Learn About Google Earth Pro!

Google Earth Pro is a powerful mapping tool that can be used in many contexts to describe a place or to compare multiple places, although the technology can be confusing at first. Today, I’ll tell you about some of my favorite features! Please keep in mind that this tutorial is intended for the downloaded Google Earth Pro-many of these features are not availbale on the web version.

Beginner Tips and Tricks

You can realign your map to geographic north by clicking on the ‘N’ in the top right corner. On the left, I have a misaligned map, and by clicking on the ‘N’ in the top right corner, I aligned my map to geologic north, as seen on the right.

You can also import .kmz files made for Google Earth like these models which have open sourcing permissions from the USGS (my favorite is the tectonic plate boundary model). All you have to do is have Google Earth downloaded to your device. If it doesn’t automatically pop up in your Google Earth sidebar with an option to toggle it on and off, you may have to drag the .kmz file from your downloads into your sidebar. Now you can see your model overlaying your base Google Earth map!

Creating an Elevation Profile (Cross Section)

Now, let’s say you are interested in the elevation profile of a linear cross section in your map.

1. Select the measure tool (looks like a mini ruler in the toolbar).
2. The pop-up window will tell you about the length of your line. In the toolbar at the top of the Ruler window, switch to ‘Path’
3. Toggle ‘show elevation profile’ on.
4. Now, select your starting and ending points by clicking once on each end.
5. You can now mouse over the profile and see how it coorelates to the actual geography in the area.

Creating an Academic Figure

Once you have a finalized figure, you can create a title and legend.

1. Go to ‘File’ in the tool bar at the top of your screen.
2. Select ‘Save’
3. Select ‘Save image’
4. Edit the legend, title, and description appropriately.
5. Use the ‘Map options’ button at the top to edit the scaling, or text size, for a more readable result.
6. Select ‘Save image’ to download the figure to your device.

For more tutorials, the Google Earth user guide has numerous resources for a beginner or intermediate user. Many more resources exist, like this one from the Virginia Tech Geospatial Extern Program. I hope my tutorial was helpful, best of luck luck!