Google Earth Introduction Lab - If your computer has Google Earth installed already, skip to Part 2 Part 1: Download: Going to this URL will allow you to download the 5.0 version of Google Earth. http://earth.google.com/ - click on Download and follow the steps from there - After it is downloaded it should appear on the desktop or under your applications on your computer Part 2: Getting started: - Open Google Earth and wait for it to load. The following steps will help understand how to use the program. 1.) Located on the right hand side of the screen is a control panel that is hidden until you wave your mouse over it.
2.) Once you have Google Earth installed and running successfully, the next step is to understand how to start using the program to your advantage. - There should be a dark translucent strip cross the bottom of the screen with information about what you are viewing in Google Earth - Starting from the left it will tell you the date that the digital image was taken of that area. - Moving towards the center it will tell you the latitude, longitude, and elevation (respectively) of the location that your mouse is on - Located on the far right is the elevation of your viewpoint - Tool Bar on Left of screen - At the top of the tool bar is Search box. In this box there is a tab called Fly to which acts as a search bar that will take you wherever you wish to go to in the world. - Under the Fly to box is the Places box. Each check box here represents a layer that can be turned on or off by clicking in the box. If you are loading a map or a kmz file into Google Earth it will show up here. - The last box is the Layers box. This box has different basic layers, for example: Roads, Traffic, and Weather. -Make sure the Terrain layer is turned on - Tool Bar across the top of the screen - This toolbar has many different buttons, simply scroll over them with your mouse to find out what they are. - One of the useful tools on the toolbar is the Ruler which measures distances along the ground. -The Google Earth Options has settings that you can change if desired. To get there go Tools>Options>3D View -Show Lat/Long>chose Decimal Degrees -Show Elevation> chose Meters, Kilometers -Terrain Quality> the range is between 0.5-3. 0.5 is less than the actual elevation, and 3 is very exaggerated. You can change this to whatever suits your fancy.
Name: Part 3: Exercises 1. How much have you used Google Earth? a. Never b. A few times c. Several times a semester d. Almost every week 2. Fly to JMU, then find the HHS / ISAT building (east campus). On the Google Earth image, what is located where the East Campus Library should be located? So, how old do you think the Google Earth image is? Fly to the JMU Quad. What else is out of date on the Google Earth image? 3. What is your hometown? What are the latitude and longitude of your hometown? How many kilometers is it from your hometown to JMU, in a straight line? 4. How tall is the peak of Massanutten Mtn. at the ski area? To see it better you can exaggerate its elevation by going into Tools>Options>3D View>Terrain Quality>Elevation Exaggerate=3. 5. What is the length of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel? (kilometers) 6. Find the latitude, longitude and elevation of the Matterhorn (in the Alps).
7. Fly to these latitude and longitude coordinates 27.988406N, 86.924983E. Once you are there push the up arrow on the eye controller until your viewing angle is parallel with the ground, then rotate your view. What feature are you looking at? What is its elevation? 8. Look at the region around the Himalayan mountain of K2; do you notice any evidence of glacial activity? Explain. 9. What is the distance from the island of Niihau, at the left of the Hawaiian chain, to the eastern tip of the main island of Hawaii? (kilometers) 10. Fly to the Grand Canyon. What is the difference in elevation between the Colorado River and the rim of the Grand Canyon (the plateau) above the river? 11. Fly to 37.2959132521, -110.801469886. What kind of surface process has happened here in regards to the nearby river? 12. Fly to 32.845037, -106.233098. Explore this area by zooming in and out and tilting the view. What kind of surface features do you think you are looking at? Why are they white? 13. Fly to 70.250598, -148.632664. Investigate the grey line, what do you think it is?
14. Fly to 46.852344, -121.757877. What do you think the circular feature at the top of the mountain? What large city is nearby? Is this a concern for the local inhabitants? Explain. 15. Fly to 70.250598, -148.632664. Investigate the grey line, what do you think it is? 16. Fly to 38.061062, -77.790190. What is this complex? Why is it located next to a lake? 17. Fly to Bingham Canyon, Utah. What is the yellow/tan feature? Is it a natural or man-made feature? How wide is it (in kilometers)? 18. Fly to -28.738141, 24.758712. What country are you in? What do you see here? Why is this area so dark on the satellite image? Is this a natural or man-made feature? 19. Fly to Palm Jumeirah, Dubai. What kind of geologic process formed these islands? Turn on 3D Buildings in the Layers box. What do you see?