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Dr. Christie's Google Earth Measurement Tool Tutorial

Start with the big picture: Spain, Africa & the Mediterranean Sea:

Zoom in ...

Keep zooming until you spot three ships in the Straight of Gibralter:

Under the Tools Menu Bar, select Ruler:

The Ruler Tool appears:

Select the Unit of Measurement:

Feet are used in this example:

Measure the length of the large ship by clicking first on one end of the ship, and then on the other end of the ship:

Repeat this procedure to find the length of the smaller ship:

What else might you measure using Google Earth?

• The height famous buildings
• The length of a river
• The length and width of an island
• The width of the Grand Canyon at various places
• The height of a pyramid
• The width of a pyramid near the bottom, middle and top
• The length and width of your home or apartment
• The length and width of a national park
• The length and width of your state or a state you are studying
• The length and width of your county
• The length and width of a country
• The length and width of each of the Great Lakes
• The length of an Interstate Highway
• The distance between gas stations on various Interstate Highways
• The length of a runway at an airport
• The length of various planes at an airport (Try Orly Airport in Paris)
• The length of a bridge (Try New York City)
• The length of cars and trucks on bridges or highways
• The length of a swimming pool (Try Tempe, Arizona)
• The distance between two places
• The miles you would drive on your "dream vacation"
• The distance between the shoreline and the continental shelf at different points of any continent
  

Send other ideas to: alice.christie@asu.edu