{"id":95546,"date":"2017-11-23T16:38:02","date_gmt":"2017-11-23T16:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=95546"},"modified":"2025-07-01T23:43:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T06:43:21","slug":"5-things-you-didnt-know-you-could-do-with-google-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/5-things-you-didnt-know-you-could-do-with-google-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"5 things you didn&#8217;t know you could do with Google Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Rendering fantastically detailed images of the planet in three dimensions, <strong>Google Earth<\/strong> is an app like few others. You might not have noticed just how much Google has<strong> improved the program<\/strong> since it first launched the service in 2001 using images collected from aircraft and satellites.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s look at some of the more clever features of Google Earth that you might not have noticed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"Google Eartch\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_optimized,f_auto\/p\/89bea6ea-96d9-11e6-87f8-00163ed833e7\/740056819\/google-earth-logo.png\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">Google Eartch<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/google-earth.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Download Google Earth<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--70\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"70\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"7\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\">7<\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/google-earth.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<h3>Zoom underwater and study the ocean\u2019s floors<\/h3>\n<p>You might already know that Google Earth lets you zoom around the planet&#8217;s surface with ease. But did you know that you can also <strong>plumb the depths under the surface of the world&#8217;s waterways<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p>Seas and major lakes are mapped beneath the surface so users can engage in <strong>bathymetry<\/strong> \u2013 the study of the ocean&#8217;s floors. In 2011, high-resolution images were added to the system for places like the <strong>Hudson River<\/strong>, which allows resolutions up to 100 meters. Simply <strong>zoom in on the water\u2019s surface and keep going<\/strong> to discover what lies beneath in three dimensions.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-95548\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/ocean_floor.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/ocean_floor.png 600w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/ocean_floor-300x164.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Source: Google<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align:center; width:100%; margin:12px 0;\">\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n  google_ad_client = \"ca-pub-8132844949421936\";\r\n  var google_ad_slot = '9677578764';\r\n  if (window.innerWidth <= 470) {\r\n    google_ad_width = 300;\r\n    google_ad_height = 50;\r\n  }\r\n  else if (window.innerWidth < 1360) {\r\n    google_ad_width = 468;\r\n    google_ad_height = 60;\r\n  }\r\n  else {\r\n    google_ad_width = 728;\r\n    google_ad_height = 90;\r\n  }\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\r\nsrc=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/div>\n<h3>Travel in time<\/h3>\n<p>As well as moving through space,<strong> Google Earth allows you to move through time.<\/strong> If you are looking at an image of a city, for example, then you might see a year appear in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. Simply <strong>hover over the number to see an alternative image from the past<\/strong> of the section of the Earth you are looking at. It is a great way of seeing how the planet has changed over the years.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-95549\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/pastcities-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/pastcities-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/pastcities-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/pastcities-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/pastcities-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/pastcities-664x374.jpg 664w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/pastcities-238x134.jpg 238w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/pastcities-436x246.jpg 436w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/pastcities-370x208.jpg 370w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/pastcities-304x170.jpg 304w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/pastcities-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/pastcities.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-card-starred-link\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-starred-link__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-starred-link__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-starred-link__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-starred-link__img\" src=\"https:\/\/gweb-earth.storage.googleapis.com\/assets\/earth_desktop.jpg\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-starred-link__col-title\">\r\n        <p class=\"sc-card-starred-link__title\">5 tips for Google Earth Pro<\/p>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-starred-link__button\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/5-tips-for-google-earth-pro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer sponsored\">Read now<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-starred-link__link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/5-tips-for-google-earth-pro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer sponsored\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<h3>Take a virtual tour of your favorite places<\/h3>\n<p>If you&#8217;re heading somewhere on vacation and planning a tour of your destination, then<strong> Google Earth will help you by allowing you to preview it<\/strong>. Pre-loaded guided tours of tourist destinations in cities like Paris allow you to see which places you&#8217;d like to visit in person.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-95550\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/01292978-photo-google-earth-paris-tour-eiffel-1024x710.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"582\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/01292978-photo-google-earth-paris-tour-eiffel-1024x710.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/01292978-photo-google-earth-paris-tour-eiffel-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/01292978-photo-google-earth-paris-tour-eiffel-768x533.jpg 768w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/01292978-photo-google-earth-paris-tour-eiffel-1200x832.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/01292978-photo-google-earth-paris-tour-eiffel.jpg 1210w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Source: Google<\/em><\/p>\n<p>To find a tour for a given city, go to that city in Google Earth and <strong>click the thumbnail image at the bottom of the screen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>Simulate flight<\/h3>\n<p>Thanks to its realistic sense of hovering over the planet, Google has developed a <strong>flight simulator<\/strong> that allows users to get a real sense of taking to the skies. You can pitch, roll, and dive over the city where you live or experiment with controlling an airplane in a completely different part of the planet.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-95551\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/flightsimulator-1024x520.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/flightsimulator-1024x520.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/flightsimulator-300x152.jpg 300w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/flightsimulator-768x390.jpg 768w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/flightsimulator-1200x609.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/flightsimulator.jpg 1481w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Source: Google<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Simply head to the <strong>Tools<\/strong> section in the main menu and select <strong>Enter Flight Simulator.<\/strong>\u00a0Don&#8217;t forget to plug in a joystick for the perfect simulation experience!<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align:center; width:100%; margin:12px 0;\">\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n  google_ad_client = \"ca-pub-8132844949421936\";\r\n  var google_ad_slot = '9677578764';\r\n  if (window.innerWidth <= 470) {\r\n    google_ad_width = 300;\r\n    google_ad_height = 50;\r\n  }\r\n  else if (window.innerWidth < 1360) {\r\n    google_ad_width = 468;\r\n    google_ad_height = 60;\r\n  }\r\n  else {\r\n    google_ad_width = 728;\r\n    google_ad_height = 90;\r\n  }\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\r\nsrc=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/div>\n<h3>Learn more about places with Wikipedia cards<\/h3>\n<p>Google Earth is a great way to get to know a place. You can get even more from the experience by using the Wikipedia option, known as a <strong>point of interest layer<\/strong>. This will <strong>display a card with facts about the place you are looking at at while you are viewing the 3D images<\/strong>, so you can gain knowledge while exploring.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-95553\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/wikipedia1-1024x557.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"457\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/wikipedia1-1024x557.png 1024w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/wikipedia1-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/wikipedia1-768x418.png 768w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/wikipedia1.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Source: Google<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This option is enabled by default; to use it, simply click a place and the card appears.<\/p>\n<p>Want to start your own virtual tour?\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/google-earth.en.softonic.com\/download\">Download Google Earth here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rendering fantastically detailed images of the planet in three dimensions, Google Earth is an app like few others. You might not have noticed just how much Google has improved the program since it first launched the service in 2001 using images collected from aircraft and satellites. Let\u2019s look at some of the more clever features &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/5-things-you-didnt-know-you-could-do-with-google-earth\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;5 things you didn&#8217;t know you could do with Google Earth&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2040,"featured_media":95520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[2441],"tags":[2377],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-95546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to","tag-app-subdomain-redirectiongoogle-earth"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2040"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95546"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":328425,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95546\/revisions\/328425"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95546"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=95546"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=95546"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=95546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}