering. This appears as a faint red blur on Street View. Sometimes the blue vertical line of the European plates appears on the right of Belgium license plate instead of the regular left.
In Belgium cities, it is common to have the city’s name on street signs. In the above example, the city name ‘Liege’ is written on the street sign.
A map showing which language is spoken where in Belgium. Gold= Flemish (Dutch), Red= French and Blue=German. (Source: Vascer, Knorck, Wikipedia).
Many houses in Belgium have an older look to them. Houses with a visible brick exterior are a common sight in Belgium. Most of these houses have slanted roofs.
The rear of certain types of signs in Belgium (some circular and some rectangular) are coloured this distinctive orange colour.
Approximately 1/3rd of the time in Belgium, I experience generation 2 Street View coverage, featuring the circular blur underneath, inferior image quality and halo around the sun. Very rarely in Belgium (in non generation 2 coverage) you will see a red car beneath you. The red car is much more common in Ukraine.
Belgium has well-maintained roads and sometimes the roads will have bike paths running alongside them. The rural parts of Belgium often consist of fields.
License plates in the Netherlands are the easiest way to identify the country. Both front and back plates are yellow with the blue, vertical, European stripe appearing on the left. Plates from Luxembourg and Israel look the same as the Netherlands. The Netherlands’ landscape looks flatter than Luxembourg and vastly different to Israel.
The Dutch language appears across the Netherlands. It can often be recognised due to an abundance of ‘z’ and ‘w’ letters as well as double letters such as ‘ee’. The letters ‘i’ and ‘j’ also commonly appear together as ‘ij.’
English words often appear on shop signs in the Netherlands.
Townhouses are the most common form of abode in the Netherlands. Many townhouses have flat roofs.
Other Dutch townhouses are notorious for their steep roofs.
The Netherlands stands out for its lack of utility poles. The entire country seemingly has their wires underground. Only street lights line the streets.
In Dutch, the ‘weg’ suffix means ‘road’ and the ‘straat’ suffix means ‘street’.
Islands in the Netherlands situated south-west of Rotterdam tend to have dashed white lines along the sides of their roads. These dashed lines can also be found on smaller N roads. Dashed lines in the Netherlands indicate a maximum speed limit of 80km/h.
Narrow, well-maintained paths are a common sight in the Netherlands. They are often tree-lined.
A few types of bollards are visible in the Netherlands. This type is the most commonly seen. Similar looking bollards are also in Turkey and Australia although these countries have a less elongated red rectangle.
In the Netherlands, it is common to see these blue arrow signs with white lettering. They point to the nearest town or city and make pinpointing much easier.
Red and white coloured signs provide directions for cyclists in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is arguably the most cyclist friendly country in the world. There are many bike paths, cyclists and cyclist directional signs to be seen.
Canals and waterways are a common sight in the Netherlands. The entire country is flat and it is rare to see anything resembling an incline across the country,
Luxembourg stands out for its yellow front and rear license plates. They also feature the standard European vertical blue stripe on the left. Luxembourg plates look the same as the Netherlands and Israel. Luxembourg has undulating terrain distinguishing it from the Netherlands and it has a vastly different landscape to Israel.
Across most of Luxembourg, the country has undulating terrain. This is rarely steep and often consists of gentle slopes. It is rare to see much dead-flat land in Luxembourg (something that the Netherlands has a lot of). Much of the Luxembourg landscape consists of green grass fields.
A reasonable portion of Luxembourg is covered by the rare generation 2 Street View camera. This means a blurry circle is visible if you pan down, a halo is often visible around the sun and the imagery consists of much more vivid colours than the other camera generations. Update: Luxembourg recently got some generation 4 coverage added.
This is the front view of Luxembourg bollards which are rather generic.
This is the back (also rather generic) view of Luxembourg bollards.
The easiest way to recognise Italy is via its license plates. Italy is one of only two countries in the world to have blue vertical stripes on both sides of the plate. This applies to both the front and rear plates. The other country with similar looking plates is Albania. Distinguishing the countries is easy. Italy seldom has the Street View car’s aerial as visible whilst in Albania you should see the car’s aerial.
Fiat cars are a common sight in Italy.
Italian is spoken across Italy and in southern Switzerland. Italian can be recognised as most of its words end in a vowel. In some cases, every single word in Italian sentences ends in a vowel.
These abundant signs in Italy, with the words ‘Passo carrabile’ on them often have the name of the city (commune) on them at the top. In this example, we have Commune di Firenze (Florence)
The standard Mediterranean house style is popular in Italy. It features a white (or light coloured) exterior and a terracotta tiled roof.
Italy has a diverse landscape. Most of the country has a dry, Mediterranean feel. Rolling hills are also common throughout the country.
The most common Italian bollard has a front that features a vertical, red rectangle inside a black, diagonal strip. Note that the black part goes to the top of the bollard- this is rare in bollard world. Albanian bollards look similar however bollards are rare in Albania.
The back of Italian bollards.
In Italian towns and cities, the street signs often have the word ‘VIA’ on them. This translates to English as ‘street’.
Directional arrows that point to Italian towns are blue with a white end. These arrows look relatively similar to the Czechia town directional arrows however they are distinct.
Italian phone prefixes. The numbers gradually increase from 01 in the north-west of the country to 09 in the south of the country. Note that mobiles in Italy start with a 3 or a 10. (Source: Maximilian Dörrbecker, Wikipedia).
The Italian island of Sardinia (Sardegna) has a Mediterranean feel. The island is rather hilly,
The island of Sardinia (Sardegna) has similar bollards to mainland Italy however the rectangle is orange in colour.
This is the rear of the bollards on Sardinia (Sardegna).
The Sicilian landscape is also rather hilly with twisting roads and a Mediterranean feel.
This is the type of bollard found on Sicily. Note that the rectangle can be orange or red in colour.
The back of Sicilian bollards.
San Marino has many license plates that are white with a slight blue tinge, as pictured. These plates lack the blue vertical stripe of Europe. A number of Italian license plates can also be seen in San Marino.
The generation 2 camera is used across all of San Marino. It is characterised by the circular blur that is visible when you pan down, inferior image quality and a halo around the sun.
The San Marino landscape feels colder and less Mediterranean than much of Italy. It is also very hilly.
San Marino has a large number of these light-green coloured bins. Bins in San Marino often have a waves logo on them, like the green and blue waves on the bin pictured above.
Houses of this distinct reddish-brown colour are a common sight in the Nordic countries
Virtually the entire country of Norway is undulating, hilly or mountainous. This contrasts the other Nordic countries which are in general flat. Iceland can have some mountains but the majority of the Street View coverage is flat. Also, Iceland typically has much less vegetation than Norway.
The far north of Norway stands out for its low-lying and patchy vegetation.
In general, the further south you travel in Norway correlates with thicker vegetation, more vegetation, taller vegetation and less birch trees. This image is from southern Norway.
Norway has two common types of road markings. The first is yellow centre lines and white side lines.
The second type of Norwegian road marking is the dashed white lines on the side of the road. Other countries also have this however Norway’s dashed lines stand out as the lines themselves are longer than the gap between the lines.
Narrow roads that are winding are more common in Norway than the other Nordic countries.
Norway has unique warning signs compared to the other Nordic countries (but normal European signs). These warning signs feature a triangle with a red outline and white colouring. From the Nordic countries only Denmark has the same warning signs as Norway. Iceland, Finland and Sweden have yellow colouring rather than white on their warning signs.
Norway uses wooden, circular utility poles. Sweden and Finland also uses these poles, as do many other countries around the world.
In most (but not all) of Norway, if you pan down, you will see some semblance of a blue car. Denmark also has this blue car across most of the country.
Norway uses ‘…vei’ or ‘…veien’ on their street signs indicating ‘road’.
Norway uses yellow directional signs. This contrasts the blue and white of Swedish and Finnish signs and the red and white of Danish signs. Iceland has similar looking directional signs to Norway.
In Norway, commercial vehicles use green license plates.
The Nordic languages are rather similar with fairly subtle differences. One of the easiest ways to identify Norwegian is to look for the ø symbol. This appears fairly commonly in Norwegian and also only occurs in Danish.
Svalbard is an archipelago owned by Norway that is situated part way between Norway and the North Pole.
Sweden commonly has white dashed side lines and a white centre line. The Swedish dashes on the sides of the road have the gap between the dashes as longer than the dashes themselves. This contrasts Norway’s side dashes in which the dashes are longer than the gaps.
Sweden is one of only a few countries in Europe to have this type of warning sign. It is triangular, has a thick red border and yellow colouring. Finland, Greece, North Macedonia and Iceland are the other European countries that have the same warning sign. Poland has similar looking warning signs with a very thin red border.
Swedish Speed limits are also written in a circle with the same colour system as their warning signs.
The Swedish landscape is much flatter than Norway’s landscape (other than the Sweden-Norway border which is mountainous). Like Finland and Norway, the country has thick vegetation. The Swedish roads are typically fairly wide and commonly have some form of white centre line.
A typical scene from a Swedish town. Note the brownish-red houses, the warning and speed signs with a red border and yellow filling and thick vegetation in the distance where the town ends.
Sweden mainly has fairly generic European bollards. Bollards are a regular sight in Sweden.
The back of Swedish bollards.
Sweden uses wooden, circular utility poles. Norway, Finland and a number of other countries also use these poles.
Swedish street signs end in the suffixes ‘…gatan’ and ‘…vägen’.
Swedish directional signs are blue coloured with white writing. These are the same colours as the Finnish directional signs. The other Nordic countries have different coloured directional signs to Sweden.
It is often possible to work out where in Sweden you are located, just from the town name. For example, towns ending in ‘…vaara’ are most common in northern Sweden. (Image source:Xseros)
The Swedish language has ‘eyes’ (two small dots) over the a and o sometimes: ä and ö. The letter ‘a’ also sometimes has a circle above it: å. Finnish has similar letters but stands out for its glut of double letters- something Swedish largely lacks.
Finnish road lines typically have white side lines and some form of yellow centre line with a secondary centre line. In this example, the secondary centre line is also yellow.
In this example, Finland has its standard white side lines and yellow centre line but it also concurrently has a white dashed centre line.
If you are in a Nordic country and see a dirt or gravel road, you are likely in Finland.
Finland uses warning signs that are triangular with a red outline and yellow filling. Across Europe, the same signs are used in Sweden, Iceland, Greece and North Macedonia.
Finland has these circular speed limit signs with a red border and yellow filling. Sweden and Iceland also have these signs.
Finland is generally a fairly flat country. If you see birch trees (the white coloured ones) on the side of the road, you are likely in a Nordic country. Finland seems to have more birch trees than Sweden and Norway. The further north you travel, the thicker the density of birch trees. I find that Finland feels a bit more wintery than Sweden in general.
A reasonable amount of Finland was captured with the generation 2 Street View camera. As a result, you may see a circular blur beneath you, a halo around the sun, more vivid colours and slightly worse image quality. Recently, some generation 4 coverage was added to Finland.
The other most common thing to see if you pan down in Finland is this blurred car with jagged edges. This car is also very common in the Baltic countries and Croatia.
Finnish bollards are either cylindrical or look cylindrical from the front. This cylindrical shape isn’t shared by the bollards of the other Nordic countries. Otherwise, Finnish bollards look like fairly generic, black and white, European bollards. Estonian bollards look the same as Finnish bollards
Finland uses wooden, circular utility poles. Norway, Sweden and a number of other countries around the world also use these poles.
Finnish street name suffixes are most commonly ‘..katu’ and ‘…ntie’
Finnish directional signs are blue or green coloured. Sweden also has blue directional signs.
The Aland Islands situated between Finland and Sweden and belonging to Finland have roads with short dashes on the side- Sweden style. The roads also have a reddish tinge to them.
The Finnish language stands out from the other Nordic languages for its abundance of double letters. Estonian also has many double letters.
Most marked roads in Denmark will have small dashes along the sides.
A close-up view of Denmark’s most common roads markings.
There are other road markings in Denmark and these all tend to be rarer and consist of various white lines. In the above example, the road consists of very long, side dashes with a tiny gap.
Across the majority of Denmark (but not the whole country) you will see some semblance of a blue Street View car if you pan down. On some occasions you will see an antenna instead of the blue car.
This is what the front of bollards in Denmark look like. They are a unique looking bollard and occur abundantly throughout the country.
This is what the back of Denmark’s bollards look like. Note that the orange fluorescent stripe at the top of the bollard (both front and back) only occurs sometimes.
Danish directional signs have a unique blend of white background and red writing. If you see this colour scheme, you are in Denmark.
These low red and white directional signs are a key giveaway that you are in Denmark. They are also useful for pinpointing.
In Denmark, warning signs are a triangle with a thick red outline and white colouring. This is the same as most of Europe and Norway but contrasts Sweden, Finland and Iceland which have yellow colouring. Give-way and speed limit signs are also white and red in Denmark.
Denmark’s landscape is very flat. It has less vegetation that Norway, Sweden and Finland and has drier foliage and grass. There tend to be more fields in Denmark than the aforementioned places and a different type of vegetation that is less birch tree and more bushy trees and bushes. There also tends to be less vegetation in Denmark.
Houses in Denmark are typically painted light colours. They also have steep roofs with new-looking tiles. Although Danish houses can have visible brick, visible brick houses are much more common in Belgium, the Netherlands and France.
Danish street names tend to have the suffixes ‘…vej’ and ‘…gade’.
Denmark have these unique metal poles that hold up many of their circular signs. The poles curve around the top of the circular signs.
Commercial vehicles in Denmark have yellow license plates. Regular Danish vehicles have the standard European plates that are white with the blue, European stripe on the left.
This is a Danish guardrail. It is a B-profile guardrail which consists of 90-degree angles and a narrow central section. In Europe, this type of guardrail is only found in Denmark, Croatia, Serbia and Poland. It is also found in some parts of Turkey, North Macedonia, Ireland and Germany.
Examples of Danish language. I think of Danish as a mixture of the other Nordic languages with a tiny bit of Dutch and German influence. The ø symbol occurs in Danish as well as Norwegian.
The Street View car in the Faroe Islands has bars visible as well as the car’s side view mirrors.
The Faroe Islands’ landscape is void of vegetation other than grass. There are steep hills, colourful (and white) houses and lots of rocks.
Marked Icelandic roads have various versions of white lines.
Some Icelandic roads have the white, dashed edge markings. In Iceland, the grass tends to come all the way up to the road. Additionally, the roads are often this distinctive dark colour in Iceland.
The Street View car in Iceland should have some form of an aerial visible. Sometimes this white, red and blue section of the car will also be visible.
In addition to the aerial protruding from the white, blue and red part of the car, you may see a second aerial emerging from the car in Iceland.
The Icelandic landscape typically features no vegetation other than grass. The road is normally flat but there are generally hills and mountains in the distance and undulating land around the road. It also has volcanos and glaciers.
These distinctive yellow bollards are regularly visible in Iceland.
Iceland has triangular give-way and warning signs with a thick red border and yellow filling. These are also found in Sweden, Finland, Greece and North Macedonia. Poland has a thin red line around its yellow warning signs.
Iceland is one of the few European countries without the blue vertical strip on the left side of its license plates. Icelandic license plates are simply elongated and white.
Iceland has these yellow and black directional signs. Norway has similar coloured signs that are typically larger and without the yellow part of the sign forming an arrow.
Iceland is the only European country to have a yellow background behind their pedestrian signs.
Iceland is one of the few island countries in the world to have its cars drive on the right. Determining where in Iceland you are can be easy by determining where the ocean is. For instance, if it’s to your north, you are probably in the north of the country.
The Icelandic language is fairly unique and contains many long words. If you see one of two symbols, you can guarantee that you are in Iceland- Þ (which looks to me like a new emoji featuring a tongue poking out) and ð.
Iceland’s Street View coverage is focused around the edge of the country. Road number 1 runs around the circumference of Iceland. Starting in the south of the country, Icelandic road numbers start with a 2. The first number of Icelandic roads increase in a clockwise direction around Iceland until the road numbers begin with a 9 in the east.
Greenland’s Street View coverage is very limited. It mainly includes small parts of small towns (and on the water) along the south, south-east and south-west of the country.
Greenland’s landscape is cold, rocky and undulating. Only very small parts of Greenland are covered by Street View. These are mainly towns and the nearby waters.
Greenland tends to have a range of colourfully painted houses.
There are so many different types of visible vehicles holding the Street View camera across Greenland.
If you pan down in Greenland, you are bound to see a unique and visible form of transportation holding the Street View camera.
In 2023, Google released new, generation 4 Street View coverage across virtually the entire Germany. This means you should see the blue tinge of the Street View car if you pan down.
Germany typically has really well maintained roads. The roads in some small parts of east Germany may have cracks or cracks filled in.
German cities typically have bland coloured apartments that are three to five storeys high.
The German cities of Frankfurt and Mannheim (as well as several others in the region) have these pink coloured edges around house and apartment windows. This is one of the best ways to identify these areas.
This is a typical German village- white houses with triangular, brown or red slanted roofs and with quite a large amount of foliage.
In Germany, brick houses are common in the north and north-west of the country.
Germany has these bollards featuring a white, vertical strip on the front and two white dots on the rear.
These thick, concrete utility poles are fairly common around the east part of Germany.
The far south of Germany is mountainous and resembles Austria and Switzerland.
This map shows the two-digit phone prefixes in Germany. It’s important to at least learn the first digit zones on this map . A short cut is- begin in west Germany with 2, then go in an anti-clockwise spiral in the northern half of Germany and you have 3, 4 and 5. 6 numbers are in the south-west of Germany then in another anti-clockwise spiral are the digits 7, 8 and 9. It should be noted that German phone numbers typically have a zero for a first digit when you see them on signs- the zero should be ignored and the next two digits are relevant. (Image source: Wikipedia, user: Chumwa).
This is an example German phone number. Note that German phone numbers typically appear beginning with a 0 but this digit should be ignored. We need to focus on the next two digits- 76. Based on the above map, we are in the south-western corner of Germany.
German is spoken across Germany and Austria. It’s also spoken in most of Switzerland, north Italy and a tiny speck of eastern Belgium. The language is fairly recognisable if you read it aloud. The umlaut appears regularly in German: ä, ü and ö. If you see the letter ß you are in Germany of Austria, not Switzerland which uses ‘ss’ in place of ß.
Hanover street signs have this style. Note the metal ring around the sign which helps distinguish it from Berlin signs.
Cologne poles have silver street signs as pictured on the left. Street signs plastered on Cologne buildings are blue, like those on the right.
Bremen has near identical street signs to Cologne.
Munich street signs feature a blue background with white lettering and dark, almost square corner sections.
Dortmund signs have this style which is similar to the Munich style.
Leipzig has similar signs to Munich and Dortmund.
Hamburg street signs feature a metal ring around the blue sign.
Frankfurt street signs are blue with a thick, silver metal ring around the outside.
Nuremberg street signs are black withe white lettering. They also feature the metal outer ring.
Essen has blue street signs with a thick, silver border.
Dusseldorf has dark street signs with a white, metal ring around them.
Stuttgart has dark signs with white lettering.
Dresden has fairly plain looking street signs. This same style of sign will also often appear on a building.
Bonn street signs have a white background and thick, white outer section.
Mannheim street signs typically appear on buildings, not on poles. They feature the blue background and white lettering.
The reflectors on the front of Austrian bollards are often a blackish colour. Seeing this black reflector and the black hat on the bollard is one of the easiest ways to tell that you are in Austria. No other countries have both of these features on their bollards.
Some Austrian bollards have more of a bright red reflector.
The rears of Austrian bollards tend to have a light coloured rectangle. Note that some Austrian bollards, like this one, have an extra section protruding upwards from the black top.
Austrian houses often have slanted, dark-terracotta coloured roofs. The houses are often two-storey, well-maintained and are painted light colours. The houses regularly have TV satellite dishes.
The western part of Austria is more mountainous. It still has plentiful grass and rolling hills like the rest of Austria.
The main things that strike me about the Austrian landscape are the rolling hills across much of the country and the abundant green grass. I haven’t seen The Sound of Music but the same scenery features there.
In major Austrian cities, the word ‘EINBAHN’ is written on these blue signs everywhere.
The language of Austria is German. If you see the ß symbol, you are in Austria or Germany. Switzerland doesn’t use ß.
Vienna in Austria can be distinguished by its blue coloured street name signs.
Linz in Austria can be distinguished by its white coloured street name signs.
Graz in Austria has green coloured street name signs for everywhere except the very centre of the city.
These directional arrows are particularly common in the Austrian Alps. They are either red with a white arrow or yellow with a red arrow.
This wooden a-frame pole with a horizontal bar can often be found in Austria. It is not the most common pole (about 10% of poles are this) however it is unique to Austria.
The Swiss landscape often resembles the Austrian landscape. Almost the entire Switzerland is hilly and mountainous. If I see central European mountains in GeoGuessr, my default guess is Switzerland.
Tall mountains are a common fixture in Switzerland. The houses in Switzerland are often wooden and multi-storey with terracotta-coloured slanting roofs.
Switzerland and Japan are the only two countries in the world to have their images captured by the low Street View camera. This means that you will feel lower to the ground in Switzerland than other countries. Sri Lanka and Taiwan also occasionally have low camera imagery.
Due to the low camera on the Street View car in Switzerland, if you can see the outline of the car, it will appear wider than normal.
