Google Map Error Places Parts Of El Paso In Mexico
Drivers on the border highways may have crossed the border into Mexico without even knowing it, at least according to Google Maps.
ABC-7 received an email from a viewer asking if the popular map site had made a mistake, or if parts of the border highway near Modesto Gomez Park had been built on Mexican land.
The exact location of the border is determined by the International Boundary and Water Commission. ABC-7 talked with their spokeswoman from the IBWC who said that Google Maps was in error and their maps determine where the international line is positioned.
“The official maps are the maps adopted by the International Water and Boundary Commission,” said IBWC spokeswoman Sally Spener. “Unfortunately, there may be mistakes on other peoples’ maps that may occur from time to time. But I don’t think that this has created any confusion for anyone.”
Late last year, another error in Google Maps in a disputed part of Central America led to the invasion of Nicaraguan forces into a disputed area claimed by Costa Rica.
Many El Pasoans know that the border in the El Paso area is marked by the center of the Rio Grande. But what many El Pasoans don’t know is that the placement of the border has been changed multiple times, even in the past 50 years, because of the natural movement of the Rio Grande, according to Spener.
ABC-7 tried to get in touch with Google Maps to see if the problem could be corrected, but surprisingly, there was now one there to deal with this type of issue and we were asked to submit a complaint online.
