Thursday, September 26, 2013

The United Kingdom of Minecraft - Updated


Can you name the river in the map above? If you recognise the river then you can probably name the city - but can you tell me the name of the map?

Yes, that's right ... it's the Ordnance Survey Minceraft Overviewer Map of the UK.

'Say what?' I hear you cry. Let me explain. This is a Google Map that lets you explore the UK's Ordnance Survey's new Minecraft map of the UK and surrounding islands.

Still confused? Then read on ...


The UK's Ordnance Survey is charged with maintaining the UK's geospatial and cartographic data. This largely involves creating and publishing maps in paper and digital form and now also in textual cube form for Minecraft fans.

Minecrafting with OS OpenData is a 3d map of mainland Great Britain and surrounding islands that anyone can download and explore in Minecraft. The OS Minecraft world was built with OS OpenData, that is Ordnance Survey data that is freely available under an attribution-only license.

The OS Minecraft world of Great Britain consists of more than 22 billion blocks representing over 220,000 square kilometres. Each block in the world represents 50 square metres. To help you navigate this 3d world the Ordnance Survey website has published a list of Minecraft world co-ordinates to some well known UK locations.

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