Switzerland is one of the rare European countries that lack the blue vertical stripe of Europe on their license plates. Front Swiss license plates are typically less elongated than the rest of Europe.
Swiss rear license plates are typically much more elongated than the front plates. They appear white but a hard-to-see red patch may be vaguely visible on the left side, right side or both.
A number of cars in Switzerland have these ‘CH’ stickers on their rear. CH stands for ‘Confoederatio Helvetica’ which are the Latin words for ‘Swiss Federation’.
Swiss bollards are often this curved-cylindrical shape. This is the front of the bollard.
The back of the most common type of Swiss bollard.
Switzerland are known for their high number of window shutters. This house is so Swiss they have six pairs of them! Wooden houses are one of the more common types of Swiss houses.
A map showing where in Switzerland certain languages are spoken. The majority of the country speak German, The western part speak French, the southern areas speak Italian and smatterings in the east speak Romansh. (Source: Tschubby, Wikipedia).
The bottom of the image shows the Swiss internet suffix which is ‘.ch’.
In this image, there is a German word with ‘ss’ used as opposed to ‘ß’. The ‘ss’ is used in Switzerland whilst the ‘ß’ is used in Austria and Germany.
Poland is a flat country full of grass fields. If I see a European location with only a grass field to go by, Poland will be my first guess.
Fields on both sides of the road and a line of trees on both sides of the road are common sights in Poland.
Like some other Eastern European locations, Polish houses often have small wooden or metal fences around them. Polish flora often includes trees that are associated with relatively cold climates.
Poland is the only country in the world to have triangular warning signs that have a thin red outline and yellow filling.
Poland is one of three countries in Europe to commonly have these holes in their primary utility poles. The other two being Hungary and Romania. Polish poles are unique from Hungarian and Romanian poles as the Polish poles’ holes don’t go all the way to the ground like in Hungary and Romania.  France very occasionally has hole-poles and like Poland, the holes also stop before the ground.
In the example above showing another variant of Polish utility poles, there are two poles converging into one.
The Street View car’s aerial is visible in Poland if you pan down. The aerial may appear long, short or attached to a white section of a car. Note that recently, some generation 4 coverage was added to Poland.
Polish bollards have a red diagonal stripe wrapping around the bollard.
This is a Polish guardrail (the silver guardrail). It is a B-profile guardrail which consists of 90-degree angles and a narrow central section. In Europe, this type of guardrail is only found in Poland, Croatia, Serbia and Denmark. It is also found in some parts of Turkey, North Macedonia, Ireland and Germany.
Poland has green coloured directional signs with white lettering.
Polish pedestrian signs are the only ones in Europe to have just one horizontal line behind the person.
The Polish cities denoted by red dots end with the letters ‘…OWO’. The Polish cities denoted by blue dots end with the letters ‘…ÓW’. This information can be useful if you are trying to work out if you are in the northern or southern half of the country. (Source: Gazeta.pl).
Polish is a fairly recognisable language. The frequent letter “z’s” are a good sign you are in Poland as is the letter ł (Ł). The letters j, w and y also occur abundantly. Other letters in Polish include: ó, ż, ś, ȩ and ń.
This is what the front of Lithuanian bollards look like. These plastic bollards (that look like wood) with an orange rectangle are one of the best ways to distinguish Lithuania from the other Baltic countries (and other European countries). Latvia and Estonia both have bollards with a white rectangle on the front and white dots on the back.
This is what the back of Lithuanian bollards look like. Bollards are found every few metres on well-frequented roads in Lithuania. The Lithuanian bollards are thinner than typical plank bollards.
If you pan down in Lithuania, the Street View car’s aerial should be visible. The aerial is also visible in the other Baltic countries of Latvia and Estonia and much of Eastern Europe.
Most of the time if you pan down in the Baltic countries, you will see a very blurred car with a jagged outline. This car is also fairly common in Croatia. Other parts of Eastern Europe tend to have a more subtle blurring of the car.
Some Lithuanian roads have the rare side dashed road markings although these are a bit less common than the standard European road markings in Lithuania.
Rural Lithuanian houses often have eternit roofs (that look like corrugated iron) that are different shades of gray/silver. The roofs tend to face the road. These houses are also found across the other Baltic countries. These houses are the easiest way for me to identify the Baltic countries.
There are a number of types of utility poles used in Lithuania. They mainly have a large number of pine cone looking things pointing upwards near the top of their poles.
Another common feature of Lithuanian utility poles is to have a diagonal supporting beam.
These types of trees are sprinkled across Lithuania and this part of the world. What I think of as Soviet-style apartments are found around parts of Lithuania.
These thin, white trees are less likely to be seen in Lithuania. As you travel north to Latvia and Estonia, these trees are more common and tend to grow in larger clusters. The other trees in picture are more common in Lithuania.
Lithuania is a flat country that has lots of grassland around its roads. The houses are modest and rarely look new. The country’s landscape is a bit of a mixture of the aforementioned southern Finland and Poland.
Right across Lithuania random objects are blurred. This may be due to a glitch in the software used to take the Lithuanian Street View imagery. You will commonly see street signs, company signs, trees, parts of the pavement and other objects randomly blurred across Lithuania. This can be a good way to identify the country.
Warning signs in Lithuania have a white border outside a thinner red border. Estonia has no white outside border and the same thickness of red border as Lithuania. In contast, Latvia has a white border outside a thicker red border.
Lithuania has orange reflectors on its guardrails. Latvia has red and white reflectors whilst Estonia doesn’t have reflectors on its guardrails.
Lithuania has different looking kilometre markers to the other Baltic countries. Lithuanian markers feature two signs on the one pole, pointing to the road. Estonian markers are at right-angles to the road whilst Latvian markers are parallel with the road. Whilst most Lithuanian markers are blue, like Estonian and Latvian markers, green Lithuanian markers can occasionally be seen (like the image above). These are typically seen on the A1/E85.
Towns and cities in Lithuania commonly end in the suffix ‘ai’. This suffix is quite rare across the rest of Europe.
The Lithuanian language stands out for having ė as its 9th letter of the alphabet. Essentially this e with a dot above it is only found in Lithuanian. Lithuanian also has three letters that have what is a small ‘v’ on top of them. These are: š, ž and č. I recognise Lithuanian mainly due to the fact that many of the words end in ‘….ai’ or ‘….as’.
Latvian utility poles come in several styles but they often have the ‘pine cone’ looking things that hang upwards at different levels. In the image above, the three ‘pine cone’ looking things are at three different levels.
Latvian utility poles sometimes have the diagonal support beam.
The most common type of Latvian bollard is a thin plank with a generic white rectangle on the front.
The rear of the most common type of Latvian bollard has two white circles.
Warning signs in Latvia have a much thicker red border than those found in Estonia and Lithuania.
Like the other Baltic countries and most of Eastern Europe, the Street View car’s aerial is visible in Latvia.
Like the other Baltic countries, Latvian roofs are often eternit (they look like corrugated iron). Finding this style of house is the easiest way for me to recognise the Baltic region.
The Latvian landscape is flat and has a large amount of grass. There are many cold-climate trees scattered across Latvia. Utility poles can also often be seen across most of the country.
Latvia can often be distinguished from Estonia as Latvian unpaved roads are generally wide enough for two vehicles whilst Estonian unpaved roads are only wide enough for one.
In Latvia, the blue kilometre markers are parallel with the road (they face the road). This contrasts Estonia where they are at right-angles to the road and Lithuania where they are in an arrow shape.
If you pan down in the Baltic countries, you will often see a significantly blurred car with a jagged outline. Croatia also commonly has this car. Other parts of Eastern Europe tend to have a more subtle blurring of the car.
The most notable feature of the Latvian language is the horizontal line occurring above the vowels on certain occasions. This looks like ā, ē, ī, ō, ū. The letter s sometimes has the small ‘v’ occurring above it: š. Finally, Latvian has what looks like a comma sometimes occurring beneath ļ, ķ and ņ.
If I see an unpaved, narrow, European road in GeoGuessr, I will guess Estonia. Estonian unpaved roads are typically only one vehicle wide. Estonia can often be distinguished from Latvia as Latvian unpaved roads are normally wider- wide enough for two vehicles.
These types of thin trees are more likely to be found alongside parts of the road in the northern Baltic country of Estonia. They are less likely to be found in the southern Baltic county of Lithuania.
The sides of the Estonian roads are often more forested than Latvian and Lithuanian roads.
Estonian utility poles are more likely to resemble a crucifix. Utility poles are one of the best ways to distinguish between the Baltic countries.
Like the other Baltic countries, Estonia will on occasions have a diagonal support pole for their utility poles.
Standard Estonian bollards are cylindrical. This contrasts the narrow plank bollards of Lithuania and Latvia. The front of Estonian bollards have the white rectangle encased in the black section, similar to the Latvian bollards. Estonian bollards will on rare occasions have a yellow rectangle rather than the white rectangle.
Estonian bollards have two white circles on their rear.
Small flowers along the sides of the road are more common in Estonia than the other Baltic countries.
Estonia is recognisable from the other Baltic countries as their blue, kilometre markers are orientated at right angles to the road. This is different from Lithuanian markers (these point in an arrow shape towards the road) and Latvian markers (parallel to the road).
Most of the time, if you pan down in the Baltic countries, you will see a significantly blurred car with jagged edges. This car is also commonly visible in Croatia. Other parts of Eastern Europe tend to have a more subtle blurring of the car.
Estonian warning signs have no white border around the red border. This contrasts warning signs in Latvia and Lithuania which have a white border outside the red.
Like the other Baltic countries and much of Eastern Europe, the Street View car’s aerial should be visible if you pan down in Estonia.
Like the other Baltic countries, Estonian houses often have eternit roofs (they resemble corrugated iron) that are grey/silver in colour. Identifying this house style is the easiest way for me to work out that I’m in a Baltic country.
Estonian road lines are white and occasionally you will see the white dashes along the sides of the road.
Much of the green landscape in Estonia tends to have a subtle greenish tint that distinguishes it from Lithuania and Latvia. This green tint takes lots of practice to be able to identify.
There is often a slight blur that is noticeable in the greenery within Estonia.
The Estonian language has a similar feel to the Finnish language (both languages have a glut of double letters). Estonian is fairly distinct from Lithuanian and Latvian and it contains Õ and Ä. These other Baltic languages lack Õ and Ä. Estonian can be distinguished from Finnish as it has the unique letter Õ, something Finnish lacks.
In Czechia, these distinctive and unique blue signs with white arrows point to the nearest towns. In the above image, the arrow points behind the sign however other signs have the large, white arrow on the end of the sign. Italian town directional arrows look relatively similar to these Czechia town directional arrows.
The Czechia landscape is one of the hardest in the world to describe and identify. The Street View car went through the country at different times of the year meaning the country looks vastly different on Street View depending on where you are in the country. Additionally, parts of the country resemble Austria with rolling hills whilst other parts are flat with green or dry grass.
In general, most of Czechia is relatively flat. In contrast, Slovakia mainly consists of more hills and bigger hills than Czechia. This can be a good feature to look for when deciding between the two countries.
Small parts of Czechia had their Street View coverage taken in winter. If you see a cold, depressing scene in Europe, often with trees without leaves you are likely in Hungary or Bulgaria but if not then Czechia. The trees shown on the left of the above image often line Czechia’s roads.
In rural Czechia, you will commonly see houses that have triangular prism shaped tops. This roof tile style is also common.
This is another common type of house in Czechia. Note the similar roof tiles to the previous house.
Czechia has several types of utility poles. This is the most common type across the country (it is also found in Slovakia and other places). It features a concrete cylindrical pole, often with a vertical line down the middle of the pole (a wire) and a white box. The top of the pole has a crucifix style horizontal part.
Czech bollards have these unique fluro orange stripes in the black section of the bollard. The Slovakian bollards look the same as Czech bollards.
The back of Czech bollards have a white rectangle in the black section.
These yellow signs with black rectangles beneath them are found right across Czechia.
If you pan down in Czechia, there are a range of things you might see. One of these things is tape on the Street View car’s aerial. Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania may also have this tape.
If you pan down in Czechia, you may just see a standard aerial without tape.
Parts of Czechia will have the hard-to-see, blue Street View car visible. Some other proximate countries, including Slovakia, recently had the blue car added to some of their coverage too.  Although Slovakia’s generation 4 coverage tends to have a small antenna whilst Czechia’s doesn’t.
These guardrails which feature a wide central section (enough for 3 top sections to fit in) are only found in Europe within Czechia and Slovakia.
Street signs in Prague are red and feature the word ‘PRAHA’ which is the Czech name for the city. The word before ‘Praha’ refers to the district in Prague you are located in. in this example, we are in Bubenec. The districts of Prague appear on the map.
The Czech language is only spoken in Czechia. It has more z’s than most languages but less than Polish. Like Slovak, it has many letter p’s. It has numerous letters with symbols above the letter including: á, é, ý, č, š, ž, ě, ů and ř. To distinguish the language from Slovak, look for ř and ě. In general, the Czech language reminds me of Polish but with more marks over the letters.
This is a typical scene in a Slovakian town. It looks rather similar to the aforementioned Czechia. There is only spring coverage in Slovakia whilst Czechia only has winter and autumn coverage.
The Slovak houses can look similar to the aforementioned Czechia. Note the colour and type roof tiles that are also common in Slovakia. Many houses have skylights in Slovakia as well as satellite dishes.
The Slovakian bollards generally look the same as the Czech bollards. There are a small number of Czech bollards that are painted a completely different colour from top to toe such as blue. Additionally, some standard Slovak bollards have a black base.
The rear of the Slovakian bollards also look the same as the rear of Czechia bollards.
Utility poles in Slovakia are concrete and cylindrical. They also look the same to the aforementioned Czechia utility poles (this same pole is also found in other locations). Slovak and Czech utility poles often have extras on them such as a street light, a white box and a wire running up them.
The Street View car’s aerial is visible in Slovakia. There will sometimes be tape on the antenna in Slovakia. Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Czechia also sometimes have tape on the antenna. Slovakia also recently had some coverage taken with the blue car.
The Slovakian landscape largely consists of rolling hills. The roads are well maintained. Trees with few leaves are also a common sight across Slovakia. If you are tossing up between Czechia and Slovakia, Slovakia has more hills whilst Czechia is flatter.
These guardrails which feature a wide central section (enough for 3 top sections to fit in) are only found in Europe within Slovakia and Czechia.
Slovakia has recently gained some generation 4 coverage. This generation 4 coverage tends to have a small antenna whilst Czechia’s lacks this small antenna.
The Slovak language has more z’s than most other languages. Like Czech, the letter p also appears abundantly. Slovak contains the letters: á, é, í, ý, č, š and ž. Slovak is very similar to Czech. To distinguish the language from Czech look for ä, ľ, ĺ, ŕ, ô, dz and dž. Slovak also has more “ia” and “ie” within their words compared to Czech. In general, the Slovak language reminds me a bit of Polish but with more marks over the letters.
If you see a winding road in the hills of Europe with thick foliage very close to the road, then there is a good chance you are in Slovenia.
Forests are a common sight amongst the twisting roads of the Slovenian hills.
The Slovenian landscape often features hills or mountains in the background. Much of the country is covered by forest.
This is the front view of Slovenian bollards. They look virtually identical to Montenegro bollards. Serbia also have similar looking bollards. They also look like many Austrian bollards however Austria sometimes has a darker (blacker) reddish rectangle.
This is the rear view of Slovenian bollards- Montenegro and Austria have the same looking bollard rears too.
If you pan down in Slovenia, the Street View car’s aerial should typically be visible, like most of Eastern Europe.
Slovenian houses are typically fairly close to white (often a very light pink) in colour. They often have pronounced, triangular roofs. Roofs are commonly brown or terracotta coloured.
This is the other popular shape of Slovenian roof. This terracotta colour is a popular roof colour in Slovenia as is brown. There are a high number of two-storey houses across Slovenia.
Yellow and black coloured signs are used for several purposes across Slovenia, including indicating the direction of towns. These look similar to the Croatian signs.
A high percentage (the majority) of Slovenian signs have a yellow sticker on the back of them. The sticker is sometimes white.
Slovenian utility poles come in many forms. This plain looking pole is one of the more common Slovenian utility poles.
Most Slovenian towns and cities have a large number of stand-alone street lights.
This is a Slovenian kilometre marker which also houses information about the road number- in this case road number 439.
The Slovenian language stands out to me as it has an abundance of the letter ‘j’. If you remember the capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana (containing two j’s) then this may help you remember the j and Slovenia link. Slovenian also has the three letters with the small ‘v’ over them: ž, š and č.
Hungary can look quite different on Street View, depending on when the coverage was taken and depending on the region of Hungary. Most of Hungary is flat. There are often grass fields or crop fields around. The country has many small villages and parts of Hungary have lots of foliage.
The Street View car drove through parts of Hungary during winter. As a result, you will often see a bleak, wintery scene in Hungary with trees without leaves and sometimes snow. Along with Hungary, there are two other European countries that can have similar wintery, bleak imagery- Bulgaria and sometimes Czechia.
This type of utility pole, with holes in the middle, is often found in Hungary. Within Europe, Poland and Romania also have these poles (they also rarely appear in France). Romania’s poles can sometimes be distinguished as they often have yellow marks on the poles (be warned that Hungarian poles can also have these yellow marks too). Hungarian and Romanian poles have the holes extending all the way to the ground whilst Polish poles have holes that stop 50cm before the ground. Romanian utility poles are thicker and wider than Hungarian utility poles.
This is the front view of Hungarian bollards. Bulgaria, Croatia and North Macedonia have virtually identical bollards front and back. Serbia have two types of bollards. One type is similar to these Hungarian bollards although Serbia has the red rectangle to one side.
This is what the back of Hungarian bollards look like.
There are a number of different utility poles used in Hungary. Plain looking wooden logs are common and sometimes there will be a secondary, diagonal, supporting log.
Hungary has plenty of these unique looking fire hydrants throughout the country.
Single storey houses are more common in Hungary. These houses have lower roofs than many of the previous countries that have been covered. Hungarian houses are often a light colour such as pink. The standard roofs are a pink/red/terracotta colour. The roofs are less likely to be like a triangular half-open book than the previously mentioned countries. The roof edge elevations tend to meet together at a few common points on top.
UTCA is Hungarian for street. Many street signs in Hungary will display this word.
The Street View car’s aerial is typically visible when you pan down in Hungary across almost the entire country. Sometimes there will be tape on the antenna in Hungary. Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania and Czechia may also have this tape.
Some commercial vehicles in Hungary (such as taxis and some trucks) have yellow license plates. Regular Hungarian vehicles have the standard European plates.
It is common for towns in Hungary to have the first part of their name named after the lakes, rivers or counties of Hungary that they are situated. In the above snapshot example, we can see six towns situated on Lake Balaton whose names all begin ‘Balaton’. Many town names in Hungary that are situated on the Danube begin ‘Duna’. Towns on the Tisza River begin ‘Tisza’. Towns in the counties of Zala, Somogy and Bihar amongst others also often begin with their counties name.
Hungarian road numbers are grouped together based on the first digit of the road number. The above map shows where the first digit of Hungarian road numbers are located. As an example, if you see a road beginning with ‘4’ you know to look in the east of Hungary. (Image source: Hann Andras).
The Hungarian language stands out for having marks over the vowels. These are one or two lines and look a bit like apostrophes. The letters ő and ű (both with double italic lines) are unique to Hungarian.
Croatia is a country with a diverse landscape. Large parts of the country have a very Mediterranean feel and other parts of the country are mountainous. Overall, the country is very undulating. The Croatian flora tends to be lower and bushier than many of the aforementioned countries. Parts of Croatia have generation 2 camera images.
Houses in inland Croatia tend to come in more of a range of colours and styles than many of the previously mentioned countries. The roofs’ colours tend to be shades of terracotta with more of a range of these colours than some other countries. Croatian houses are commonly two-storey.
Large chunks of Croatia had their Street View coverage taken in autumn. As a result, it’s common to see red and orange leaves in Croatia.
Some of the time in Croatia, you will see a significantly blurred car if you pan down. The blurred car generally has a pointy outline. In this part of Europe, Bulgaria occasionally has the same car. The Baltic States also commonly have a similar car. Other parts of Eastern Europe tend to have a more subtle blurring of the car.
Croatia recently gained a reasonable portion of generation 4 coverage that features a subtle blue car.
Croatian license plates are unique in Europe. Before 2016, Croatia had purely white license plates. In 2016 they adopted European style plates with the left, blue stripe. As Street View coverage in Croatia is not up-to-date, you will see predominantly white plates in Croatia. This is one of the best ways to distinguish the country.
Signs in Croatia that have a red outline have a subtle white edge.
Croatian utility poles come in a range of styles. The more common poles are cylindrical in shape and narrower near the top.
Croatia have these bollards featuring a front with a black strip encasing a red, rectangle. Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Hungary have the same looking bollards.
Croatian bollards tend to have a white rectangle in the black section. This is the same as Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Hungary.
These narrow and distinctive looking blue fire hydrants are a common sight throughout Croatia.
If you get flat landscape and winter coverage in Croatia, you should be in the far-eastern Croatian region of Slavonia (this area is shown on the below map).
The purple part of this map shows the Croatian region of Slavonia. In this part of Croatia, there is winter coverage and a flat landscape.
Many Croatian cars have the ‘HR’ sticker on their rear.
Croatian street signs are blue in colour with white lettering. ULICA means street in Croatian (and some other languages).
