Google® Power Tools Bible

Chapter 13. Exploring the World with Google Earth

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• Search and view locations in Google Earth

• Mark the places you’ve seen with placemarks

• Use Google Earth navigation tools to take guided tours of the earth

• Add polygons and paths to your satellite images

• Select the right version of Google Earth for your personal or business needs

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It is not often in life that access to a completely new kind of information enters our lives, and changes them forever. This is what Google Earth has done for many people around the world. Google Earth provides simple, powerful, and rapid access to the entire Earth via satellite imagery, some of it captured in such high resolution that you can clearly see the shadows of the people on the ground and even make out the make and model of cars parked in front of houses.

The Google Earth images are being used for quite a number of different applications. Now, when you get driving directions you can see more than artistically drawn map, you can actually see landmarks, large trees, you can even see what buildings look like from above. Amazing fly-throughs have been created for large events, like air shows, to show people what the events look like, and where certain displays are located. Annotated Google Earth maps provide location information for businesses, national parks, clubs and World Heritage Sites.

Obtaining the Google Earth Software

Unlike many of Google’s applications, this one requires you to download and install ...