Resources

Google Earth and Google Maps Resources

These links are offered to support your efforts to create beautiful information applications using Google Earth and Google Maps

The three agencies supporting the Golden Gate National Recreation Area gratefully

acknowledge the Google Earth Outreach Team for all their support and guidance

(many links here are stolen from Google Earth Outreach Trainer's Corner!).

TUTORIALS

• Video: Parks Conservancy Google Earth and Maps Brown Bag Meeting, March 23, 2011 YouTube link
• Download a self-paced guide to Google Earth and Google Maps (12mb): Google Earth Outreach Training Workbook
• Earth and Maps tutorials galore! Video demos!: Google Earth Outreach Resources
• Building better balloons Balloon Templates
• Don't have Google Earth Pro? Measure your uploaded KML area Zonum KML Length-Area
  • Create a tour by clicking points, then get embed code to put into your website: Tourifier
  • Park your park data! How to Create a Google Sites Page: YouTube link
  • How to host your own KML online (hosting is required for the Embedding link below): Hosting KML Content
• Put your KMZ/KML tour into a Google Sites website: Embedding a tour
  • How to share the information you’ve created in Google Earth in an offline presentation or publication: Google Earth Unplugged
  • Test, steal, and embed bits of Google code into your project!: Google Code Playground
• KML Tutorial
  • More KML tutorials
• Google Maps API tutorials
• Google Earth API tutorial

EXAMPLES

• Pacific Institute Water Conflict
• Interactive Elevation Profiles
• Going the Distance: Comparing Marathons by the Wall Street Journal
• iLoveMountains.org – End Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining
• Japan Tsunami Wave Height Model
  • Chief Almir and the Surui Tribe of Amazon: YouTube link
• Google Earth Outreach introductory video: YouTube link
• Global Awareness Layers introductory video: YouTube link
  • Bike route mapping with elevations: Bike Route Toaster
  • San Francisco bicycle accident mapping: Bike Accident Tracker
  • Jogging path tracker and health monitor: Map My Run

CODING RESOURCES

• All the examples from the Google Maps API docs: Google Maps Javascript API V3 Examples
  • Don't like Google default colors? Make your own Google Maps style!: Styled Map Wizard
  • Get overlay code for entered shapes or markers, plus more useful stuff: Birdtheme Google Maps Tool
• All the tools you need to customize your recorded Google Earth tour: Touring in KML

INTERESTING THINGS

• Chief of Google Earth Outreach and community activist, Rebecca Moore, at the public event following our Google Earth and Maps training at the Institute at the Golden Gate, February 17, 2011 on the topic: "Google Earth Outreach: Tools for Environmental and Social Advocacy": Video link
  • Historic photos overlapping current street views: History Pin
  • To view hi-res imagery panoramas: Gigapan
  • Identify peaks in your skyline: HeyWhatsThat
• How to make statistics beautiful: Gapminder

MAP DATA RESOURCES

• Fast maps using public data: GeoCommons
• Map addresses quickly: BatchGeo
• Make a custom map with public data: ArcGIS.com
• Tools for Google Earth: Earth Point
• Calculate the area of a polygon in Google Earth: EarthPoint: KML Shapes
  • Icons! See the Icons tab above or check here: Raleigh's Icon Examples (click Visualize in Fusion Tables to see them)

RESOURCES FOR FURTHER LEARNING

• Not sure if you can use that Google Maps content? Check Google's Permissions document
• Plan Your Project
  • If you're thinking of creating a map for your cause, use this guide to help you plan your project
• Non-Profit Geo Strategies, by Mano Marks, published on TechSoup
  • Mapping Tools for Advocacy
  • Field Guide to Humanitarian Mapping
• Maps 2.0 Resources from Humaninet
• A Rough Google Earth Guide (872KB PDF) from Mercy Corps
• KML Handbook, by Josie Wernecke
• Google Earth Outreach Team's Trainer's Corner, or how to put on your own Google Earth training!