Croatian house numbers tend to be white with a blue backing. These are commonly found on the houses themself.
Croatian directional signs are normally yellow and black coloured. These look similar to the Slovenian signs. Croatia’s large directional signs are green with white lettering.
This is a Croatian guardrail. It is a B-profile guardrail which consists of 90-degree angles and a narrow central section. In Europe, this type of guardrail is only found in Croatia, Serbia, Poland and Denmark. It is also found in some parts of Turkey, North Macedonia, Ireland and Germany.
The Street View car’s aerial is visible in Croatia if you pan down like much of Eastern Europe.
Croatian is spoken in Croatia as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. This latter country has only a very small amount of Street View. Croatian has the small ‘v’ over z, s and c as well as the apostrophe looking line over c. There are a high occurrence of j, z and i in Croatian.
Albania’s most common license plate has one blue vertical stripe on each side of the license plate. Italy also has these plates. Italy can be distinguished from Albania as it seldom has the Street View car’s aerial as visible. Albania’s aerial is visible.
After the two blue stripes plates, Albania’s second most common license plate has a red vertical stripe on the left.
Old model Mercedes cars are found abundantly in Albania.
Parts of Albania have the rift in the sky if you pan up. Montenegro is the only other European country that can have a rift.
Albanian utility poles vary but their most common poles have a crucifix style horizontal part near the top of the pole. They also tend to have several pine cone shape bulbs pointing upwards.
Albania has the same looking bollards at Italy featuring a red rectangle in the black section of the bollard that extends to the top. Bollards are fairly rare to see in Albania compared to Italy.
Albanian bollards have a white rectangle on their rear and have the same look as Italian bollards.
Black and white corner signs are a common sight in Albania.
Another one of the easiest ways to recognise Albania is via the plethora of water heaters on houses.
Half-finished houses are another common sight in Albania. Although the houses are multi-storey, they are typically run-down and look unfinished and lack windows or are missing bricks.
Almost all of Albania is hilly or mountainous. The mountains are often fairly rocky. The main roads such as the one pictured are well-maintained however most Albanian roads are poorly-maintained.
Minor Albanian roads are often poorly-maintained. The country is green and hilly. Note the water heaters on the houses.
The Street View car’s aerial is visible in Albania, like much of Eastern Europe.
The Albanian language stands out for having lots of q, j and k letters. It also has the rare ç as well as ë. In general, the Albanian language reminds me most of Turkey.
Greek has these warning signs featuring a thick red outline and yellow colouring. In Europe, only Finland, Sweden, Iceland, and North Macedonia have the same looking warning signs. Poland has similar looking signs with a thinner red border
There are unique looking bins in Greece. They contain location information on them which can prove most useful on the Greek islands.
Many Greek roads feature a double white line in the centre. This is rare in Europe.
Greece mainly has the typical European plates with the blue stripe on the left but is also features a portion of narrow license plates that are just white.
There is sand along the sides of the road in some parts of Greece.
Olive trees are everywhere in Greece. Virtually the whole country is hilly or mountainous.
Much of Greece looks bright and there is often a blue sky visible. There are many bushes is Greece and low flora and few tall trees. The generation 2 camera is used across large parts of the country producing bright colours, a circular blur beneath the Street View car and a halo around the sun.
Greek houses are usually white or light coloured. They typically all share the same shade of terracotta as their roof colour. Like Albania, Greece has some water heaters on the roofs of their houses.
Greek signs feature letters from the Greek alphabet written on top of the equivalent Latin letters. These blue and white directional signs are common throughout Greece.
The Greek language is fairly well known because of the Greek alphabet. It is important not to confuse the letters with Cyrillic which can look similar.
Bollards are fairly rare in Greece. The front of Greek bollards have a thick red rectangle.
This is what the back of Greek bollards look like.
In Crete, you will often see this antenna, which has a thick end.
The capital letters in the Greek Alphabet. Σ, Π and Λ are three of the more common non-Latin letters. (Source: medium.com)
Romania has a glut of these concrete utility poles with holes. Hungary and Poland also have these poles. France has some similar utility poles but they are much rarer. Romania’s poles stand out as they often have a yellow mark (Hungarian poles on occasions also have a yellow mark). This is one of the easiest ways to identify Romania. Romanian and Hungarian utility poles have holes that extend all the way to the ground whilst Polish utility poles have holes that stop 50cm before the ground. Romanian utility poles are thicker and wider than Hungarian utility poles.
This secondary type of Romanian utility pole also has the recognisable yellow mark.
A large number of Romanian utility poles are painted with a white base.
A Romanian roadside marker. This holds information about the road number and distance to the nearest towns. These are another useful way to identify Romania. These can come in other colours such as blue and white. The ‘24C’ in the image indicates the road number and the distance to the nearest towns is written on the marker.
Romania tends to have marginally thicker road lines than the countries nearby it. This can be a great way to identify Romania.
Romanian roads are indicated by these distinctive red shields.
Fields of corn are common in Romania.
Unpaved roads that consist of gravel or dirt are a very common sight in Romania.
Small Romanian towns often have houses with pyramid shaped roofs. The houses are commonly separated from the footpath by metal fences.
Although they are rarely found in smaller towns, high-rise apartment buildings that look like one another are common in Romanian cities.
Looking at roofs is one of the best ways to region guess in Romania. In the north and west parts of Romania, virtually every house roof you see will be tiled.
In the south and east parts of Romania, you will see an assortment of different types of house roofs. Some of these will be tiled, while some won’t be.
The Romanian landscape is often dry. The roads are typically poorly maintained. There is a mixture of flat land and hilly land in Romania. Much of the country has a blue sky in the Street View coverage.
The southern section of Romania largely consists of agricultural land.
Certain types of Romanian signs have a yellow edge including Romanian pedestrian signs.
Dacia Sandero cars are found across much of Romania (as well as Spain and Bulgaria).
The Street View car’s aerial should typically be visible in Romania. Sometimes the aerial will have tape attached to it. Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia may also have tape on the antenna.
These gray and white striped poles hold up most of the signs in the south-east Romanian Constanta Country (this country is shown on the below map).
The location of Constanta Country in Romania where gray and white striped poles hold up most of the signs. (Image source: TUBS, Wikipedia).
The Romanian language stands out to me as the letters s and t can have a squiggle beneath them: ş and ƫ. Romanian also has ă and ȃ.
In most of Montenegro you will see a rift in the sky if you pan up. The only other place in Europe to have a rift visible is Albania although it is less common in Albania.
Most of Montenegro has the rift visible if you pan up. Generally, if you are in the red oval, you won’t see the rift in Montenegro. Across the rest of the country you should see the rift.
Almost all of Montenegro is undulating. The country is rather mountainous.
Bollards in Montenegro look similar to Slovenian, Serbian and some Austrian bollards.
This is what the rear of Montenegro’s bollards looks like.
Most plates in Montenegro look like standard European plates however Montenegro’s plates often have a red section just to the left of the centre. The right side of the plate may also appear darker.
Most road signs have a white outline in Montenegro.
Montenegro’s directional road signs are often yellow with black lettering.
Montenegro also has many brown signs with white lettering. Note the corrugated style on the back of the sign below the brown sign. This is a common rear texture of Montenegro’s larger signs.
Montenegrin houses tend to come in a range of styles and colours. They most commonly have the terracotta coloured roofs.
The Street View car’s aerial is visible in Montenegro like much of Eastern Europe.
Although Montenegro has Cyrillic and Latin letters on the GeoGuessr map, you will rarely see Cyrillic in Montenegro. If you do, the Cyrillic letters С́ and З́ are unique to Montenegrin Cyrillic. Latin Montenegrin (which you should see on signs has the small ‘v’ or apostrophe looking symbol over three letters- Č, Š and Ž. Three additional Latin Montenegrin letters are: Ć, Ś, and Ź.
One of the easiest ways to identify Serbia is via something it lacks- almost all of the time in Serbia, if you pan down you won’t see an aerial. This contrasts most of Eastern Europe where an aerial is visible. There are some exceptions. On major Serbian roads, an aerial is visible as well as small parts of its capital, Belgrade. As well as Serbia, North Macedonia also commonly lacks on aerial.
Serbian homes are another great way to recognise the country. They often look like cottages and are typically fairly run-down. They often also have square-prism shaped chimneys.
Serbia is a fairly poor country. The roads and houses are often run down. Serbian towns regularly have narrow roads.
This is the main type of Serbian bollard. It resembles the bollards of a number of other countries but is distinctly different. The red, rectangle is always to one side- not in the centre.
This is the rarer version of Serbian bollards. Note that the red rectangle is also to one side. The rear of the bollard has a white rectangle. Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary and North Macedonia have the same looking bollards but instead have the red rectangle centred.
Corn fields are a common sight in Serbia.
Serbia has quite a varied landscape. Parts of the country are hilly and green whilst other areas appear flat and dry.
Old-fashioned cars of the style pictured are a common sight in Serbia.
Serbian signs are often yellow with black lettering. They can feature Latin lettering, Cyrillic or both.
The backs of large Serbian signs have this corrugated style.
Smaller Serbian signs often have a visible white outline.
On some corners in Serbia, you will see these distinctive black and white, long signs.
This is a Serbian guardrail. It is a B-profile guardrail which consists of 90-degree angles and a narrow central section. In Europe, this type of guardrail is only found in Serbia, Croatia, Poland and Denmark. It is also found in some parts of Turkey, North Macedonia, Ireland and Germany.
The internet suffix ‘.rs’ is used in Serbia. This is one of the rare non-intuitive internet suffixes in the world and means Republic of Serbia.
The Serbian written language situation can be confusing. Some signs have Latin, other signs have Cyrillic and other signs have both. This sign has Cyrillic. Serbian Cyrillic can be recognised thanks to two unique letters to the language that looks like a lowercase ‘h’ with a horizontal line on top. These are Ћ and Ђ.
Serbian Latin has Č, Ć, Š and Ž.
North Macedonian Street View coverage is fairly sparse. It centres around Skopje, the larger North Macedonian cities and the main roads connecting these cities (which are well maintained). Very few small towns are featured.
One of the best ways to identify North Macedonia is via its warning signs. They have a thick red edge and yellow filling. Only Greece, Iceland, Sweden and Finland use the same warning signs in Europe. Poland uses similar signs with a thinner red outline.
Unlike most of Eastern Europe, the North Macedonian car’s aerial shouldn’t be visible if you pan down. This is arguably the easiest way to identify North Macedonia. Within Eastern Europe, Serbia also typically lacks the aerial.
Virtually the entire North Macedonia is hilly. The foliage is green in North Macedonia and some semblance of dirt is often visible.
North Macedonian bollards have the common design featuring a red rectangle within a black strip. Hungary, Bulgaria and Croatia have the same bollards whilst Serbia can have similar bollards with the red rectangle to one side.
The rear of North Macedonian bollards has the white rectangle within the black section. This is the same rear as the countries in the image above this one.
North Macedonia has a mixture of some cars with the standard European license plate and other cars with the rare white, elongated plates.
Houses in North Macedonia mainly have terracotta tiled roofs and multiple chimneys. They are often two-storey and occasionally you will see houses with a curved front element; for example, the house on the left has front windows that curve outwards.
North Macedonia has a mix of concrete and wooden utility poles. They are both cylindrical in shape. Some utility poles will have this style of street light hanging off of them.
North Macedonian directional signs are yellow with black lettering. Note the Cyrillic town name on top and the Latin translation beneath.
Many small, North Macedonian signs have a black rear.
Large signs in North Macedonia have a corrugated rear.
There are large, dark blotches on the imagery in the far eastern part of North Macedonia as well as the area around the eastern North Macedonian city of Kochani.
As well as the coverage connecting the main cities, only 8 North Macedonian main cities are covered by Street View coverage. Of these 8 cities, Skopje, Bitola and Tetova had coverage taken in autumn. The remaining 5 cities: Veles, Kumanova, Strumica, Ohrid and Prilep had coverage taken in summer. Note the autumn leaves in this image, meaning we have to be in Skopje, Bitola or Tetova.
Macedonia uses both Cyrillic and Latin letters. Ќ, Ѓ and Ѕ are three Cyrillic letters that are unique to the Macedonian language. The Latin writing in Macedonia contains letters such as š, č and è.
It’s a common sight in Bulgaria to see trees without leaves lining the side of the road. Similar bleak, winter scenery is found in Hungary and parts of Czechia. Bulgaria tends to have more of this bleak scenery than these other two countries.
Some of the larger Bulgarian cities have partial generation 4 coverage and Sofia almost exclusively has generation 4 coverage (generation 4 coverage in Bulgaria was taken in spring/summer). Other countries that use Cyrillic don’t have generation 4 coverage. The generation 4 coverage is easy to determine because the blue car visible.
Some parts of Bulgaria have rolling hills and trees with green leaves.
Bulgarian roads are arguably the worst maintained in Europe. Most roads have many cracks and holes.
These Eiffel Tower-like structures appear throughout Bulgaria.
Bulgarian houses feature roofs that aren’t very steep. The roofs also tend to be the same shade of terracotta. Bulgarian houses are predominantly light coloured or have a brick exterior. The houses are often run-down.
This style of old-fashioned car is a regular occurrence throughout Bulgaria. Dacia Sandero are a brand of popular Bulgarian cars.
You will commonly see metal bins like these in Bulgaria. This style of bin is often seen in other parts of Eastern Europe but these bins seem to be most prevalent in Bulgaria.
The Street View car’s aerial is typically visible in Bulgaria. Sometimes it will have tape on the end of it. Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Czechia may also have tape on the aerial.
Bulgarian signs are written in Cyrillic and Latin. They will be blue and green in colour.
Bulgaria predominantly uses Cyrillic. There are no distinguishing Cyrillic letters unique to Bulgarian Cyrillic.
Across almost the entire Ukraine, you will see the ghostly, red Street View car if you pan down in Ukraine. Sometimes just the front of the car will appear red. This is one of the easiest ways to identify Ukraine. This red car is very rare elsewhere in the world (it is occasionally seen in Belgium). Sometimes the car will have only the slightest tinge of red.
Sometimes in Ukraine, there will be a long aerial visible as well as the red of the Street View car. On occasions, you will see the long aerial and struggle to notice any red.
This map shows the distribution of the type of Google Street View car found across Ukraine. Most relevant in this map are the blue dots that stretch from Kiev south to Odesa. These dots represent the Street View car in Ukraine that has no colour and a short antenna. In other words, if you know you are in Ukraine and see just a short antenna when you pan down, you must be between Kiev and Odesa. (Thanks to whomever created this map!)
Many Ukrainian utility poles have their base section painted white.
Many Ukrainian trees also have the base of their trunk painted white.
Ukraine often has a row of trees on each side of the road. The country is flat and typically green. Ukrainian roads are some of the worst maintained in Europe.
There are a few ways to help distinguish Ukrainian roads from Russian roads. Ukrainian roads often have a subtle purple/pink tinge to them. Russian roads lack this. Ukrainian roads also tend to be of a worse quality than Russian roads, including commonly have pot holes.
These old-fashioned ‘Lada’ cars are abundant throughout Ukraine (and Russia).
Most of the time, you can identify Ukraine via its license plates. If you look carefully, Ukraine has yellow in the bottom left corner of the plate. There is also blue above this- in the top left corner of the plate.
Public transport in the Ukraine has yellow license plates.
Rural Ukrainian houses come in a range of styles. Those houses pictured, with a triangular prism roof, small window upstairs and made of wood are common in Ukraine.
This is the most common type of Ukrainian bollard. It has a red rectangle that is wider than the rectangles of Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia and North Macedonia. Ukrainian bollards look like Russian bollards however Russian bollards are attached to a narrow support pole. Ukrainian bollards are typically run-down with the rectangle often damaged.
Often in Ukraine, random things are painted in the colours of their flag- blue and yellow.
Ukraine has a large number of Soviet-style apartment buildings in cities and larger towns.
Ukrainian directional signs are blue with white lettering. The signs will generally have Cyrillic on top and the Latin equivalent below or just Cyrillic.
Sometimes in Ukraine there will be black and white sections painted on the side of the road or on guardrails.
In the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih (as seen on the below map), many utility poles have a red, horizontal stripe around one metre from their base.
The location of Kryvyi Rih, which has utility poles with a red, horizontal stripe around one metre from their base.
Ukrainian Cyrillic stands out as it contains the letter ‘i’ (І) whereas this letter doesn’t occur in other Cyrillic writing countries. Ukrainian Cyrillic also contains thee more unique letters that only occur in their writing system: ґ, є and ї.
Russian Street View coverage mainly encompasses western Russia however also includes various towns and their connector roads right across the country to Vladivostok. A few more remote corners of the country are also covered in isolation.
In Russia, the most common Street View car is a ghostly black with a long antenna.
Gravel and dirt roads are common for minor roads in Russia. Russian roads are often poorly maintained and full of cracks. The more major Russian roads are often better maintained.
One of the best ways to identify Russia is via its license plates. Russian plates are elongated and completely white- a rarity in Europe.
Like Ukraine, Russia often paints the lower part of their tree trunks white.
This is a Russian bollard. Russian bollards often have a unique feature- a narrow support pole on one side of them. This makes them unique from Ukrainian bollards.
Russian bollards are primarily found at intersections.
Russia has a range of house styles. One of the more common are wooden houses that have triangular-prism shaped roofs. Wooden fences are also common around Russian houses.
Soviet-style apartment blocks are common in larger Russian towns and Russian cities.
These large pipes that pass over roads tend to be clustered around central Russia. They can also be found in Ukraine
Like in Ukraine, Russia often has their guardrails and some curbs painted in alternating black and white colours.
Russian intersections are typically very wide.
These are Russian kilometre poles. They tell you how far you have travelled on a highway, the other side of the sign which you have to turn around to see once you’ve passed it tells you how far you have left on the highway.
Like in Ukraine, Russia has a large number of old-fashioned Lada cars.
In Eastern Russia, most cars have their steering wheel on the right-hand side of the car. This contrasts western Russia (and almost all of Europe) where the steering wheels are on the left of the car.
Russian directional signs are blue with white lettering. They most commonly have just the Cyrillic words. Sometimes they have both Latin and Cyrillic.
The GeoGuessr map displays Russian house numbers. This can make pinpointing slightly easier.
Like in Ukraine, Russian public transport has yellow license plates.
This is a basic map showing the general regions of Russian phone number prefixes. A more detailed map appears below.
In the above example, the digits 863 are the first (and only in this case) digits in the brackets. 863 correlates to the area around Rostov-on-Don on the above map.
In Eastern Russia you will sometimes see the white car as opposed to the more common Russian black car.
Ulyanovsk Oblast in Russia (just west of the city of Samara) has these red and white bases to many of its poles.
Across approximately one-third of Russia, there will be a red tinge at the centre-front of the Street View car. The map below indicates where this red tinge can be seen.
This map shows where the red tinge (that is visible at the front-centre of the Street View car) is visible in Russia. (I don’t know who created this map, but thank you whoever you are!)
This map shows the season that generation 4 coverage was taken across Russia. If you see other generation coverage in Russia, it is not relevant to this map, just generation 4 coverage is relevant. The important take away from this map is that winter and spring generation 4 coverage was taken in the blue area in Russia’s south-west (so you will see bleak coverage and often trees without leaves). In contrast, summer generation 4 coverage was taken in the green area across essentially the bulk of the remainder of Russia.
Large, green fields are common in Russia in the area near the Ukrainian border.
The eastern half of Russia contains many of these trees. They have a thin trunk, are relatively short and have pine needles. They are often found in large groups and can be a great way to work out if you are in eastern Russia.
The north-western part of Russia looks like Finland and features thick coverings of birch trees.
East of the Ural Mountains, you will often find a dense covering of these trees or swampy grassland.
The eastern island of Sakhalin commonly has dirt roads and dense forests.
As well as Northern Japan, this cabbage is abundant on Sakhalin.
The southern parts of Russia near Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia are void of trees.
Deep south-western Russia commonly has a blue sky (a rarity in Russia) as well as landscapes resembling southern and Eastern Europe.
The Eastern Russian city of Magadan has distinctive hills surrounding the city. Hills tend to be rather rare in Russia.
if you see sand in Russia, you should be around Surgut, near the Ob River (western Siberia).
The oblast of Kaliningrad (the central European section of Russia) has autumn coverage. Also in Kaliningrad, you will find seemingly random parts of the world around you blurred out- like Lithuania.
The topography of Russia. Note that most of Russia is flat and that the Urals are relatively tiny. (Image source: mappdoutofficial)
This map shows the tree distributions across Russia. Learning this map is one of the best ways to score well in Russia. Note that larch trees (light brown on the map) are found across the eastern half of the country. Spruce trees (dark pink on the map) are mainly found from the Finnish border south-east right down to Yekaterinburg. A larger key to the map appears below. A larger version of this map can be foundhere
A larger key for the above map of tree distributions across Russia.
A map showing the locations of the largest 15 Russian cities by population. Being aware of these city’s names is vital if you want a high score in Russia. (Source:XXXX)
Malta and a number of other European islands stand out for their small, stoned walls.
Streets in Maltese cities are narrow, often with high rise, old buildings that are the same creamish colour.
A typical Maltese scene comprises little vegetation other than grass, fields of different colours, a rock wall and everything in the landscape being close to the ground.
‘Triq’ means ‘street’ in Maltese and this word appears all over Malta on signs.
