Question about Google Earth

[bux-n-dux]

I have been using Google Earth to view some terrain I plan to hunt this deer season. It's ground I'm familiar with in a general sense. Does anyone know how Google Earth gets its images? I see areas I have been in before and they are shown much less dense and brushy than I know them to be. There are clearings where I know there are not clear areas. How reliable is Google Earth for gauging terrain? If an area looks somewhat dense, can I plan on it being moreso? Thanks to anyone who might have some tips for me.

bux-n-dux

[Orygun]

There imagery is year or several behind. I check the place where I live every once and a while and I can tell when it was taken. We burn brush in the pasture and I know by what burn rings are there what year it occurred in. Aside from the time issue is that some of what you see is the computer imaging the brush and trees and terrain. The computer may be trying to guess on what is really there.

The elevation and contouring is pretty close. As are water courses and so on.

[buckfever07]

It is pretty accurate for me as far as trails and such go. As mentioned already, the images might be from a couple years back.
look at the top toolbar. You can adjust the date of the images and see how the terrain has changed in the years.

Buck

[30.06]

Anyone know if there is an application to get hiking trails overlapped onto google earth?

[CaliJeephuntr]

Bux, I look at GE all the time. As far as I can tell from the area's i've been to with what I see on GE, I believe it's pretty accurate. After all it is satellite shots they're using. So as long as the data gets filtered correctly then all is as it should be. I trust it.

[BelchFire]

It's a collection of satellite images and they're fairly close in the areas I'm familiar with. Update to the latest version and you can "view historical images" as buckfever07 said above. I like being able to tell what changes have occurred in the terrain when I'm looking for an old homesite or a cemetery. I think some of the older images may even be good old fashioned aerial images from a plane.

It's not always dead-on with the GPS, though. I can compare some spots I know to be fact and they're off, but it's not a huge amount. Like 25 or 30 yards in the worst cases I've seen. And the roads don't always match up to the images, but who's navigating with it anyway.

I love it. Use it all the time.

[bux-n-dux]

Thanks guys. I don't use GPS so I'm just looking at areas to hunt, glass, etc. It seems pretty accurate but I'm grateful for others experience and information.

[map]

bb

Originally Posted by 30.06

Anyone know if there is an application to get hiking trails overlapped onto google earth?

Sure, Google Earth 5.0 will handle Garmin and Magellan GPS direct, but the real advantage is to import the trails using mapping software or the Internet. If you want to try hiking trails with Google Earth, then the Hiking Web Sites have the saved GPS Tracks from their hikers posted as KML or GPX files. All you have to do is go to the free YoloHiker site and download their trails, and then upload them into your Google Earth.

Try this site:

Map Nav

Click on one of the little hikers on the big map and then click on a Trail Head. They have really out-did us hunters. With photos, maps, and a good write up, also.

If your computer wont display the little hiker icons, then click on the upper righthand corner of the page.

[Big_C]

Originally Posted by map

bb
Try this site:

Map Nav

Click on one of the little hikers on the big map and then click on a Trail Head. They have really out-did us hunters. With photos, maps, and a good write up, also.

If your computer wont display the little hiker icons, then click on the upper righthand corner of the page.

Does that site have anything further south? I zoomed out and panned down and then zoomed in again around the Bishop area and didn't get any "little hikers".

[map]

Yolo Hiker is the only fee site that I know of, but you can try Trails.com

Mammoth Lakes, Bishop, & White Mountains Area Hiking - Hikes