How to check distances in Google Earth

your google earth guide — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 21:50:31 +0000

One of the more mundane but very useful features of google earth is the ability to measure distances: -

To access this feature

first open the map in google earth at the place you are wishing to measure
on the toolbar select the measure option
you will see a small window appear as per the image above
now select line or path to select the type of measurement
using your mouse mark the start and end point for a line or mark the complete journey for a path

You will now see the distance shown in the gray window on the screen.

Is that better than getting out your pencil, ruler and calculator? I could never work out the scale and what I should be dividing by.

Checking for dangers of flooding

your google earth guide — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 20:33:27 +0000

You can use Google Earth as a rough indication of whether your address is at risk of flooding or not.

How ?

On the preferences under the map ensure that the terrain selector is checked
Put the hand cursor on the location of your property
Then look at the altitude measure under the map and move the cursor away from your property in several directions.
Observing the rise and fall of the altitude can give you some indication of whether you live on high ground (probably ok but not guaranteed) or in a hollow and possibly prone to flooding

You should particularly check the altitude of any nearby rivers.