In Malta, the cars drive on the left. The only other countries within Europe that drive on the left are the U.K. and Ireland. Malta looks much more Mediterranean than these places.
A map showing Street View coverage in Oceania.
If you zoom in on the map, Australian house numbers appear. This can make pinpointing in Australian cities/towns easier.
Australian roads mainly have all white road lines.
Australia stands out thanks to Eucalyptus trees. They are typically tall with white bark.
About 1/4 cars in the state of New South Wales in Australia have yellow license plates. If a car has yellow plates they will appear on both the front and rear.
License plates in the Northern Territory generally have a reddish tinge that is just visible if you look carefully.
Under the right circumstances, Western Australian license plates are recognisable. They feature a narrow, horizontal blue band running across the top of the plate. Sometimes it will be challenging to see this blue strip.
Stobie poles are the utility poles used in the state of South Australia. These poles aren’t used outside of this state. The poles consist of steel on both sides and concrete in the centre.
The Northern Territory uses these metal utility poles with holes in them.
Outside of South Australia and the Northern Territory, the rest of Australia typically uses wooden utility poles that are cylindrical. There are often extras on these poles that vary from pole to pole such as the horizontal, crucifix bar.
Approximately 50% of utility poles in Tasmania have these olive coloured metal wrappings around the pole, generally around 2 metres above the ground. These wrappings are often hard to see unless you zoom in as they are a similar colour to the utility pole. These olive colouered wrappings aren’t seen outside of Tasmania. New Zealand has a silver coloured metal wrapping.
In the Greater Brisbane area- generally between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, you will often see utility poles with a sloppily painted black section.
If you see these coils on the ends of the top of a pole, you are in the state of Victoria. The coil doesn’t always appear on the vertical pole like in the above image. These coil poles aren’t everywhere in Victoria however if you see them, you know you are in Victoria.
In Canberra, you will often see utility poles with a short, crucifix-style horizontal bar.
‘C’ roads are found in the Australian states of Tasmania and Victoria.
Australia normally has white coloured street signs.
In general, Australia is very flat. If you see rolling hills, they you are most likely in Tasmania or Victoria.
Approximately 90% of Tasmania’s coverage is generation 2 coverage. This means you should see the circular blur if you pan down, a halo around the sun and imagery of an inferior quality with brighter colours. Across the Australian mainland, generation 2 coverage occurs around 20% of the time. This is mainly in remote, rural areas (often with reddish dirt) that look dissimilar to Tasmania. If I see generation 2 coverage in Australia in somewhere vaguely resembling Tasmania, I will guess Tasmania.
The first type of bollard in Australia.
The second type of Australian bollard features a red rectangle.
Rural bollards in the state of Western Australia sometimes have these brown/gray segments on their base.
The trees in Western Australia are normally lower and bushier as seen above.
The trees in the eastern states of Australia are normally taller and more sprawling as seen above.
Soil in Western Australia tends to have more of a redder colour than the remainder of Australia.
The Stuart Highway, which is the road that runs north-south through Australia, is the main section of coverage in the centre of Australia. The Stuart Highway has generation 4 coverage from Adelaide to Alice Springs (meaning you should see the blue car and as depicted by the blue line above). North of Alice Springs is all generation 1 and 3.
Curbs in the city of Perth tend to have a gradual decline to the ground (or have a very low drop- around 3cm). This contrasts standard curbs across the other major Australian cities which have curbs that slant at 90 degrees and drop straight down for about 13cm.
Curbs in the major Australian cities other than Perth tend to have curbs that drop straight down to the road (around 13cm straight down)- these are pictured. Curbs in Perth generally have a gradual decline or are very low (around 3cm).
Australian speed limit signs appear on a white rectangle. This contrasts New Zealand speed limit signs which appear as a circular cut-out. South Australian and Western Australian speed limit signs (and often other signs) appear on rectangular prism shaped poles with holes running up them. The Western Australian poles are yellow, as pictured above this picture.
In contrast to Western Australian and South Australian speed limit sign poles being rectangular prisms and having holes running down them, speed limit signs elsewhere in Australia are mounted on cylindrical poles without holes.
Australian ‘GIVE WAY’ signs are written in black writing. In contrast, New Zealand ‘GIVE WAY’ signs are written in red writing. Additionally, New Zealand has a triangle printed on the road approaching ‘GIVE WAY’ signs whilst Australian roads are bare.
Palm trees in Australia are more commonly found along the coast and in the northern half of the country.
Bungalow style houses are particularly common in the Australian suburbs.
Houses in the state of Queensland are most commonly made of horizontal pieces of wood. They are also often elevated off the ground (not necessarily as high as the house pictured).
New Zealand is typically both greener and hillier than Australia.
If you can see mountains on the horizon in New Zealand, the chances are you are on the South Island. It can be easier to pinpoint by determining the direction these mountains are in relation to you.
In general, if I see rolling hills, like this image, I will guess the NZ North Island. If I see flat and/or mountainous terrain, I will guess the NZ South Island.
New Zealand have unique bollards lining their highways that have a red/orange strip that stretches around the higher part of the bollard.
The red strip doesn’t quite stretch around the rear of New Zealand bollards.
New Zealand has red highway shields containing a number that are unique to their country.
New Zealand street signs are blue or green in colour. This contrasts Australia’s white street signs.
Signs in New Zealand are most commonly found on white posts and poles. This includes street name signs. This contrasts Australia where signs in general are most commonly found on metal poles.
New Zealand mainly use all white road lines. On occasions, New Zealand has some form of yellow centre line. If you see a yellow centre line, you are much more likely to be in New Zealand than Australia.
New Zealand houses are often white in colour and bungalow-style. White coloured houses are much more common in New Zealand than Australia and this can be another clue to distinguish between the two countries.
I’ve noticed a lone piece of metal (normally silver or white coloured) wrapping around most New Zealand utility poles. Tasmania has an olive coloured wrapping as opposed to the New Zealand silver coloured wrapper.
There are a number of different types of Kiwi utility poles however I most commonly see three distinct styles. The first style has an indent running vertically down it.
The second type of main Kiwi utility pole is wooden and cylindrical.
The third type of main Kiwi utility pole is concrete with large holes inside of it.
Concrete utility poles are more abundant on the North Island of New Zealand whilst wooden utility poles are more abundant on the South Island of New Zealand. This can be a good way to decide which island to pick when making your guess.
This map shows the distribution of New Zealand utility poles that have holes. As the map shows, these poles with holes are found on the North Island, with a concentration around Auckland and on the far south of the South island.
New Zealand’s speed limit signs look different to Australia’s and are circular cut-outs. In contrast, Australian speed limit signs appear on a white rectangle.
New Zealand ‘GIVE WAY’ signs are written in red writing. This contrasts Australian ‘GIVE WAY’ signs which are written in black. Additionally, New Zealand has a triangle preceding a ‘GIVE WAY’ intersection whilst Australia lacks these triangles.
The greater Christchurch region of New Zealand (around half way up the east coast of the South Island) features a large number of tall hedges that skirt the side of the road.
Dunedin has the common blue New Zealand signs with white lettering with the added orange corner.
Invercargill has the common NZ signs featuring a blue background with white lettering as well as these yellow tips on the top and bottom at the end of the sign.
Wellington has unique looking signs featuring a white background and green lettering.
Street signs in Christchurch have a white, vertical band on the end of the standard blue and white NZ signs.
Street signs in Auckland are the standard blue and white colours with a white arrow on the end of the sign. Note that this arrow can be found in some other NZ towns/smaller cities.
New Zealand sometimes has this unique looking, blue and white car.
A map showing the location of American Samoa (denoted by the red marker). American Samoa is situated just east of the International Date Line and Fiji. One of the easiest ways to find it is to locate the northern point of Australia and to scan directly east.
A map showing the coverage in American Samoa on the large island of Tutuila. It largely includes the entire southern coastline and the edge of the National park of Tutuila, located in the northern, centre of the island.
American Samoa is very hilly, very tropical and has white sand.
Parts of American Samoa feature very steep mountains that are rather conspicuous from most of the island.
A car will often be beneath you in Tutuila, American Samoa. Other locations in American Samoa feature a person holding the Street View camera.
In American Samoa, you will commonly just see the back of a black ute if you pan down.
American Samoa has blue license plates.
Cars drive on the right in American Samoa (which is rare for an island) and there is often a double yellow line in the centre of the road. The most populated island in American Samoa is Tutuila. This island features coverage along lots of roads and the island is more inhabited. The island doublet of Ofu-Olosega and the island of Ta’u feature very minimal coverage and the islands are less developed.
If you pan down in the Northern Mariana Islands, there WON’T be a bar on the back-left side of the car. This is important as there is the end of a bar in Guam. This is the best way to distinguish the Northern Mariana Islands from Guam.
If you look at the rear-left of the Guam car (right-side on the above picture), you will see a tiny bit of a bar sticking out- this distinguishes Guam from the Northern Mariana Islands.
Midway Atoll is located in the North Pacific Ocean. The easiest way to find it is to locate Hawaii and pan north-west.
The bulk of Street View coverage on Midway Atoll appears on the western located ‘Sand Island’ with a few tiny specks of Eastern Island also covered.
Midway Atoll is instantly recognisable thanks to the thousands of albatross chicks that swarm the entire area.
The only part of Midway Atoll that isn’t swarming with albatross is the airport runway.
When you pan down in Midway Atoll, you should see a circular blur thanks to the generation 2 camera that was used to capture the imagery.
Northern African Street View coverage.
The Southern part of Africa covered by Street View
For GeoGuessr purposes, if you see a car driving on the left side of the road in mainland Africa, you are south of the red line on the map. If you see a car driving on the right side of the road, then you are north of the red line. Madagascar and Reunion drive on the right.
The countries of Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho have only a white car visible if you pan down. South Africa either has a white car visible, the large circular blur caused by the generation 2 camera or occasionally a slightly blue car caused by the generation 4 camera.
In South Africa (but not Botswana, Eswatini or Lesotho) you will often see the circular blur beneath the Street View car.
South Africa is the only southern African country (including Lesotho, Eswatini and Botswana) to have used the generation 2 camera to capture Street View imagery. Large parts of South Africa were captured with this camera. If you notice the bright colours like those in this image, the circular blur beneath the Street View car or a halo around the sun, the generation 2 camera has been used. This means you are in South Africa and not Botswana, Lesotho or Eswatini.
High walls and fences around houses are a common sight in South Africa.
Like Lesotho, Eswatini and Botswana, South Africa’s most common road lines feature yellow, continuous edge lines and white centre lines. This unique combination of road lines is often one of the easiest ways to determine that you are in one of these four Southern African countries. Cars drive on the left in South Africa. Cars drive on the left in Africa everywhere south of the red line on the map at the start of this Africa section.
These are the second most common road markings in South Africa. They feature dashed white lines encased by two, white continuous lines. Often these markings occur simultaneously with the continuous yellow lines on the outer edges of the road
South African highway signs are green with white lettering (similar to the other countries in the southern part of Africa). The highway number is indicated by yellow lettering. These signs are very useful when trying to pinpoint in South Africa. You will often see them at remote intersections. South African highways start with the letters R, M or N followed by a number.
This is the warning sign used throughout Africa. It looks like the European warning signs (and the sign used in parts of Asia). This warning sign is different to the yellow diamond used throughout North and South America, New Zealand and Australia.
These narrow, red and white signs are almost like bollards in South Africa. They are very common.
Although South Africa widely uses wooden poles, the urban areas of South Africa mainly contain concrete poles, pained black on the base.
The rural South African landscape rarely features much vegetation other than grass (which often appears dry, yellow or red).
Between Eswatini and Lesotho, South Africa has a plateau. There will often be hilly lumps around you or on the horizon. The landscape tends to be greener here.
There are many dry, rocky mountains in the south-western part of South Africa.
Generally, the further north and west you travel in South Africa, the drier and more desert-like the landscape.
A map showing the topography of South Africa. Note that the mountains are mainly around the south-western edge of the country (near Cape Town) and in the north-east. (Image source: mappdoutofficial).
South African cars tend to have quite long and narrow, white license plates- both front and rear.
This map shows the 3-digit R road distribution across South Africa. If you see an R road sign in South Africa, it can take a while zooming in and out before you find it on the map. This map shows where you should look. (Image source: Thanks Reddit user Mikkybiola for this map).
Botswana’s Street view coverage is mainly limited to the A1, A2 and A3 highways which link together to create a circle. The coverage also has various roads generally leading radially away from the A1, A2 and A3 highways. The large space in the centre of the country isn’t covered.
The most common road markings in Botswana feature yellow, continuous edge lines and some form of white middle line. These line markings are also common in South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho.
In populated Botswanan areas, you will often encounter dirt/sand roads. Unpaved roads can also be seen in the more remote areas of Botswana.
The white Street View car is often visible in Botswana. It can also be visible in South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho.
Botswana typically has high quality main roads and the environment is a blend of desert and savanna. The main roads are typically of high quality and the landscape across the country is very flat.
Botswana’s sign poles have black and yellow stripes.
The most common type of bollard in Botswana is a blueish, small obelisk.
Botswana tends to use the fairly generic looking, cylindrical, wooden utility poles that are found right acros southern Africa.
Botswana’s highway signs look similar to South Africa’s. Botswana use ‘A’ for major highways and ‘B’ for smaller roads. This contrasts South Africa which most commonly uses R, N and M.
These short trees with no leaves are a common sight in parts of Botswana.
Note the short, sprawling trees now having leaves.
There are few cars in Botswana. License plates are therefore quite a rear sight. Cars in Botswana most commonly have yellow rear plates and white front plates.
This map of Botswana shows the general regions as characterised by the landscape. In the images below, an example is provided for each coloured section. (Image source: Jasper Woodard).
The orange area on the above map (the western half of Botswana): There should be some sand visible that is like the sand you see on a beach- fine granules and soft. There is also patchy grass as opposed to the entire ground being covered in grass.
The yellow area on the above map (the mid-eastern part of Botswana): The ground is fully covered with short grass. There are slightly more trees. This area is more populated than the remainder of Botswana (which is relative, as it can still seem quite lowly populated).
The dark blue section on the above map (the far north-east): This part of Botswana stands out for its long grass. The trees are also greener in colour than the remainder of Botswana.
The red area on the above map (far eastern Botswana): This area has lots of visible sand however the sand is harder, packed together and rocky. The sand resembles coarse dirt more than sand.
Eswatini is green and very hilly. It also typically has trees visible. The landscape looks partially similar to Lesotho (both are very hilly and landlocked by South Africa) however Lesotho is largely void of trees.
Like South Africa, Botswana and Lesotho, Eswatini most commonly has yellow continuous lines on the edges of its roads and a white marking in the centre.
The second most common road lines in Eswatini have the standard yellow edges and the two continuous, white, centre lines encasing a white dashed line. These road markings can also be seen in South Africa, Botswana and Lesotho.
Dirt roads are common in Eswatini.
The western part of Eswatini often features lots of taller trees packed together in close bunches.
The white Street View car is visible in Eswatini. It is also visible in Lesotho, Botswana and parts of South Africa.
Like the other southern African countries in GeoGuessr, Eswatini has warning signs featuring a red outline and white centre.
Utility poles in Eswatini are generally wooden and fairly rudimentary. They are often fairly dark in colour compared to wooden poles of other countries.
A common license plate in Eswatini features a dark blue upper section and yellow-greenish lower section.
Lesotho is green and hilly and generally lacks trees (apart from the far north of the country).
Parts of Lesotho are quite mountainous yet the area still lacks trees. Parts of the country are fairly rocky
Most of Lesotho has short grass that is typically patchy. This can help distinguish the country from Eswatini which mainly has long grass.
The most common road marking in Lesotho has yellow, continuous edge lines and some form of white middle line. This road marking combination is also abundant in South Africa, Botswana and Eswatini.
The second most common road marking in Lesotho features two continuous, white centre lines enclosing a white dashed line. These lines can also be seen in South Africa, Eswatini and Botswana.
If you pan down in Lesotho, the white Street View should be visible. The white Street View car is also visible in Botswana, Eswatini and parts of South Africa.
Many vehicles in Lesotho have white license plates with blue lettering. When they are blurred on Street View, this creates a slightly blue blur that can be recognisable.
Like the other African countries, Lesotho uses the triangular warning signs featuring a red outline and white filling.
Lesotho tends to use the wooden utility poles that are fairly generic and common throughout southern Africa.
Ugandan Street View coverage is mainly centred around Kampala and its outskirts. There are also several Ugandan National Parks covered.
In Kampala and its outskirts, where most of the Ugandan coverage is centred, the side view mirrors of the Street View car are visible as are parts of the sides of the white car.
As Uganda’s Street View coverage is centred around Kampala and its outskirts, you will rarely get featureless places in Uganda. One of the defining characteristics of Uganda is its red soil. This soil colour is also found in other parts of Africa, namely Kenya. As with some other African locations, there are signs aplenty if Uganda.
Dirt roads are common in Uganda. Ugandan roads seem to be narrower on average than Kenyan roads. The Ugandan landscape often features green, lush and tropical looking flora.
The rear license plates in Uganda are yellow. Sometimes the rear plates will appear more elongated that the above image. Ugandan front and back plates look the same as Kenyan front and back plates.
The front license plates in Uganda are white.
Ugandan Street View coverage mainly focuses around Kampala and its outskirts. There is also coverage in some of their National Parks. If you pan down in a Ugandan National Park, you should see a circular blur and sometimes the very front of the Street View car.
Ugandan National parks have dirt roads. The landscape often consists of patchy grass and scattered flora.
Uganda uses fairly generic wooden utility poles. The poles do have one uniqueness- the powerlines are often connected to the pole on three levels.
In Uganda you may see this man holding a gun whilst following the Street View car. This scene has appeared a number of times for me in Battle Royale.
In October 2022, Kenyan Street View coverage was updated, meaning that the coverage now extends north and the central and western parts of the country now have denser coverage.
Kenya often has the bars of the Street View car visible.
If the bars are visible, a black ‘snorkel’ protrusion can be seen coming from the Street View car in Kenya- see the top left of the image. Seeing this ‘snorkel’ is one of the easiest ways to recognise Kenya.
This map shows the colour of the Kenyan street view car across Kenya. The black lines on the map indicate where the black street view car is found- this is mainly stretching from Nairobi to Mombasa as well as from Nairobi up north to Marsabit. The black car is also found on the north-western outskirts of Nairobi. The silver street view car (as denoted by the gray lines on the map) is concentrated across the west of the country (it’s in every point west of Nairobi). It’s also found in parts of Nairobi and small sections slightly east of Nairobi. Note: Kenya got new coverage in October of 2022 so the Kenyan coverage is now more vast than the above map. (Map Source: Tall Impala).
There is now a new vehicle that is visible beneath you in parts of Kenya. This vehicle is a light-silver coloured truck. The truck can appear with the snorkel and antenna (as above), with just the snorkel, just the antenna (or sometimes two antenna) or neither the snorkel or antenna.
If you notice lots of yellow tape on the left hand side of the car, then you should be in central Kenya (stretching from around Nairobi to the north). This tape isn’t found in eastern or western Kenya. It’s important to note that most of central Kenya doesn’t have this tape so if you don’t see the tape, it isn’t useful in working out where you are.
Some of the time in Kenya, you will see this silver 4-wheel drive following you. It is an escort car and may appear up to 100 metres behind you. Nigeria and Tunisia also have escort cars.
The Kenyan landscape can be quite varied. Some parts of the country are quite hilly. The distinctive reddish dirt can be found in Kenya but often there is a more subtle dirt colour. The foliage in Kenya can range from dense and tropical to empty grasslands.
The further west and south you travel in Kenya, the more green the vegetation becomes. The one caveat to this is that the Kenyan coastal vegetation in the far-east is also green.
The further north and east you travel in Kenya, the drier the landscape. Once again, the exception is the Kenyan coastal region which is green and lush.
The northern parts of Kenya are desert.
If you see these three black orbs on the camera, you are on the A3 road. This is the major road that runs from just outside Nairobi to the north-east of the country.
Kenyan roads are often wider than those in Uganda. The urban parts of Kenya regularly have people on the street or the footpath. Kenyan shops will often have their address displayed on them.
The Kenyan dirt isn’t always the distinctive red colour. Often it is more of a faded brown colour.
Kenyan roads often have white continuous lines on the edges and soft yellow lines in the middle. This central line can be continuous or comprising of dashes.
Many rear license plates in Kenya are yellow. Kenyan plates also tend to be squarer than other yellow licence plates around the world (excluding Uganda).
Kenyan front license plates are white. Kenya has the same combination of plates as Uganda.
Some Kenyan signs are held up by black and white striped poles.
Kenya mainly uses the fairly generic cylindrical, wooden utility poles.
This map shows virtually all of the current Rwandan Street View coverage. The coverage is essentially the northern half of the Rwandan capital of Kigali.
When you pan down in Rwanda, you will see this unique-looking, black car.
The paved roads in Rwanda typically feature a yellow centre line and white side lines. These lines are often faded. The paved road quality in Rwanda is fairly high.
There is also a high proportion of unpaved roads in Rwanda.
The paved roads in Rwanda often have these black and white sidewalk edges.
Vehicles in Rwanda have yellow rear license plate and white front license plates. Note that vehicles drive on the right side of the road in Rwanda. This can help distinguish the country from Kenya and Uganda who drive on the left.
High walls are common around most properties in Kigali. This is a great way to distinguish Rwanda from other African countries.
This image shows an example of a typical Kigali landscape. The entire city is undulating, with roads that are seldom straight and always curved. If the road is paved, it will be smooth. There are often people around and motorbikes. There are high walls around the properties.
Utility poles in Rwanda almost always come as either concrete square shaped poles like the one pictured above, or round, wooden poles.
Signs in Kigali are often written in both English and Kinyarwanda.
Fortunately for GeoGuessr players, pinpointing in Rwanda is relatively easy thanks to the prevalence of clear street signs at most intersections. The northern half of Kigali (where the bulk of the coverage is) has street signs that begin with ‘KG’ followed by a number. The southern parts of Kigali (where there is very little coverage), has street signs that being with ‘KN’ or ‘KK’. In general, the lower road numbers (1 and 2-digit road numbers) in Kigali are more major roads whilst 3-digit road numbers tend to be smaller roads. By zooming in on the map, it shouldn’t take too long to find the KG street number that you are located on.
This map shows the 3 districts of Kigali- Gasabo in the north, Nyarugenge in the south-west and Kicukiro in the south-east. The second letter of the road name stands for the district. Roads beginning with KG stand for Kigali Gasabo. Roads beginning with KN stand for Kigali Nyarugenge. Roads beginning with KK stand for Kigali Kicukiro. At present, almost all Rwandan coverage is in Gasabo. (Image source:XXXX)
Ghanaian Street View coverage has its epicentres in Accra and Kumasi. A number of ‘N’ highways stretch around the country, linking up the most populous Ghanaian cities and towns. There is no Street View coverage in the centre of Ghana.
Ghana can be immediately identified as it has black tape around one of the Street View car’s visible bars.
Some cars in Ghana have elongated yellow license plates on their rear and front.
Other cars in Ghana have elongated white license plates for their rear and front.
Southern Ghana tends to be green in colour, have plentiful grass and have tropical, lush vegetation.
Northern Ghana has a drier feel which is reflected in its lack of grass and desert-like brown/reddish soil.
Ghanaian cities are a hive of activity. Bicycles and motorbikes are common, signs are plentiful and there are often people milling around. A brown/reddish dirt is a common sight across large parts of the country.
Ghanaian shops and houses often have corrugated iron roofs.
Ghana typically uses these wooden poles that have a horizontal bar with three ‘pine cone’ like protrusions pointing upwards from the bar.
In October 2022, Nigeria received new Street View coverage. There is now coverage spread across the entire country.
You are likely to see one of a number of things if you pan down in Nigeria. The first of these is some distortion of the Street View car which seems to absorb other cars nearby.
The second thing you may see if you pan down in Nigeria is the Street View car’s bars. If you see these bars in Nigeria, they will have a yellow and black pattern on them. This bar pattern is unique to Nigeria.
The third thing you may see in Nigeria if you pan down is a relatively mild blur. What makes the Nigerian blur unique is its thickness where the bars on the Street View car are. In other words, the blur will appear of normal width around the front and back of the car then bulge out under the middle of the car.
New coverage has been added to Nigeria meaning that you may see this tray behind you (typically with yellow and black striped tape around the edge although this isn’t always the case) concurrently with the large, circular blur. This is the most common meta in the newer October 2022 update meaning that you will often see this in the newly covered areas of Nigeria which includes the north of the country.
Nigerian license plates have a greenish tinge.
Different colour escort cars follow the Street View car in different parts of Nigeria. In greater Lagos, this silver 4-wheel drive is always following the Street View car. East of Ikorodu, you will also see this car. Sometimes the trailing car will be up to 200 metres away. Note that in Tunisia and Kenya, the Street View car can also be followed by an escort 4-wheel drive.
Most of the time in the older Nigerian coverage, a white police car will be following you. In some instance the left-most light on the police car is blue whilst other times the left-most light is red. The colour of the left most light can tell you where in Nigeria you are located.
If the left-most light on the police car behind you is blue, you should mainly be inside the blue triangle above. If the left-most light on the police car beind you is red, you should mainly be in the red quadrilateral above. In summary, left light blue= northern Nigerian coverage and left light red= southern Nigerian coverage. (Image source: poorly made by me)
A black 4-wheel drive follows the Street View car in Benin City and on the E1 south of Logbara.
Cities in Nigeria are the busiest places on Street View in the entire Africa. There is often wall to wall traffic and a number of people walking around.
The further south you are located in Nigeria, the greener and more tropical-looking the landscape.
As you travel further north in Nigeria, the landscape becomes much drier, less green and more of a brown colour. This is especially true the closer you get to Abuja (where the Nigerian coverage extends to).
Nigeria can have a slight reddish soil but it is much rarer than in Kenya and Uganda.
Nigerian towns and outer suburbs often have light coloured, sandy, dirt roads.
Roadside curbs in Nigeria sometimes have this pattern of alternating white and dark blue/black.
Nigeria’s most common utility poles often have a number of indents, like sections have been cut out but not quite enough has been cut out to form holes. Nigerian utility poles look similar to Brazilian utility poles.
If you see bars beneath you in Nigeria, you should be in the southern half of the country. (Note: If you don’t see bars, it doesn’t mean you aren’t in the south of the country).
Thanks to the October 2022 update, Senegal’s Street View coverage is now spread across the country, including the southern region.
If you pan down in Senegal, you will often see the Street View car’s bars.
Some parts of Senegal received new coverage that was released in October 2022. Part of this coverage was taken from this white truck. If you turn around 180 degrees, there is a tray in the back of the truck.
The remainder of the new Senegal coverage was taken with a silver truck.
Parts of Senegal has some iteration of rifts in the sky if you pan up.
Cars in Senegal have these distinctive looking, blue licence plates.
Some form of reddish soil is normally visible throughout the entire central and nothern part of Senegal. Sometimes it will only be visible on the sides of the road between the grass and the asphalt.
The Senegalese landscape often consists of dry grass and small, spiky bushes.
The southern part (approximately 1/3rd) of Senegal tends to have long grass that is green in colour.
The central and norther parts of Senegal typically have desert sand or short, dry grass.
Urban areas of Senegal typically feature brick buildings painted white or light colours. These structures often show signs of wear such as parts of the building crumbling or the painting having eroded away.
Senegalese utility poles typically have three of these pine cone shaped objects either pointing upwards or downwards.
This is the second type of Senegalese utility pole. Note the pine cone shaped objects pointing down. Also note the indents in the pole.
Senegal’s road lines often feature white dashes on the edges and white dashes in the centre. These dashes commonly appear faded and sometimes it can be difficult to notice them. Sometimes dirt has blown over the road and it can be challenging to see the lines.
French is the official language of Senegal. As a result, most of the writing you will see in this country will be in French.
There are two different kinds of cars that took the Street View coverage in Senegal if you see bars. Firstly, there is the car whose rear bar has a black covering on one side- see the black covering on the right side of the image.
Secondly, there is the car whose rear bar has a black covering on both sides. The car you are located in can help you work out where you are positioned in Senegal, as per the below map.
If you are in the Senegalese car that has one rear bar with a black covering, you are on one of the roads with an aqua arrow on the above map. If you are in the car with two black coverings on the rear bar, then you are on a road with a black arrow…..This map also shows the road conditions of the Senegalese roads. The blue lines are roads in a good condition, mainly with centre lines. The red lines are roads in a poor condition, with faded or missing lines (such as the road in the north-east of the country). The occasional brown line is a dirt/sand road. Image source (which also opens up a bigger version of the map):XXXX
This is a more detailed Senegal meta map with more specific clues. It was created by Lupus. A larger image of this map can beviewed here.
Tunisian street View Coverage essentially stretches along the east coast of the country. It begins at the island of Djerba then hugs the P1 and A1 highways until Tunis before stretching up further north to Bizerte. Very little outside this narrow area is covered in Tunisia.
The follow car in Tunisia will be light green north of Hammamet and dark green south of Hammamet. (Image source: My poor computer skills).
This lighter green Toyota follows the Street View car in Tunis and indeed everywhere in the northern part of Tunisia- north of Hammamet.
This dark green Mazda follows the Street View car in central and southern Tunisia- anywhere south of Hammamet. Note the license plate that has red on the left and black on the right.
If you notice the follow car with a map situated in the centre of the front window, you are situated in the Tunisian city of either Sfax or Gabes.
The locations of Sfax and Gabes, where the map is visible in the car following the street view car.
The Tunisian island of Djerba typically lacks the follow car.
The location of the island of Djerba. There is typically no follow car on Djerba (unlike the rest of Tunisia). On occasions you will see a white car following you on Djerba.
Tunisia has several types of license plates. All of these variants contain black. This image shows the all-black license plate.
Another variant of Tunisian plates depicts some section of the plate as black- this black section can be in the middle or off to one side.
Tunisia’s landscape has a real Middle-Eastern vibe. Also, note the long, white dashes on the side of the road.
Most of Tunisia is very flat and its major roads are quite wide, often with a centre strip dividing the road. Tunisian roads are well-maintained and look very smooth although they often have a white, sandy tinge. Dry grass in a sandy soil is a common sight alongside the road. Olive trees are very common throughout Tunisia.
The northern section of Tunisia (essentially the area covered in green on the GeoGuessr map) contains more vegetation, taller vegetation and greener vegetation than the remainder of Tunisia.
Palm trees are common in Tunisia. The architecture is normally white and has Mediterranean elements fused with Middle-Eastern elements. The sky is normally blue in Tunisia.
Roundabouts are common at Tunisian intersections. They often have directional signs around them, providing useful information.
There are a number of yellow and black painted curbs in Tunisia as well as red and white painted curbs.
This type of street light is common throughout Tunisia.
Tunisia most commonly uses these metallic wire-style poles as utility poles.
The official language of Tunisia is Arabic however French is also widely spoken and appears on signs alongside Arabic.
If you spawn on the island of Reunion, in the Indian Ocean, the Street View car’s bars will be visible as will the side view mirrors and sides of the car. There is also black tape on the back, right bar of the Street View car.
Reunion has large hills, has a tropical feel and is French speaking.
Madagascar has very little coverage. The main areas of coverage are just south of Morombe (pictured) in Andavadoaka on the south-western coast and around Ambanja near the northern part of the country.
Houses in Madagascar often have reeds comprising the roof (or corrugated iron). Coconut palms are also fairly common.
A portion of the Madagascar’s limited coverage includes the beach. This is mainly found along small parts of the east coast.
Madagascan coverage also includes these boats on which you can travel backwards and forwards.
Vehicles travel on the right side of the road in Madagascar which is rare for an island country.
Part of Madagascar’s coverage includes a person walking, carrying the Street View camera around an elevated part of the capital, Antananarivo, with the city visible below.
Sao Tome and Principe are two islands located off the coast of Gabon/Equatorial Guinea. Sao Tome is the large island at the bottom of this picture and features coverage mainly in the north to north-east of the island but also around the edge of the island. Principe has coverage in the northern half of the island.
Sao Tome and Principe stands out due to the massive blur that you will see in all locations across the country. This blur is akin to the blur found in India.
Sao Tome and Principe has thick, lush and green vegetation.
If you see a dim image, with faded light, you should mainly be on the north island- Principe. Occasionally you will see this heavy saturation on Sao Tome, but it’s much rarer there.
Northern Asian Street View coverage.
Southern Asian Street View coverage.
The entire country of Bhutan is mountainous and has a distinctive look.
Bhutan is the most mountainous country in GeoGuessr. If you see tall mountains, mainly covered in trees, then there is a good chance you are in Bhutan.
Bhutan has red license plates which stand out.
If you pan down in Bhutan, you should see the ghostly, white car with the very end of the car being more opaque.
The sides of many Bhutanese roads are skirted with stone makers painted white with yellow signs on them. These white stone markers come in various shapes and sizes.
You will regularly see a long row of these stone slabs in Bhutan. Sometimes you will see more elongated road side markers made from stone slabs.
These white and yellow stone markers indicate how far away the nearest village, town or city is in Bhutan. In this example, the village of Dewathang is 1km away. The other side of the stone also has information about how far away the nearest village is for those travelling in the opposite direction.
Bhutanese road signs are often held aloft by black and white striped poles.
Bhutanese houses and apartments can be quite elaborate looking. They often feature flat roofs that extend beyond the walls, white walls, arch windows and detailed wooden elements.
This is another style of Bhutanese house that has many of the same elements as the previous house including arch shaped windows, wooden trimmings and detailed art separating the two floors. Some Bhutanese houses are less elaborate than these two examples and appear quite basic, like the house in the first image of this ‘Bhutan’ section, dwarfed by the landscape.
Hong Kong has a large number of these green and red taxis. You won’t have to travel too far before seeing one.
Hong Kong license plates are almost square shaped. They have yellow rear plates and white front plates.
Hong Kong is densely populated, has many high-rise buildings. It has a real tropical feel with palm trees being particularly common. Box shaped cars also feature abundantly. Cars drive on the left in Hong Kong.
A scene from bustling Hong Kong. The major Hong Kong roads are denoted by a yellow shield enclosing a number.
Hong Kong’s signs often feature both English and Traditional Chinese.
Macau has a similar feel to Hong Kong- it has many high-rise buildings, has a tropical feel and is densely populated. Cars also drive on the left in Macau.
Macau can easily be distinguished from Hong Kong thanks to Macau’s black license plates.
The generation 2 Street View camera is used right across Macau. This means you should see a circular blur beneath you in Macau. A number of small countries and territories also use this camera including small parts of Hong Kong.
The distinctive generation 2 camera is used across Macau. This produces images of a worse quality than the more ubiquitous generation 3 and 4 cameras. It also creates brighter colours.
Official signs in Macau feature both Traditional Chinese and Portuguese. Some shop signs also feature English.
Japan has a unique landscape that is fairly easy to recognise.
Some parts of Japan consist of mountainous terrain and dense forests with winding roads meandering through the forests.
Urban Japan is normally very flat with very well maintained roads and the odd tree along the side of the road.
Japan has cylindrical shaped utility poles that occur throughout the country. Japan also has unique yellow and black vertical stripes on many of its poles. On rare occasions, the stripes are diagonal in Japan. In Taiwan and South Korea, they also have the yellow and black markings on some poles however these countries have diagonal stripes, not vertical like the standard Japanese stripes.
The red and white striped arrow pointing downwards indicates that you are in Japan, most likely on the northern island of Hokkaido or possibly on the main island of Honshu, near mountains.
Also in Hokkaido and Northern Honshu, there are an abundance of these boxes near houses. The boxes don’t always come in this light colour but it is the most common colour.
Japan has 47 prefectures. These names sometimes appear on signs. If you zoom in on the GeoGuessr map to the right degree, these prefecture names appear in grey writing.
The Japanese Street View car is wider than cars from other countries (other than Switzerland which also has the same wide car).
The camera on the Japanese Street View car is positioned low down. This makes the imagery feel closer to the ground than the other countries in the world (except Switzerland).
Japanese cars have yellow license plates, front and back. These plates are almost square in shape. Japanese cars drive on the left.
Most Japanese cars have a boxy shape.
Japan’s northern most island- Hokkaido (and sometimes northern Honshu) house this unique cabbage looking vegetation.
Japan uses the yellow coloured, diamond-shaped warning signs that are common in North and South America as well as Australia and New Zealand.
White, metal poles most commonly hold up street signs in Japan. Sometimes the poles will just be silver.
The back and front view of Japanese bollards.
Japanese directional signs are blue with white lettering. A detailed explanation of the Japanese highway numbering system is in the ‘Highways Numbering Systems’ section of this article.
A white railing is common throughout Japan.
There are a number of common house styles in Japan. The first of these is the house with a compacted square-based pyramid for a roof. Japanese houses are often two-storey. This style of house also has a roof for its lower storey.
Japanese residential streets are typically very narrow. The houses generally have small yards with a few neatly trimmed hedges or small trees a common sight. Japanese houses are large, normally two-storey and crammed together. Japanese residential roads often have no footpath.
The best way to region guess in Japan is to look at the small plates that are affixed to the utility poles. Virtually everywhere you are placed in Japan, you should be able to see one of these plates very quickly. There are 10 distinct plates used in Japan and by learning these plates, you can immediately work out which of the 10 regions you are in. In the above example, Chubu (Chubu is shown on the below map) has plates on the utility poles that have curved edges. The Japanese GeoGuessr community has madethis documentwhich explains all 10 utility pole plates and their locations.
This map shows the location of the Chubu region in Japan- where the utility poles’ plates have curved edges. (Image source: TUBS, Wikipedia).
Yellow guardrails are a common sight in the southern Japanese prefecture of Yamaguchi. To my knowledge, these guardrails aren’t found elsewhere in Japan.
This map shows the location of the Japanese prefecture of Yamaguchi (where yellow guardrails are abundant).
The islands of Shikoku and Kyushu (their location is displayed in the below map) often have this long, dry looking grass that has fluffy tops.
This map shows the Japanese islands of Shikoku and Kyushu- they are the southern green and orange islands. These areas have the dry, fluffy grass as shown in the image above this map. (map source: kimonoseikatsu).
This style of criss-crossing wall is common throughout Japan. It is found between roads and steep inclines.
This map shows the phone number prefixes across Japan. Note that the phone number prefixes increase as you travel south. 011 is on the northern island of Hokkaido and 099 is in the south of Japan. In Tokyo, the phone number prefix is 03 and in Osaka, the prefix is 06. Be aware that this chart is for landline numbers. Mobile numbers begin with 08 or 09 in Japan and toll free numbers start with 0120. (Map source: Wikipedia, Pekachu)
Note the phone number prefix in this image is 022. This number is fairly low meaning that we are relatively far north. Based on the above map, we can tell that we are in the Japanese city of Sendai.
Okinawa stands out due to the high number of these small, lion statues appearing on the fences of residential houses.
There are two scrips used in Japanese writing. The first script can be easily confused with Chinese and appears on the top section of the sign. The second Japanese script appears on the bottom section of the sign and comprises very minimalistic strokes and characters comprising just 1 or 2 strokes such as ノ, シ, い and く.
If you pan down in Cambodia, you should see the white Street View car approximately 60% of the time.
Angkor beer signs are one of the most common sights throughout Cambodia. On the left of the image, the Cambodian language, featuring symbols with hooked ends, is another tell-tale sign you are in Cambodia.
A Cambodian roadside marker. These often have town names and indicate distances to the nearest town.
Cambodia has a tropical landscape. Cars drive in the right which contrasts most of South-East Asia which drives on the left. Cars also drive on the right in the Philippines, Laos (which has minimal coverage) and Vietnam (which has minimal coverage).
The central and northern parts of Cambodia have a reddish dirt. Dirt roads are very common in Cambodia and much rarer in Thailand.
The southern part of Cambodia has white-coloured dirt. Looking at the dirt colour can be a great way to narrow down your Cambodian guess.
The Cambodian landscape can be quite diverse looking. Sometimes it is full of densely packed tropical plants whilst other times there is only grass, other types of trees or dirt.
Whilst most roads in Cambodia are dirt, marked bitumen roads will typically have a yellow centre line and white side lines, like Thailand.
Many Cambodian houses are elevated on posts. Some homes will have part of the home elevated on posts and the other part of the home on the ground floor.
Even more basic houses will often be elevated in Cambodia.
Cambodia bollards look a bit like fat matches. They have a white body and red head.
Two of the more common types of Cambodian utility pole are pictured. The pole on the left is cylindrical shape with nothing on top whilst the pole on the right has the crucifix style top with two upward pointing ‘pine cone’ objects.
Cambodian utility poles may also have a number of indents in them.
Much of South-East Asia uses these yellow, diamond-shaped warning signs. Cambodian signs have a white outline.
Although dirt roads are more common in Cambodia, paved roads often have some form of yellow central line- sometimes it is dashed and sometimes it is continuous.
There are a number of religious temples with coverage in Cambodia. India also has coverage of a number of its religious buildings.
The ‘Cambodian People’s Party’ signs are a common fixture in Cambodia. Anything in this shade of blue points to you being in Cambodia. Many of the signs contain the village and province location of the sign written at the bottom of the sign in English.
A map showing the Cambodian phone number prefixes by area. If you notice a phone number prefix not listed above, it is likely a mobile phone number. (Source: GeoApprentice).
Note the phone number prefix ‘063’. Using the above map, we can determine that we are around Siem Reap.
The Cambodian written language is fairly easy to identify if you look for the little ‘hooks’ that appear on the end of virtually every letter.
Many Thai roads have some form of yellow centre line as well as continuous, white edge lines. There are often houses and villages littered alongside the roads in Thailand.
The insulators on poles in Peninsula Thailand typically have 8 or more horizontal rungs. In contrast, the insulators in the rest of Thailand typically have 7 or fewer rungs.
The image above shows a Thai kilometre marker. The markers have 3 sides with information on them. The side facing the road features a bird enclosing a number. This is the road number we are on. In the above example we are on road 1069. The Thai script below the bird means ‘kilometre’. The number below the Thai word for kilometre is the distance we are from the start of the road. In this example, we are 4km from the start of the road.
Thai kilometre markers also house information on their sides so motorists travelling towards and away from the marker can read the information. The sides of Thai markers feature the next noteworthy sized town name and distance (in the above example, the town is 5km away). Beneath this is the next noteworthy sized town name and distance (in this example, the town is 22km away). Always be sure to look at both sides of Thai road markers and remember that Thai drivers drive on the left when they see the marker information. The further the towns are away, the more likely you are to be able to match their Thai script names with towns on the GeoGuessr map.
The topography of Thailand. Note that most of Thailand is flat and that the mountainous region runs down the western side of the country. (Image source: mappdoutofficial).
Taiwanese utility poles are everywhere. They are cylindrical in shape and regularly have their lower section covered in diagonal black and yellow stripes.
Taiwan and South Korea tend to have diagonal yellow and black stripes on their poles. These rarely occur in Japan with vertical stripes being more common there.
The Taiwanese stripes often stretch to the ground. This contrasts the stripes of South Korea and Japan which shouldn’t go down to the ground.
A large number of Taiwanese utility poles (the ones with yellow and black diagonal stripes) feature a blue rectangle above the stripes. The bottom half of the blue rectangle should contain two rows of letter and number combinations. We are only concerned with the first letter in the first row- in the above image, this is a ‘K’. This letter alone can tell us fairly accurately where in Taiwan we are located. The map below will explain how to use this letter. Sometimes this letter will be too small to see from the Street View car however, on average, I’m able to find a legible letter within 30 seconds when placed in Taiwan.
The above map shows where the blue rectangle first letter (explained above) correlates to in Taiwan. For example, if we see a blue rectangle with the first letter being a ‘B’, we can look at the above map and determine that we are around Taipei, in the far north of the country. Even if you don’t memorise the above map, you should try and remember that the letters increase in rows of 2 or 3 from A in the north of Taiwan down to W in the south of the country. Some letters aren’t included on the above map: I=irrelevant. S= The Matsu Islands (NNW of Taiwan). X and Y = the Penghu Island (west of Taiwan) and Z= the Kinmen Islands (far west of Taiwan and near Xiamen, China).
The flat sections of Taiwan regularly house rice fields. If you see a rice field in GeoGuessr, the most common location is Taiwan.
Taiwanese houses are most commonly boxy in shape.
Taiwanese residential roads can be very narrow. Note the rice fields on the left which are everywhere in the flat section of Taiwan.
Palm trees can be seen throughout Taiwan. Most of the flat sections of Taiwan features very low vegetation. The mountainous areas of Taiwan feature very dense vegetation.
The majority of Taiwan consists of hills and mountains that are covered in thick, green vegetation. The roads that meander through these areas are often narrow and winding.
This map demonstrates the distribution of Taiwan’s mountains and hills. The majority of the country is covered in them except for the western section and a narrow band near the coast on the east of the country.
Taiwanese roads often have yellow centre lines and white edge lines. Taiwan is a rare island country in the world where drivers drive on the right.
A wide range of different looking license plates can be found in Taiwan. Almost all plates will have this same shape. Some plates have bluish markings like the image above, some plates have green sections but most plates are white.
Directional signs in Taiwan are green with white lettering. The major National Freeways are numbered in a white shape that resembles a flower. Taiwanese signs either feature Mandarin and English or just Mandarin.
Taiwanese phone area codes are grouped by the first two digits. This map shows that the numbers increase are you travel south in Taiwan. Phone numbers are often displayed in towns and cities in Taiwan. (Source: Wikipedia, Furfur)
This phone number in Taiwan begins with 03. This means that it is found in the ‘3’ section of the above map.
South Korea has patchy Street View coverage that tends to avoid its tallest mountains. The island of Jeju is also covered which lies to the south of South Korea.
Green signs with white lettering provide highway information in South Korea. The expressway shields used by South Korea look similar to US Interstate shields. Expressway numbers are shown on the map in South Korea however you need to zoom in significantly to see them.
South Korea has diagonal yellow and black stripes on many of its utility poles, much like Taiwan. It also similarly has cylindrical utility poles. Taiwanese stripes mainly stretch all the way to the ground whilst the stripes in South Korea shouldn’t reach the ground.
South Korea and Vietnam are the only Asian countries to use warning signs featuring a triangle with a red border and yellow fill.
South Korean roads generally have a yellow, continuous, centre line and white, continuous edge lines.
South Korea’s Street View coverage was largely taken in the winter. As a result, seeing trees without leaves, snow and fairly bleak scenery is common throughout the country.
Although the winter coverage seems to be more common in South Korea, you will also often see some form of autumn coverage.
Across almost the entire country of South Korea, you will see mountains nearby or in the background. Much of the flatter South Korean land is dedicated to growing rice. These narrow roads often weave through rural parts of South Korea.
Region guessing in South Korea is notoriously hard. However, here is one useful tip. If you see reddish soil- like this image, then you should be in the west of the country.
If you see more of a gray soil colour in South Korea, you should be in the east of the country.
The urban parts of South Korea tend to be fairly busy. Cars drive on the right in South Korea which contrasts the country from Japan.
About 80% of the time when you pan down in South Korea, you will see the black Street View car.
About 20% of the time when you pan down in South Korea, you will see the white Street View car.
These blue signs provide road names in South Korea. They can be useful for helping you determine that you are indeed in South Korea and for helping pinpoint.
South Korean utility poles stand out as they mainly have what resembles a long, sharp, pointed spike extending upwards from the top of the main pole.
Bollards are fairly rare in South Korea, nonetheless, this is their front. Their rear has a yellow disk rather than a white disk.
Most South Korean residents live in apartments. Despite this, there is quite a range of house styles in the country. A common feature of South Korean houses involves having elaborate roofs. This includes having decorations, protrusions or stylised parts to the roof. In addition, the corners of the roofs often have pieces that arch upwards.
The South Korean language can be recognised easily thanks to large circles that feature as part of many of its letters.
One of the most distinctive features of the island of Jeju, which belongs to South Korea and lies off its south coast, is the rock walls.
The United Arab Emirates’ Street View coverage is almost exclusively around greater Dubai and the roads stretching to the mountains in the north-east. Most of the country isn’t covered by Street View.
If you pan down in the UAE, you will almost always see a white Street View car. This can be an easy way to tell the country apart from Jordan which has a black Street View car.
Recently, the UAE gained generation 4 coverage that was taken with this truck. This truck can only be found in Dubai and Sharjah.
Many roads in the UAE have yellow side lines and white centre lines. The roads are generally wide and are of a fairy high quality.
The UAE often has curbs with newly painted black and yellow or black and white alternating colours. This image has both!
The UAE landscape consists of a sandy desert and fair-coloured buildings.
The UAE looks most similar to Jordan. There is a sandy desert almost everywhere you look in the UAE.
Due to the majority of the UAE coverage being centred around greater Dubai, there is often the possibility of seeing the world’s tallest skyscrapers in the background.
The eastern part of the UAE, near the gulf of Oman, has a number of mountains. Sometimes the UAE has some form of a yellow centre line with yellow edge lines however this combination is rarer.
Most houses and buildings in the UAE are white or light coloured. They also tend to have flat roofs and be boxy shaped.
The UAE is one of only a few countries in the world to have some black and white striped poles. Although Jordan sometimes has these too however they are much rarer in Jordan.
Directional information in the UAE is sometimes provided on green signs with white lettering. On the middle panel above, there is a crown enclosing the motorway number ‘E18’. These motorway numbers are easily visible on the GeoGuessr map.
Directional information can also be provided on blue signs with white lettering. E roads are motorways that stretch across the entire UAE. The first letter of local roads can indicate where in the UAE you are. ‘A’ roads are around Ajman (located just north of Sharjah), ‘D’ roads= Dubai, ‘F’ roads= Fujairah and ‘S’ roads= Sharjah.
A small island off the coast of the UAE also has Street View coverage. This island is called Sir Baniyas Island. If you pan down here, you will see the edges of the Street View car as well as the side view mirrors.
Sir Baniyas Island’s landscape consists of unmarked, narrow roads, small fences, sand and low trees.
The UAE flag appears on the left. I remember it thanks to the red vertical stripe looking like a tall building (which the UAE has many of). The Jordan flag appears on the right. I remember it as it contains a ‘star’ and Michael ‘Jordan’ was a star.
Arabic and English appear most commonly in unison around the UAE. Arabic can be recognised as it looks a bit like calligraphy and has a horizontal line under many of its letters.
Jordan’s Street View coverage is centred around Amman, It stretches up to Jerash and down the western side of the country to Aqaba.
The Jordan landscape features a desert. Parts of Jordan are flat whilst other parts are rather hilly. The roads of Jordan in general are of a lower quality than the UAE.
The Jordan car is black if you pan down. This contrasts the white car of the UAE.
Like the UAE, Jordan’s roads typically have yellow continuous edge lines and some form of white centre line.
Various parts of Jordan are quite mountainous.
Much of Jordan consists of undulating ground. This contrasts the UAE which is generally flat except for the north-eastern section which is sheer mountains.
Jordan normally has cylindrical-like shaped utility poles. This version has three ‘pine cone’ entities pointing upwards.
Jordan sometimes has curbs with yellow and black striped lines. These curbs are typically rather faded and contrast the newly painted curbs of the UAE (which can be yellow and black or white and black).
Jordan has a number of house styles. Apartments are often this cream colour in Jordan. This style of building tends to be 3-4 stories high, a rectangular prism in shape with a flat roof and many windows.
Jordan’s directional signs are blue with white lettering. They sometimes contain just Arabic but on other occasions feature both Arabic and English. Standard highways in Jordan are denoted by a green rectangle and a number in yellow lettering.
I believe that highway 15 is the only separated highway in Jordan with Street View coverage. In other words, if you are in Jordan and see some sort of divider on a highway, you should be on highway 15 (the highway that starts by running SSE from Amman).
Shop signs in Jordan are much more likely to feature only Arabic than the UAE which tends to have both Arabic and English. Arabic can be recognised thanks to the letters resembling calligraphy and thanks to the horizontal line under most of the writing.
Qatar coverage is centred around the greater Doha area but extends across the country.
Qatar has just gained Street View status. The country stands out thanks to the white truck beneath you. It looks similar to the white Senegal truck; however, the Qatari truck has a narrow antenna on the far-left. In contrast, the white Senegal truck has as stubbier, black antenna on the front-centre.
The Qatar truck will sometimes appear blurred. However, it still stands out for being bulky and having an aerial on its front left corner.
All of the Qatar coverage north of Doha was taken with this truck that has a short, bent aerial.
All of the Qatar coverage in Doha and to the west and south of Doha has this long aerial.
The Qatari landscape is desert. The land is flat, the roads are wide and well-maintained and there are many tall street lights lining the streets.
Qatari roads are mainly surrounded by these black and white curbs that look like they have been freshly painted.
If you look carefully, Qatari plates have a narrow band of maroon on their left. The plates are long and elongated.
The cars in Qatar are generally fairly expensive. Four wheel drives are commonplace.
Signs in Qatar are typically written in both Arabic and English. This includes street signs, stop signs and directional signs.
Qatar has many signs across the country that will help you pinpoint your location. The first sign you will want to use in most scenarios is the yellow sign that has a blue silhouette of the country. These signs will have a number on them- in this case ‘5’. This correlates with a highway number (in this case highway 5) which will appear within a yellow square on your map.
In Israel, you should sometimes be able to see the Street View car’s long aerial.
In 2023, parts of Israel gained new, generation 4 coverage- this means you won’t always see the long aerial.
The northern parts of Israel are more likely to be grassed.
Much of Israel is situated on undulating ground, including some of its major cities.
Israeli curbs often feature alternating colours. The most common colour combination is red and white.
Cream-coloured apartments spanning at least several stories are the most common form of habitation in most of Israel.
Israeli road lines feature yellow, continuous edges and white dashes in the centre. This is the same combination as both Jordan and the UAE.
Israeli street lights often feature these black and white stripes on their base.
Israel has a number of different looking utility poles. Some of the more visually unique poles are metal with zigzagging pieces connecting the outer sections.
This is the front view of Israeli bollards. They resemble the generic European bollards.
This is the rear view of Israeli bollards. Once again, they resemble the generic back of European-style bollards.
Palm trees are a surprisingly common sight in Israel. They occur somewhat inland but are more frequent near the Mediterranean Sea. Tel-Aviv-Yafo is full of palm trees.
This Israeli directional signs features Hebrew, Arabic and Latin lettering. Israeli roads are broken into four main categories- each logo denoted by a colour. Blue= national roads, red= inner city roads, green= regional roads and black= local roads. In this image, the green denotes regional roads and the road number is 352.
Sometimes you will see the yellow license plates of Israel within Palestine however these plates are far outnumbered by the Palestinian plates.
The rural Palestinian landscape consists of rolling hills, dry scenery and low lying bushes. It also features many white rocks of various sizes alongside the road.
Palestine has the same road lines as Israel (and Jordan and the UAE). They feature yellow continuous edge lines and a white, dashed, centre line).
Urban Palestine has the same style of cream-coloured apartment buildings as Israel.
Like Israel, Palestine has the same black and white striped base on many of its street lights.
Palestine has Arabic as its dominant language. I recognise this language as it looks similar to calligraphy and many letters have horizontal lines underneath them. This language contrasts Hebrew which is predominant in Israel.
A reasonable portion of the time in Palestine there is a follow car behind you. This white Suzuki is the most common follow car.
The other follow car you may see in Palestine is this dark blue Ford. It is a bit rarer than the white Suzuki.
Kyrgyzstan has limited Street View coverage. Bishkek is well covered and from there, the coverage spreads out to Karakol in the east, past Naryn, as far south as Osh and out west until Talas.
Kyrgyzstan has a red vertical stripe on the left side of its license plates.
Kyrgyzstan also has visible bars beneath the Street View car. This is in tandem with the visible side-view mirrors that may be black or white in colour.
In south-western Kyrgyzstan (everything inside the red circle on the above map), if you look in the left side-view mirror, you will see approximately 90% of the Kyrgyzstan silver car being reflected. 10% of the side-view mirror will reflect the road.
In the remainder of Kyrgyzstan (everything outside the red circle on the above map), if you look in the left side-view mirror, you will see approximately 60% of the Kyrgyzstan silver car being reflected. Approximately 40% of the road is reflected. In some instances, more of the car will be reflected however it is still less than the 90% in south-western Kyrgyzstan.
The left side-view mirror is dirty in most of the coverage around the Kyrgyzstan city of Jalal-Abad. Jalal-Abad is situated 50km north of the aforementioned Osh.
Outside of the capital Bishkek, the Kyrgyzstan landscape is largely void of trees and undulating.
Much of the Kyrgyzstan landscape has a wintery feel with snow a common sight.
Kyrgyzstan’s town and cities are often filled with bleak, winter scenery including trees without leave.
Paved roads in Kyrgyzstan often have continuous, white, edge lines and white dashes in the centre.
Kyrgyzstan has bollards painted white with a black section. They look like thick planks of wood.
Utility poles in Kyrgyzstan come in a number of varieties. The pole itself is mainly square shaped and concrete. The pole often has two or three ‘pine cone’ shaped entities near the top. These can be symmetrical, with one on each side (as pictured) on at different levels. Some Kyrgyzstan utility poles are painted white near their base.
Kyrgyzstan uses Cyrillic. In Kyrgyzstan Cyrillic, seeing Ң will specifically mean you are in Kyrgyzstan.
Mongolian coverage is centred around Ulaanbaatar. The coverage stretches out across the country although little of the southern part of Mongolia is covered. Mongolia is also fairly unique as parts of its coverage are autonomous. In other words, you may be positioned in south-east Mongolia and travel as far as possible before reaching a dead end. You may then travel in the opposite direction and reach another dead end.
The first variant of the Mongolian Street View car is visible bars with what looks like camping equipment. Sometimes the gray padding is missing and a tray comprising black bars is visible.
The second variant of the Mongolian Street View car is the visible bars along with the red side view mirrors.
This is the third variant of the Mongolian Street View car.
If you aren’t interested in learning more detailed Mongolian car meta, there is a simple meta that can typically inform you of whether you are in the western or eastern half of Mongolia. If the bars are filled in with black, rubber, you should be in Western Mongolia (or Ulan Bataar).
If the bars aren’t filled in with black rubber, then you should be in the eastern half of Mongolia.
Mongolian Street View coverage covers paved roads and dirt paths. The landscape across most of the country is rather barren and there is little vegetation.
The south-eastern part of Mongolia is desert. This part of Mongolia is especially dry and featureless (even by Mongolian standards).
There are many densely crammed apartment buildings in Mongolia’s capital- Ulaanbaatar.
Ulaanbaatar also stands out because it has these mountains just south of the city.
Mongolia has many small villages and towns. These areas are often contained by wooden fences. The houses tend to have bright roofs of different colours.
Other Mongolian residents live in round tents known as yurts.
In Mongolia, it is common to be placed on a path that has been created by tyre tracks. The surrounding land is often grass. Sometimes there is no path at all.
Mongolian bollards remind me of the pins from ten-pin bowling. Sometimes they lack the stripes and are just white.
Mongolian license plates are all white and fairly narrow. They are much less elongated than plates from Kyrgyzstan and also lack the red Kyrgyzstan stripe.
Mongolian uses Cyrillic. Үү and Өө are unique to Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan.
In this example, there is not tent.
If you see no tent, on the Street View car in Mongolia, you have to be in or around Ulaanbaatar, the road running south-east from Ulaanbaatar or in the tiny town of Erdenet (somewhere north-east of Ulaanbataar). (Image source for the 5 maps: thanks to Kommu).
This is the blue coloured tent. Note that it is dark blue.
If you see the blue tent, you are in southern, eastern or western Mongolia.
This is the gray tent.
If you see the gray tent, you must be west of Ulaanbaatar (but not too far west).
This is the leaning tent. Note that the tent is askew and has a dent in it on one side.
If you see the leaning tent, you must be directly north of Ulaanbaatar or in a small pocket north-west of Ulaanbaatar.
This tent is unique as it is tied down with red string.
If you see the red string tent, you must be in this small pocket in north-eastern Mongolia.
The blue lines on this map denote where the Street View coverage is in Kazakhstan. It is primarily on the main roads and in the largest cities.
The easiest way to tell that you are in Kazakhstan is to pan down. All the coverage in the country was taken in this white truck.
If you see lots of green trees in Kazakhstan, you should be north of Astana, in the green part of the map.
The autumn (fall) coverage in Kazakhstan, which features orange and other warm-coloured leaves, can be found in the north-east of the country.
If you see snow coverage in Kazakhstan, you should be in the south of the country, near Almaty.
The south-western part of Kazakhstan has a Middle East feel, with lots of sand and virtually no vegetation.
The western half of Kazakhstan has summer coverage.
This map shows copyright year distribution across Kazakhstan. Something I have seldom mentioned in this article is that if you zoom in on any Street View scene, you will be able to faintly see a year followed by the word ‘Google’. Sometimes this can be hard to see and the background behind the copyright can influence how visible it is. Now, in Kazakhstan, if you see the year 2023, you are guaranteed to be in the eastern half of the country- as per this map. If you see 2024, you could be anywhere. (Image source: brainy).
License plates in Kazakhstan typically resemble Russian plates- long, narrow and white.
The chevrons in Kazakhstan are yellow with black arrows. Furthermore, the poles across the country are white with a black base- the same as Russian poles.
Indonesian Street View coverage is fairly limited with little of the eastern part of the country covered. Sulawesi mainly has coverage only in the far north-east and southern areas. Central Borneo has no coverage, nor does Aceh at the northern tip of Sumatra. Java is densely covered.
The most common type of Indonesian plates have black areas which divide the plate into three white sections. This contrasts Malaysian plates which are divided into two white sections.
In this Indonesian license plate variant, the centre of the plate is white and the edges are black. Indonesia has various forms of black license plates (as does Malaysia).
Many parts of Indonesia have black and white markings on their curbs. Malaysia can also have these black and white curbs.
The Lesser Sunda Islands (whose location is shown on the map below) can be determined thanks to their utility poles which contain a long support beam that runs from the very end of the horizontal crucifix bar, diagonally, to the main pole. Note that the standard Indonesian diagonal support poles are shorter (shown in the image above this one).
The Lesser Sunda Islands are essentially all of the Indonesian islands located directly east of Java. The above map shows the islands in detail (the lower map) and the higher map shows their location relative to the remainder of Indonesia.
Central Java (and the Special Region of Yogyakarta which is just south-east of Central Java) often use various forms of ‘t-shape’ utility poles in which the horizontal pole is placed half-way across the vertical pole.
North Sumatra stands out because it sometimes has these utility poles featuring the pole itself bisecting the horizontal stick in two, plus, two pinecones on one side and one on the other.
Motorcyclists are particularly common in Indonesia.
Indonesia is a rare place in Asia that requires license plates on the front of motorbikes. Despite being blurred, you should be able to notice the presence of these front plates.
Many company signs in Indonesia start with ‘PT’. This ‘PT’ is unique to Indonesia.
Indonesia has a real tropical feel. The country has lots of vegetation and buildings that typically skirt the roads.
This type of ‘spiky’ palm tree, known as an oil palm, is more of a common sight on Sulawesi, Sumatra and Borneo- the more remote islands.
Indonesian houses most commonly have terracotta/brown coloured tiles on their roof.
Some of the more remote Indonesia houses/businesses have corrugated iron roofs. These are more common on Sulawesi, Borneo and Sumatra.
The larger, built-up, modern and more developed areas of Indonesia are mainly found on the island of Java. Java is the most populated island in the world and there is a large amount of Street View coverage here too.
Indonesian road lines can vary however the most common lines are white, featuring continuous edge lines and a dashed, line in the centre.
Vehicles in Indonesia drive on the left (although much of the region does, including Malaysia). This left driving contrasts Indonesia from the Philippines and South America which both can look vaguely similar to Indonesia. Indonesia can be distinguished from Malaysia as Indonesia tends to look poorer in general.
TV satellite dishes in Indonesia (and much of the world) point to the equator. Using this information, you can often determine your longitude in Indonesia (or distinguish your guess from Malaysia) by looking at the angle that the satellite dish is pointing as the equator runs through Indonesia. In this example, the dish points directly up and the location in Pontianak which is virtually on the equator. TV satellite dishes are everywhere in Indonesia and this is one of the best ways to recognise the country.
Parts of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and neighbouring smaller islands contain these small fences comprising narrow vertical sticks. Whilst these fences can be found elsewhere in Indonesia, they are most common in and around Sulawesi.
This bollard is only found in the region of Central Sulawesi.
North Kalimantan has a white fog, which is a camera artifact, across most the regions coverage.
Yellow diamond warning signs are used in Indonesia. These same signs are used in much of the region including Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.
Everywhere I look in Indonesia, I see ads on shops that feature only the three colours- red, white and black.
The abbreviation ‘Jl.’ appears on many signs in Indonesia. It means ‘Jalan’ which is the equivalent of road or street. If we zoom in on the map for the above location, we are situated on the road ‘Jl. Brigjend Katamso’.
Indonesian has the letter ‘a’ appearing in almost every word and often several time within words. ‘kan’, ‘an’ or ‘i’ are common suffixes. Indonesian resembles Malay.
A map indicating what provinces the first two digits of Indonesian phone numbers belong to. Note the anti-clockwise pattern from 02-07. Indonesian phone numbers are found on many shop fronts and signs. (Source: my poor computing skills).
The first two digits of this Indonesian phone number are ’02’. When we look at the above map, we can tell that we are on the western part of the island of Java. Also note that Indonesian shops will often have their address on them.
A phone number beginning with ’07’ appears on this sign. Using the above map, we can determine that we are in central or southern Sumatra.
Signs right across Indonesia have the word ‘KABUPATEN’ or ‘KAB’ written on them. This means regency (like a district). The word following KABUPATEN or KAB is the regency you are in. In the above example, we are in the Badung regency. Indonesia has 416 regencies. Regencies don’t show up on the GeoGuessr map. A list of where the regencies are can be found here:XXXX
Instead of KABUPATEN, certain signs in some parts of Indonesia will display ‘KOTA’. This means ‘city’. The word following KOTA indicates the name of the city. In the above example, we are in the city of Bandung.
Some roofs in Sulawesi have a form of ‘bull horns’ in their top. These roofs are often found elsewhere such as on Borneo.
Many roofs in Java have tiles with each tile having a bump in it- like a wave. Although these roofs can be seen on other Indonesian islands, they are most common on Java.
Malaysian Street View coverage appears most abundantly on the Malay Peninsula. The coverage also appears on the Malay section of Borneo although most of this coverage is near the coast.
Malaysian license plates have various black markings on them. This is the most common version which divides the plate into two white sections. This contrasts Indonesian plates which are typically divided by black into three white sections. Sometimes the Malaysian black edge sections merge into the plate so you may only see a black section in the middle but still two white sections.
Another type of Malaysian license plate- note the different type of black markings.
The letters ‘Sdn Bhd’ appear on many Malaysian signs.
Malaysia has these distinctive, yellow, irregular hexagon shapes that denote road numbers. They are found throughout the country and appear on the GeoGuessr map. These yellow shapes signify that you are in Malaysia.
Malaysia has lots of these black and white guard rails.
Like Indonesia, Malaysia can also have black and white curbs.
Malaysia commonly has these black rectangles with white lettering on their utility poles. These are only in the Malaysian mainland and never in Borneo (although I haven’t checked every pole in Borneo- I’m saving that for a rainy weekend).
In Malaysian Borneo, some (a minority of) utility poles will have a white rectangle on them. Just like the black rectangle tells you that you are situated on mainland Malaysia, the white rectangle tells you that you are located on Malaysian Borneo.
These are the most common utility poles on mainland Malaysia. They are cylindrical in shape and are thicker towards the base.
Poles on the Malaysian part of Borneo are generally slightly thinner than poles on mainland Malaysia.
The Malaysian state of Sabah (on the north-east of Borneo) stands out because it has these two horizontal metal poles on most of its utility poles, akin to an equals sign.
Malaysia has many black and white striped poles. These are a rare feature around the world. Indonesia has some black and white striped poles too but they are much more common in Malaysia.
Like much of the region, including Indonesia, Malaysia uses the yellow, diamond warning signs. The Acronym ‘AWAS’ commonly appears in Malaysia and signifies their road safety system.
Malaysian bollards have two red rectangles on them. Some bollards have two gray rectangles on one side.
Malaysian stop signs display the word ‘BERHENTI’.
The Borneo part of Malaysia appears very remote, with few cars, few people and lots of vegetation.
The area of Malaysia on the peninsula (around Kuala Lumpur) is more developed, has more cars and less vegetation.
Malaysian cars drive on the left, like much of the region, including Indonesia. In general, Malaysia looks richer than Indonesia. The Malay roads are better maintained, the cars are more affluent as are the houses.
Malay houses often have corrugated iron roofs that are triangular prism shaped.
Like Indonesia, Malaysia’s most common road markings consist of white, continuous, edge lines and a dashed, white, centre line.
Malaysia sometimes has these double, white, continuous road lines. These are fairly rare around the rest of the world.
Malaysia also sometimes has another fairly unique road feature- thick, yellow lines that run at 90 degrees to the road.
If you are situated in Malaysia and notice generation 4 coverage (this includes the blue car if you pan down), then you must be in mainland Malaysia and nor Borneo Malaysia as generation 4 coverage doesn’t exist in Borneo Malaysia.
Sometimes in Malaysia, you will see Chinese writing. This isn’t the dominant written language in Malaysia but it appears every now and then.
The letters ‘a’ and ‘u’ are commonly found in a large number of Malay words. Malay is remarkably similar to Indonesian.
Vietnam’s Street View coverage is more restricted than the above map indicates. The above map also includes unofficial coverage. Official coverage includes: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and a few smaller cities such as Haiphong.
If you pan down in Vietnam you will often see the Street View bike rider.
The motorbike will sometimes be blurred when you pan down in Vietnam.
As a result of the Vietnamese coverage being taken on a bike, you will appear much closer to the ground in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese landscape in GeoGuessr is urban. The streets are generally crowded, there are lots of motorbike/moped riders, shops line the streets and drivers drive on the right.
Vietnamese sign posts are uniquely red and white striped. These poles hold up most types of official road signs.
Vietnam has warning signs featuring a red outline and yellow filling. The only other Asian country with these signs is South Korea.
In Vietnam, shop fronts regularly list their address. This can make it easier to pinpoint. In the above image, HCMC means Ho Chi Minh City and Da Kao is a ward within the city.
The Vietnamese language is a unique language in Asia. It is full of very short words with a large number of words being three letters long. There are also a range of symbols on top of (and sometimes below) Vietnamese letters. This is rare elsewhere in Asia.
Laos has such a small amount of coverage compared to neighbouring Thailand that it looks empty in the above map. Laos coverage includes: Vientiane, Pakse, Savannakhet, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.
In the few locations in Laos that are covered by Street View, you will see the bars and side view mirrors of the Street View car. These aren’t visible in Vientiane.
License plates in Laos are this strong shade of yellow. Some cars will have white plates. The cars in Laos drive on the right.
A reddish dirt is visible in large parts of Laos.
Laos typically has a tropical feel and resembles its neighbouring countries.
Although Laos’ urban areas, where the Street View coverage exists, are flat, there are often visible hills or mountains in the background.
Parts of Laos often have striped curbs.
A common style of utility pole in Laos is this asymmetric type. Two ‘pine cones’ are on one side and one on the other. Many Laos utility poles also have small holes in them, much like the Thai utility poles.
Stop signs in Laos feature the Laos script plus the English word ‘STOP’.
Laos writing resembles Thai. It has small circles at the ends of most letters. The writing is distinct from Thai as virtually every part of every letter is curved.
Large concrete, rectangular blocks that make up the road comprise the majority of the roads in the Philippines. This feature can also be seen in Thailand fairly frequently and in a few other locations. Such is the abundance of these roads in the Philippines, if I see these roads with few other clues, I will guess the Philippines.
The white, opaque edge of the Street View car end should normally be visible in the Philippines.
The Philippines has various versions of license plates with green on white.
The Philippines is one of only a few countries in the world to have these white chevron signs with red arrows. It also has a glut of political signs around the country (as seen in the lower right area of the above image). Drivers drive on the right in the Philippines which distinguishes it from Indonesia and Malaysia.
The Philippines is a diverse looking archipelago of islands that have a tropical feel.
The Philippines has a wide range of different types of road markings. Much of the Philippines is undulating.
The most common roof type in the Philippines features corrugated iron, normally in a triangular formation.
The second most common roof type in the Philippines is this hand woven roof that uses something resembling reeds.
Rickshaws are common throughout the Philippines.
These bright, mini buses are also common in the Philippines.
The Philippines uses these European style warning signs. These signs are also found in Laos and Taiwan.
The most common type of utility pole in the Philippines is in this crucifix style pole, made from wood.
These small bollards that are cigarette shaped, with a yellow top section, line some roads in the Philippines however they are fairly rare.
The large southern island of Mindanao is where the majority of Muslims reside in the Philippines (especially in the west of this island). If you see Muslims wearing headwear in the Philippines, then you are probably in this part of the country. The rest of the country is majority Christian.
As a very general rule, if you see lots of palms, you should guess Southern Philippines and if you see no palms, you should guess Northern Philippines. Note: This doesn’t always work but if you have no other information in the Philippines, it’s better than nothing.
Pinpointing in the Philippines can be made easier by finding the name of the island you are on from shop fronts. The names of the islands appear on the GeoGuessr map when you zoom in the correct amount. You can tell what they are as they don’t have a circle by their name like the cities do. In this example, the island is ‘Panay’.
This map shows the different tuk-tuk roof styles found across the Philippines, by region. Thanks to AeroGelo for making this
Many shop signs in the Philippines provide their location. In this example, we are told that we are on Lizada St in Davao City.
English words and signs are surprisingly almost everywhere in the Philippines, indeed, English is one of the two official languages in the country. Players on Battle Royale often see English in the Philippines and guess incorrect countries. Filipino is the other official language and this has more of an influence on Filipino place names. Filipino reminds me a bit of Malay and Indonesian.
Villages in the Philippines aren’t where the village name appears on the map. In the above example, the name ‘Magpet’ appears in the top right corner of the screen in a remote area. The Magpet village is actually in the bottom-left corner of the image. When you find a village name in the Philippines, look for an array of roads nearby and zoom in to make sure it’s the right village eg look for Magpet Hall or Magpet school.
The Street View car is visible in Sri Lanka if you pan down. It has a blue stripe, a white stripe and a red stripe (resembling the French flag). This is visible most of the time.
Sri Lanka has yellow rear plates and white front plates. It is one of the few GeoGuessr countries in the world to have this plate combination (the others include Botswana, the U.K. and Hong Kong). The Sri Lankan plates are also almost square shaped.
Sri Lanka also has these black and white stripes on some poles.
Sri Lanka has a very tropical feel. Almost the entire country of Sri Lanka is covered with palm trees. If I see palm trees with few other clues, I will guess Sri Lanka by default.
These extremely narrow roads are particularly common in Sri Lanka. If I see a narrow paved road in Asia surrounded by vegetation, with few other clues, I will guess Sri Lanka.
The most common form of Sri Lankan road lines feature white, continuous edge lines and a dashed, white, centre line.
Sri Lankan houses most commonly feature terracotta tiles on their roofs. There are concrete walls typically separating Sri Lankan houses from the narrow, paved paths that are found everywhere in Sri Lanka.
These tiny, cramped rickshaws are a common feature of Sri Lanka. They have three wheels and a black covering.
These small, white bollards with black bases are found near creeks, rivers and other water sources in Sri Lanka.
A wide range of utility poles are found across Sri Lanka. The most common pole I’ve seen contains three thick, upward facing ‘pine cones’ on top.
Regarding the pole itself, probably the most common type of Sri Lankan utility pole is concrete and square shaped. It also features small dots running up it however these dots are only near the top of the pole. This distinguishes the pole from Thai poles which have the dots running all the way to the ground.
Sometimes you will see Sri Lankan utility poles with large holes in them, like Hungarian, Polish and Romanian utility poles.
The Sri Lankan primary written language of Sinhala looks to me like pieces of fruit.
Bangladeshi Street View coverage generally includes the largest cities in the country and the major roads connecting these cities.
The bars underneath the Street View car and side view mirrors are visible in many parts of Bangladesh however they don’t appear everywhere.
If you don’t see the bars and side view mirrors of the Street View car in Bangladesh, then the remainder of the time you should almost always see the white outline of the end of the Street View car.
Bangladesh has a high population density and this is reflected with the streets often teeming with people. There are often buildings and shops lining the sides of the road with signs galore.
The more rural parts of Bangladesh tend to have land on both sides of the road that is lower than the road itself. Trees also commonly line the road in rural Bangladeshi areas. Green grass is common on both sides of the road as are puddles and other forms of water.
Rickshaws featuring a bike at the front and two wheels at the back are common across other parts of Asia but they are especially common in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi vehicles drive on the left.
Most of the time, for civilian vehicles, Bangladeshi license plates are white for front and rear plates.
Rickshaws in Bangladesh tend to have either green or white license plates.
Bangladeshi bollards look like chimneys and are painted in alternating red and white sections. Sometimes the bollards are shorter than this image and thus have less red and white sections.
As well as red and white bollards, Bangladeshi fences near water also feature these colours.
Continuing Bangladesh’s fixation with red and white, sometimes the curbs are also painted these colours.
The most common road markings in Bangladesh involve white, continuous edge lines and a white, dashed, centre line.
The Bangala written language that is widespread across Bangladesh reminds me of musical notes written beneath a horizontal line that runs on top. It is distinct from Hindi as it often has triangles that point to the left.
Indian Street View coverage now covers large portions of the country.
India’s Street View footage was taken by an unofficial camera. It therefore appears different from all the standard generation imagery. The Indian camera is of low-quality, unique and easily recognisable. Everything appears slightly ‘foggy’.
If you pan down in India, one of the more common things you will see is a very large circular blur.
This is the same car that took the Street View imagery as the above large circular blur image. Whilst you will normally see just the circular blur in India, you will sometimes move forward and see the rectangular car.
This is the second car you will see if you pan down in India. The end of the car has a slight blue tint.
India often has black and yellow curbs. Sometimes they are painted black and white.
Regular vehicles in India have white license plates that are elongated. Electric vehicles have green license plates and transport and trucks have yellow license plates.
If you happen to see an unblurred license plate in India, you can work out what state you are in. The first two letters on all Indian license plates are an abbreviation of the state name. In this example, the MH means we are in the state of Maharashtra. Although the state abbreviations don’t appear on the map, the state names do appear and the abbreviations can be worked out.
Motorbikes are so common in India that in most locations you will see multiple motorbikes.
Tuk tuks are everywhere in India.
Tuk tuks with a black and yellow body (ignore the roof colour) are mainly found in the state of Maharashtra (Mumbai is in this state).
This map shows the tuktuk distribution across current Indian coverage. (Thanks to whomever made this map!)
India can also be recognised thanks to some of its residents wearing traditional Indian attire.
These light posts on utility poles or on their own poles are common throughout India.
Indian city names and addresses often appear on shop signs. In this example, we are in the city of Amritsar.
English is fairly prevalent on signs in India.
This map shows the different scripts across India. Looking at scripts is one of the best ways to work out what part of India you are in. (Image source: oldergogoch)
Devanagari is orange in the above map. It is used to write Hindi. It is also the most common script used across India. Note the horizontal lines on top of the letters (like Bengali) but also certain letters resembling spiral staircases.
Gujarati is blue in the above map. This script is used in western India, in the state of Gujarat. Note that the letters appear unconnected to one another plus the abundance of vertical strokes. Gujarati reminds me of upside-down Latin script.
Bengali is faded white in the above map (as opposed to the brighter white colour). This script is used in eastern India in the state of West Bengal (next to Bangladesh). Note the horizontal line on the letters (similar to Devanagari) but also the abundance of large, black dots- Devanagari largely lacks this.
Odia is yellowish in the above map. It is used in eastern India in the state of Odisha. Note that most of the letters resemble a skull emoji.
Telugu is bright white in the above map (as opposed to faded white). It is used in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. In Telugu, note the lack of horizontal lines over the curved letters. This distinguishes the language from Kannada.
Kannada is purple in the above map. It is used in the state of Karnataka. Looking at Kannada, note the fairly common horizontal lines above the curved letters. These horizontal lines are much rarer in Telugu.
Tamil is green in the above map. It is used in the state of Tamil Nadu- across the Gulf of Mannar from Sri Lanka. Tamil stands out as it has these fancy loops in its letters. It is also unique as the characters appear to be two or three characters joined together. Another way of identifying Tamil is that it has a large number of vertical lines that typically lack the horizontal line on top.
If you look at the map of India, each city name is written in the local script underneath the Latin script. This can be useful if you don’t wish to memorise the difference between the scripts that are mentioned above.
Pakistan’s coverage in unique as it wasn’t captured by a car but rather a person. This means when you pan down, you should see the outline pictured above. A number of other countries around the world also have trekker coverage.
Most Pakistani coverage is in and around religious monuments/temples. Pakistan is a majority Muslim country.
This is another Pakistani religious temple. Also note the traditional clothes worn by the Pakistani people in the image.
Singapore is a rich looking country that has high rise buildings, new looking roads, neatly maintained trees and bushes and fairly expensive cars. Despite being urban, the country is very green and lush.
These black and white colours line many of the streets of Singapore. Cars drive on the left in Singapore.
Singapore has a range of license plates. Some plates are completely black.
Some are almost square-shaped with black sections.
Some vehicles in Singapore have yellow rear plates and white front plates.
Houses in Singapore tend to be double story and very affluent.
Some Singaporean traffic lights arch over the road with the lights in a horizontal orientation. Also shown in this image are the Singaporean street lights which similarly hang over the road.
Often in Singapore you will see concrete pillars holding up a large, elevated, cement pathway. This is Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit. It is essentially an expensive transport system that serves the Singaporean public.
Singapore has these aesthetically pleasing street signs (on the left of the image) and larger, green directional signs (on the right of the image).
Singaporean warning signs look like standard European signs however the shape of the actual white sign is square, not triangular. This is unique in the world.
Singaporean road lines come in a range of styles. It is common to have double yellow, continuous road lines on the very edges of the road.
There are two useful tips to help you pinpoint in Singapore. Firstly, three letter highway names (such as TPE, SLE and CTE above) are generally easy to find on the map. Secondly, other highways in Singapore are commonly named after the district they are located in. In the above example, Upper Changi Road East is located in Changi, a district whose name is clearly visible on the map.
Singapore has four official languages. These are: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Sometimes all four of these languages appear on signs.
English is the most used written language in Singapore.
Turkish Street View coverage centres around its major cities and towns. It also covers the main roads connecting these areas. Few rural, minor roads are covered in Turkey.
Turkey typically has wide roads with undulating land throughout most of the country, including urban areas.
Turkey has a diverse landscape. The northern and western parts of the country are green with moderate amounts of flora.
The eastern part of Turkey is green, with little to no flora.
Large parts of the remainder of Turkey are dry with a real lack of flora.
Many Turkish residents live in apartments that are a number of stories high with a terracotta, tiled roof.
Some of the higher Turkish apartments have flatter roofs.
Turkey has standard European license plates with the blue stripe on the left. Turkey has bold, black lettering on its plates. As a result, you will often see black markings on the plate.
These bollards are a common sight throughout Turkey and resemble the Australian bollards with a slightly fatter rectangle.
Turkey has these fairly unique red and white road arrows indicating corners.
Turkey uses a wide range of utility poles. Some of the more recognisable poles have large holes in them. These poles are different to the poles in Romania, Hungary and Poland as they are made out of metal and have larger holes. There are variants of the above poles in Turkey, featuring zigzagging metal bars throughout the centre.
Turkey uses the standard European warning signs.
Turkey uses either blue or green coloured directional signs.
Turkish kilometre markers are pictured above. There are two important components to these markers. Firstly, the number (and sometimes letter) in the top left corner indicates what road you are on. If you see the letter ‘o’ followed by a number you are on that road eg the o-5 road in the above example. If you see just a number in the top left corner, you are on a D road. For example, 360 indicates the road D360. Ignore the number in the top right corner. The number on the bottom row is the kilometre number of the sign on that road (in the above example, the 27th kilometre).
Ankara is the only city in Turkey to have these unique-looking street signs that feature a curved top-middle section of the sign. These signs are found right across Ankara.
Seeing this letter ‘ş’ in a useful way to confirm that you are in Turkey.
The letter ‘C’ with a hook underneath it is another letter I look for to identify Turkey. In general, the Turkish language reminds me most of Albanian.
South American Street View coverage.
Across South America, the word ‘PARE’ is written on stop signs. This can help distinguish the continent from other areas such as Mexico and Guatemala where the word ‘ALTO’ is written on stop signs.
Diamond shaped, yellow warning signs are found across South America. They are also found across North America and a few other countries around the world.
If a road has markings in South America then there is almost certainly some form of yellow centre line. This may be a dashed yellow line, a continuous yellow line or even a double yellow centre line. Chile is an exception where white centre lines are predominant, except for the south.
Brazilian Street View coverage is centred around the east and south of the country. Very little of the western part of the country, where the Amazon Rainforest is positioned, is covered.
The Brazilian landscape is exceptionally varied due to the sheer size of the country. Almost the entire country is flat (with gentle rises) which contrasts many other South American countries.
Parts of Brazil, especially the northern regions and central states such as Goias, can have a reddish soil colour.
Sometimes you will get an inkling that you are in Brazil thanks to the reddish soil next to the road.
The north-eastern parts of Brazil can have a lighter soil colour with little flora. The north-eastern parts of Brazil are very dry.
I often notice these embankments on either side of the road in Brazil.
There are two main types of Street View car in Brazil. One of these is the blue car.
The second type of Street View car in Brazil is the white car. It can appear with the short antenna or like this example, without an antenna.
The major petrol/gas station in Brazil has this logo.
If you spot a large satellite dish in South America then there is a good chance you are in Brazil. Satellite dishes are doubly useful as they face towards the equator. This can be useful for determining how far north or south you are in the enormity of Brazil.
Brazilian signs have black on their backs. Peru can also have a dark rear on their signs however it isn’t as black as the rear of Brazilian signs
Brazil has green and blue directional signs, both with white lettering.
Brazilian utility poles can comes in a range of styles. The most common type is wider at the base and narrower at the top. They tend to also have indents in them. They look similar to Chilean poles however Chilean utility poles have one long indent whilst Brazil typically has 3 indented sections.
If you look closely at most types of Brazilian utility poles, you should see small holes in a vertical formation that look like they have been drilled into the pole.
Brazilian houses come in wide range of styles. They are made from various materials, can have virtually every style of roof and can come in a range of colours.
The Brazilian state of Acre (in the far west) stands out thanks to its houses typically being wooden and on short stilts.
A Brazilian highway sign. The intricacies of the Brazilian road system are explained in depth in the ‘Highway Numbering Systems’ section near the top of this article.
In Brazil, trucks, buses and taxis have distinctive red license plates. This can be helpful for recognising the country, especially on long, remote roads where trucks frequently travel.
There are a few easy ways to distinguish Portuguese from Spanish. Portuguese has the ‘Ç’ symbol whilst Spanish doesn’t. This is a regularly occurring symbol in Portuguese so many signs will house it. Another tell is that many words in Portuguese end in ‘ção’. Finally, Portuguese has the symbol ã which is an ‘a’ with a squiggle on its top (this is different from an accent).
A map indicating the phone area codes in Brazil. Often advertisements and shop signs feature a phone number and this prefix can be matched with the above map to determine locations in Brazil. Phone numbers that begin with ‘99’ in Brazil are mobile numbers. A list of the phone codes for Brazil can be found here:XXXX(Source: Magno Brasil, Wikipedia)
Not all Brazilian phone numbers include an area code although area codes on shops tend to be a bit more common than not. If a phone number in Brazil contains 10 digits it has the area code as the first two digits. In the example above, this means the area code is ’21’ and looking at the above map, we are in Rio de Janeiro. A large portion of the time, the two-digit Brazilian area codes appear in brackets before the phone number. Be warned though- if a phone number in Brazil has just 8-digits, it doesn’t contain the area code. Area codes are the best and easiest way to narrow down your region in Brazil.
A map showing the general landscapes found across the different regions of Brazil. Below this map are examples of each region with more information. (Source: poorly made by me).
The north-west of Brazil (the green area on the top map) typically consists of something resembling a tropical rainforest with tropical flora. This is an extremely remote area and the roads are most commonly unpaved.
Central Brazil (the yellow area on the above map) corresponds to the part of Brazil that most commonly has a distinctive, red soil. (If I see red soil in Brazil, I will guess around the state of Goias). This yellow area on the map contains lots of farmlands and crops and has been largely deforested. There are rarely rural houses visible in this area.
The area in the north-east of Brazil (the blue area on the above map) is notable for its light coloured soil that looks almost sandy. It also seldom has trees and mainly features intermittently dispersed, bushes. In general, the landscape here is low. This part of Brazil is very dry.
The south-eastern part of Brazil (the red part on the map) is the most populated part of the country. As a result, cars are commonly visible on the roads and there are houses visible, even in rural areas. The most distinctive landscape features of this area are the green, rolling hills and density of trees with plentiful, green leaves.
Southern Brazil (the orange area on the map) has a landscape resembling Uruguay and Argentina. There are sprinklings of tall trees with some trees only have branches near their peak. Southern Brazil is drier than south-eastern Brazil. As a result, you will see drier fields more abundantly.
The tall trees with their branches near the peak are called Parana pines. The branches span from the tree almost horizontally. Parana pines are found in the southern Brazilian states of Parana, Santa Catalina and northern Rio Grande Do Sul.
Argentinian Street View coverage extends across most of the country, including the harsh southern parts. Typically main roads are covered as well as cities and towns.
If you pan down in Argentina, you should see a black coloured Street View car. The only other place that looks remotely like Argentina with the black car is Uruguay (although Chile too very, very rarely has the black car). In very rare newer coverage, the Argentine car will appear white but this is rare. Argentina also very occasionally has generation 4 Street View coverage featuring the blue car.
The central part of Argentina has many grass fields with a moderate covering of flora.
Argentina is incredibly flat apart from the far western part that borders Chile. Most of the northern half of Argentina consists of green fields with low to moderate amounts of trees. Argentina most commonly has white continuous edge lines. This is in tandem with double yellow, continuous centre lines or white dashed, centre lines.
The southern part of Argentina lacks any real vegetation.
There are many unpaved roads in southern Argentina.
Argentinian road lines often feature white dashes in the centre next to a yellow, continuous line. Uruguay also has this combination.
The major gas/petrol stations in Argentina have this logo.
Argentinian cities have these street signs that run perpendicular to one another. The street signs vary in colour depending on what city you are placed in. I have seen blue, black and green street signs in Argentina.
Argentinian cities tend to have trees between the footpath and the road, similar to Uruguay.
The edges of Argentinian roads have three types of these small black and white signs on tiny wooden posts. The first type of these signs just displays the kilometre of the road you are on.
The second type of these black and white signs displays the letters ‘RN’ followed by a number. These letters denote Argentinian National Roads. These are the major type of Argentinian roads. In the example above we are on National Road number 8. The number beneath the road number denotes how many km along the road you have travelled. The third type of these black and white signs displays the letters ‘RP’ denoting Provincial Road. These are minor roads.
National Roads (RN) in Argentina are denoted on the map by these white shapes.
Provincial Roads (RP) are denoted on the map by these green squares.
Other than the written language sounding Spanish, there are some specific things to look for to identify Spanish and distinguish it from Portuguese and other languages. Look for is the letter ‘y’ as its own word. This means ‘and’ in Spanish. Also, Spanish often uses the letter ‘ñ’ which is the letter ‘n’ with a squiggly line over the top.
Uruguayan Street View coverage stretches across the country. The majority of the coverage includes major roads as well as cities. A large portion of the coverage is in the south around greater Montevideo and hugging the southern coastline. This area also includes many minor roads and unpaved areas.
Across virtually all of Uruguay, the Street View car is black. Of the visually similar looking countries, Argentina also has a black car.
Uruguayan roads often have white dashes inside two yellow lines.
Uruguay often has a yellow, continuous centre line and white, dashed, centre line concurrently. This same road line combination can also be seen in Argentina.
As a generalisation, Uruguayan roads and signs show a bit more wear than Argentine roads and signs.
Posts in Uruguay are typically white and wooden.
The Uruguayan landscape is visually similar to northern Argentina. It is also rather flat.
Uruguay has a sprinkling of trees with the landscape mainly consisting of grass.
The most common type of utility pole in Uruguay features three upward-facing bulbs that makes the pole resemble a trident.
Uruguayan bollards are painted white on the front and have a rectangular reflector near the top.
The rear of Uruguayan bollards are yellow. They feature a yellow coloured, rectangular reflector near the top.
These short and white bollards appear near water sources in Uruguay.
Uruguayan road signs are stuck to poles perpendicular to one another. These signs can come in a range of colours.
Uruguayan cities often have these black and white arrows stuck on walls and on poles.
Uruguayan traffic lights are mounted on black and white striped poles.
As a general rule, if you can see a blue sky in Uruguay, you should guess in the western part of the country.
Like Argentina, urban Uruguay often features trees between the footpath and road. Urban Uruguay tends to look slightly poorer than urban Argentina.
There are a large number of cows visible in Uruguayan fields. If I notice cows in a field and I am tossing up between Uruguay and the similarly looking Argentina, I will guess Uruguay.
Ecuadorian Street View coverage is mainly found on the western half of the country. Greater Quito is covered as well as all of Guayaquil. Many other Ecuadorian towns and cities are also covered as well as the roads connecting these areas. The coverage in the south and east of Ecuador is self-contained. In other words, there is no way out.
Ecuador has the Street View car’s stubby antenna visible. Brazil, Colombia and Mexico may also have this aerial however it is most common and ubiquitous in Ecuador and Colombia. The four Latin American countries stand out for having a single diagonal string-like protrusion wrapping around the stubby antenna. Countries with a stubby antenna outside of Latin America have a different looking stubby antenna without the single diagonal string like protrusion.
The entire country of Ecuador is mountainous or at the least, hilly. The Andes is covered in dense, green, vegetation.
The bulk of Ecuador features thick, green foliage. Winding roads are common too.
Ecuador can look vastly different away from the Andes with a drier landscape.
Ecuador has a number of different shaped bollards. The type pictured is the most common. Almost all Ecuadorian bollards retain the same feature of having two red sections- one above the other.
One type of Ecuadorian bollard just retains a single red stripe of the first bollard that was pictured.
Ecuadorian taxis and buses have these license plates featuring an orange stripe on top and blue sections against the backdrop of the white plate. Private vehicles have regular, white license plates.
Distinctive looking and unique orange license plates appear on some vehicles in Ecuador.
Ecuadorian taxis sometimes have blurred out areas on their side. Unlike Peru, Bolivia and Colombia, these occasional blurred out sections don’t reveal the name of the city nor do they display the license plate.
Ecuador have one pole holding two signs indicating to cars that they are on a corner. These are particularly common thanks to the twisting Ecuadorian roads.
Ecuador has unique looking, double guard rails that feature one guard rail on top of another guard rail.
Some Ecuadorian towns have narrow roads comprising individual tiles that tessellate.
Ecuadorian houses come in a high range of styles. They can also have any roof style from tiles to corrugated iron to vines. Ecuadorian houses are most commonly built with gray coloured bricks. This contrasts most other South American houses which are mainly built using red brick.
Ecuadorian utility poles come in many styles. One of the more common pole types is a cylindrical-like pole that is narrower near the top.
Ecuador uses similar highway shields to the US interstate shields.
Colombian Street View coverage is virtually non-existent in the south and east of the country. The western coast, south of Panama, also lacks coverage. Unlike Ecuador, which mainly has coverage of major roads and cities, Colombian coverage also incorporates minor roads. As a result, you will often see dirt roads in Colombian coverage whilst these are rather rare in Ecuador.
License plates in Colombia are typically yellow in colour for both the front and rear plate. Out of South America, this is endemic to Colombia. Seeing yellow license plates is the easiest way to identify Colombia.
The Colombian landscape is very green and tropical with thick foliage common.
Much of Colombia has a hilly or mountainous landscape. Many of the Colombian roads are dirt.
Colombia often has colourful houses with corrugated iron roofs.
In Colombia, you will typically see the short, stubby aerial of the Street View car if you pan down. Sometimes the aerial will be there but not visible in that moment. In this scenario you normally will need to move a few metres to make it appear. In Latin America, the short, stubby aerial is most common in Colombia and Ecuador but is can also be seen in Brazil and Mexico on occasions. This antenna in the four Latin American countries stands out for having a single diagonal string like protrusion wrapping around it. Countries with a stubby antenna outside of Latin America have a different looking stubby antenna without the single diagonal string like protrusion.
Within Colombia, these rudimentary fences are a common sight (especially in rural Colombia). They consist of misshapen wooden branches placed at intervals and connected by some wire. They are rarely seen outside of Colombia. On a number of occasions, I have been placed in a remote part of Colombia with few clues and these fences have helped me determine that I am indeed in Colombia.
Colombia has a large number of yellow and black striped poles.
These black and yellow stripes extend to Colombian traffic lights.
Colombia have crosses on the backs of their signs. This is an easy way to distinguish the country from the others in South America, including Ecuador.
Signs in Colombia are held up by what are almost comically narrow poles that are painted white.
Colombian commercial vehicles such as taxis and trucks, have license plates on their side. These are sometimes blurred. If they aren’t blurred, you will be able to read the name of the city or area. In the image above, the plate says ‘Bogota’. Colombian taxis also have the city name on their roof. Peru and Bolivia have similar side license plates on commercial vehicles. Ecuador can have blurred sides on their taxis however these blurred areas on Ecuadorian taxis don’t cover license plates or city names.
These ‘Philippine-style’ roads comprising large, concrete rectangular blocks can be found in Colombia.
Peruvian Street View coverage only rarely ventures to the east of the Andes. The coverage mainly covers Peruvian cities and towns and the more major roads between these areas.
Peruvian sign poles are striped black and white and provide one of the best mechanisms to recognise the country.
Peruvian sign poles also stand out as they are often situated in solid concrete blocks that are above ground level.
The Street View car in Peru can be white or black. Within South America, the white car can also mainly be seen in Bolivia and Chile (although in Chile, this is more of a solid white colour). It can also very rarely be seen in Argentina.
The Street View car can be black or white in Peru. Within South America, Uruguay and Argentina also have the black car. If you see no colour car beneath you in Peru, you should eventually see a car colour if you move.
Peru is a largely mountainous and hilly country.
In general, Peru is a dry country, much drier than Ecuador and Colombia. There also tends to be less vegetation and less green vegetation in Peru than in Ecuador and Colombia.
Eastern and northern Peru are home to green, lush mountains that look like the area around Machu Picchu. This greenery is rarer in Peru, thanks to the lack of coverage in the east of the country.
These trees (that remind me of African trees) are found in the northern part of Peru.
Southern Peru is home to part of the Atacama Desert. This is a featureless area of undulating land.
A large number of Peruvian utility poles have part of their lower section painted. There is no single colour they are painted with some being black, blue, yellow, etc or some mixture of colours. Also, some are only painted a few feet up whilst others are painted almost half-way up.
Peru sometimes has these unique utility poles. They consist of the three top parts all extending out from the pole in the same direction.
Peruvian bollards look like cigarettes. They sometimes have the black stripes pictured here but on other occasions they lack these black stripes.
Peruvian bollards can also be a triangular prism in shape (with the same colour scheme as the previous picture or lacking the black stripes) rather than cylindrical.
Peruvian houses often have electricity counters on them consisting of a rectangular box with two or three horizontal black lines. They aren’t found elsewhere in the world to my knowledge. This is one of the best ways to identify Peru.
Peruvian houses can often be brick or be painted a range of colours. The Peruvian roofs tend to be flat. The houses are typically very low in height.
If a Peruvian houses is built out of brick, it is often a brown-coloured brick. This brick colour is fairly rare in South America outside of Peru.
The license plates of taxis appears on the sides of the vehicle in Peru (as they do in Colombia and Bolivia).
Bolivian Street View coverage is fairly limited. Six of Bolivia’s major cities are covered: La Paz, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Sucre, Oruro and Potosi. Some of the main roads connecting these cities or spreading radially from these cities are also covered. Minor, rural roads aren’t included in Bolivian coverage. Nothing in the northern half of the country is covered and very little east of Santa Cruz de la Sierra is covered.
The back of the Street View car appears as this ghostly white colour in Bolivia. Peru can also have the ghostly white car. Chile has a white car that tends to be more opaque.
Bolivian Street View coverage is centred around major cities. It also has coverage of the main roads connecting these cities.
Bolivia can have a diverse landscape. In general, the country tends to be rather dry. The outlying areas of the Atacama Desert cover the western and south-western parts of the country.
The eastern part of Bolivia around Santa Cruz (which has limited coverage) is green and lush. So too is the area north of La Paz and Cochabamba (these are the green areas on the GeoGuessr map). This green landscape is more of an aberration in Bolivia with most of the country dry with less flora. If I see a lush green Bolivia round, I will typically guess somewhere around Santa Cruz.
Bolivian houses tend to look quite similar to Peruvian houses. They are mainly made of brick and have flat roofs.
Bolivia resembles Peru in many ways however large parts of Bolivia are flat (there are indeed mountainous parts) whilst Peru is almost all undulating or mountainous.
Parts of Bolivia are mountainous however the Street View coverage rarely ventures into undulating land in Bolivia. Note how arid the environment looks.
Like Colombia and Peru, Bolivian commercial vehicles e.g. taxis have license plates on their sides. In many instances these side plates are blurred.
Cars in Bolivia have license plates with a faint, blue colour.
Across much of Bolivia, the signs are held up by thick, unpainted, wooden posts.
Bolivia can have bollards but they are rather rare. They are cigarette shaped with a red stripe near the top.
As well as regular, cylindrical utility poles, the most common form of utility pole in Bolivia is asymmetrical and has one diagonal bar stemming from the pole to the horizontal bar, forming a right-angle triangle.
It’s often possible to narrow down where you are in Bolivia based on smudges and the type of road. I think this map was created by Reddit user __Blue_
Chilean coverage runs down the entire length of Chile. It starts at the Atacama Desert and stretches down towards Tierra del Fuego.
Chile stands out if you pan down. This white, rear section of the Street View car, which looks a bit like an ironing board can be seen across most of the country. Sometimes the car will appear a bit more transparent. Bolivia and Peru can also have the transparent, white Street View car.
Chile stands out in South America as its roads have a white middle line across most of the country. This contrasts the yellow middle lines of the rest of South America. There are some caveats- southern Chile, where it snows, has yellow lines. Also, small parts of Argentina have a white middle line. If you see a continuous (as opposed to dashed) white, centre line in South America, you must be in Chile.
The far south of Chile, where it snows, has yellow road lines. This contrasts the white middle lines found across the rest of Chile.
Northern Chile is home to the Atacama Desert. It features sandy landscapes and undulating land.
Central Chile, around Santiago, is fairly green and Mediterranean looking. Due to the Andes flanking the eastern border of Chile, you will often see mountains to the east of you.
There are a number of unpaved roads in Chile.
Chile is renowned for having lots of planted forests, especially in the region south of Santiago. These forests feature the same trees of roughly the same size, in a grid formation.
On Ruta 5 from Huara up to Arica (these towns are shows on the below map), you will see a tree’s branch on the back of the Street View car.
A map showing Huara and Arica. On Ruta 5- the main road between the towns, there is a branch on the back of the Street View car.
If you notice generation 4 coverage in Chile, (this can be represented by the blue car if you pan down), then you are in Temuco or Santiago.
Chilean utility poles have an indent that runs up the pole.
Additionally to the indent, there is a column of small, vertically aligned drilled holes near the top of Chilean utility poles.
Chilean road signs are held on these thin poles that remind me of paddle pop sticks (Popsicle sticks).
Houses in central Chile are more likely to have terracotta tiled roofs.
Houses in the south of Chile tend to be wooden, painted a range of bright colours and have slanting roofs made from corrugated iron.
These bus stop shelters are found right across Chile. Surprisingly, you will often see them in heavily rural areas and they can be a great way to confirm that you are indeed in Chile.
National roads in Chile are the major roads that run throughout the country. They are called ‘Ruta’ and commonly feature the letter ‘R’ prior to the road number (as pictured). National road number 5 is the longest road in Chile. It begins near the Peruvian border and runs right down to Quellon. Roads to the west of National road 5 are generally even numbered and roads to the east are generally odd numbered.
National roads in Chile can also be referred to simply as ‘Ruta’.
This shield shape denotes Chilean National roads on the map. The shield shape is also commonly seen on signs in Chile denoting a National road.
Using local roads in Chile is one of the best ways to pinpoint. Local roads in Chile will begin with a letter from ‘A’ through to ‘Y’ followed by a dash and a number. The letter informs you of where in Chile you are located. The further south you travel, the further in the alphabet the local roads are named. ‘A’ roads occur in the north of the country. As you progress south, sequentially the letters increase from B, C, D…. until Y roads in the very south of Chile. For example if I see a Chilean road beginning with ‘S’, I will look towards the south of the country. The number following the local road letter is also relevant. Local roads to the west of National road 5 are generally even numbered and local roads to the east of National road 5 are generally odd numbered.
The island of Curaçao is located just north of Venezuela. The Street View coverage spans most of the island.
The Caribbean island of Curaçao stands out thanks to its brightly coloured houses.
The Street View car’s bars are visible in Curaçao.
As well as the bars being visible in Curaçao, the car’s black bonnet is simultaneously visible. No other country has this combination of the bars and black bonnet being visible simultaneously.
In some parts of Curaçao the foliage is low and spiky. Most of the country has palm trees visible. Cacti are prevalent in some parts of Curacao.
Utility poles in Curaçao are commonly painted with a white base.
Many houses in Curaçao have some form of metal fence with gratings.
Curaçao features blue signs with white lettering that provide useful directional information that can help to pinpoint your location.
Curaçao is Dutch speaking with the signs reflecting this. There are also small smatterings of English across Curaçao.