Google Earth Library Browser

The Google Earth Library Browser is a single network link that contains all of the files available here at the Google Earth Library.  In other words you can browse all of the files directly from within Google Earth, instead of having to download each KML file individually.  Once you install the Google Earth Library Browser, you’ll see a new entry under your Places folder on the left side of Google Earth.

The files in Google Earth are sorted into Category folders, which match the Categories assigned to each post on the blog.  Whenever you start Google Earth or refresh the network link, you will automatically have access to any new maps or data that I’ve added so there is no need to download the main network link again.

Some of the data sets are quite large and may take a minute or two to load, depending on the speed of your computer and internet connection.

Detailed Instructions (if needed)

1. Download the KML file above, then look in your Places folder in Google Earth for an entry called "GE Library Browser". 
2. Open the Category folder you are interested in, and click the circle next to the map/data you would like to view. 
3. Click on the "About" link next to each item in Google Earth will open up a browser window to the applicable Google Earth Library Blog Entry, or the source of the original data.
4. If you are browsing the blog and find a post you would like to view in Google Earth, simply determine which category the post is in (shown right beneath the post title), then go to that Category folder in Google Earth to find the corresponding map/data.
5. Click on the border between the Places folder and the main Google Earth view, and drag it to the right if you can’t see the entire line.

Under Historic Maps Category in the GE Library Browser:

Google Earth BBS Discussion:

Historical T-Sheets

T-Sheets are historic shoreline maps that were created in the early 1900s for many major waterways of the United States. The T-Sheets contain a lot of historical information such as locations of buildings, detailed descriptions of shorelines, etc. I have found them for several Hawaiian Islands, Puget Sound, and the Everglades. This first installment covers the Hawaiian Islands of Maui and Oahu and includes about 140 maps. I will try to add other areas as I have time.

Special Instructions

Select the radio button next to the year you wish to view. Zoom in to see the maps in more detail.

Original Data From:

University of Hawaii (Oahu)

University of Hawaii (Maui)

KML Content Created By:

Matt Fox

Screenshots:

Under Weather Category in the GE Library Browser:

Weather Bonk

Great collection of weather data including current observations, wind barbs, severe weather alerts, webcams, and radar overlays. There is a version for Fahrenheit and Celcius.

Original Data and KML Content By:

Weather Bonk

Screenshots:

Under Environment Category in the GE Library Browser:

Google Earth BBS Discussion:

USGS Streamflow Gages

Real time stream monitoring gauge data throughout the United States with data provided by the USGS. Simply click on a placemark to bring up data for that location.

Original KML Content By:

Aquaman713

Original Data From:

USGS

Screenshots:

Under Placemark Collections Category in the GE Library Browser:

Flickr Photos

A couple of different methods of viewing nearby georeferenced Flickr photographs in Google Earth.

• The first one was created by Metal Toad Media and will show small red dots at each photo location. Click on the red dot to see the photograph.
• The second one was created by Frank and shows a small thumbnail of each photograph.

Screenshots:

Under Environment Category in the GE Library Browser:

Google Earth BBS Discussion:

Global Population Density

Population density map of the world. I think the original data is from the European Space Agency.

Original KML Content By:

James Macgill

Original Data From:

European Space Agency

Screenshots:

Under Other Category in the GE Library Browser:

Google Earth BBS Discussion:

Demis World Map

The Demis Wold Map will overlay a map on to Google Earth that increases in detail as you zoom in. The map appear to have highway-level detail for much of the world. I believe Demis offers other versions of this map with more detail at their website.

Original Data From:

Demis

KML Content Created By:

James Macgill

Screenshots:

Under News and World Events Category in the GE Library Browser:

Google Earth BBS Discussion:

Greensburg Kansas Imagery

Before and after imagery showing the destruction in Greensburg, Kansas from an F5 tornado that struck the town on May 4, 2007.

Original Data and KML Content By:

Google

Screenshots:

Under Placemark Collections Category in the GE Library Browser:

Google Earth BBS Discussion:

Geoname.org Network Links

The GeoNames geographical database contains over eight million geographical names located throughout the world. The database includes the locations of such things as Populated Places, Parks, Churches, Shopping Center, Beaches, etc.

Special Instructions

This is a network link that updates when you stop moving the view around. It make take a few seconds to refresh the data when you stop.

Original Data and KML Content By:

EriKNson

http://www.geonames.org/

Screenshots:

Under Placemark Collections Category in the GE Library Browser:

Google Earth BBS Discussion:

Vietnam Bombing Data

Bomb data showing the locations and other specific information such as aircraft type and target type for 1,000s of bombs dropped by the US Air Force in Indochina during the Vietnam War 1965-1975.

Special Instructions

These are very large datasets so only load one at a time, and be patient while they load.

Original Data and KML Content By:

Landmine_Mapper

Screenshots:

Under Placemark Collections Category in the GE Library Browser:

Google Earth BBS Discussion:

UK Webcams

Webcams viewable in Google Earth from all over the United Kingdom. Just click on a location to see the current web cam image.

Original Data and KML Content By:

Weatherman22 (Stuart)

Screenshots:

Under Historical Maps Category in the GE Library Browser:

Google Earth BBS Discussion:

US Statehood Time Animation

Time animation showing the US States as they are added to the Union.

Special Instructions

Select the file, and click on the play button at the top.  It may take a few seconds to load.

Original Data and KML Content By:

Phil Verney

Screenshots:

Download directly from Earth Point

US Township and Range Boundaries

Township and Range boundaries for the United States. You must download this file directly from the Earth Point website. As you move the view around the boundaries will update after a couple of seconds.

Original Data and KML Content By:

Earth Point

Screenshots:

Under Other Category in the GE Library Browser:

Flash Earth Viewer

Flash Earth is a website that can easily switch between several different map sources, including Google Maps, Microsoft Virtual Earth, etc.  This KML file for Google Earth will display Flash Earth in the balloon within Google Earth based on your current location. This makes it very simple to see what the other data providers have for your current view in Google Earth.

Special Instructions

Choose Small/Medium/Large to determine the size of the Flash Earth baloon window. Then simply click on the white arrow that you will see on Google Earth. Flash Earth will pop up in the balloon.  You can then switch between the different data providers.

Original KML Content By:

Nearby.org.uk

Screenshots:

Under Placemark Collections Category in the GE Library Browser:

Geograph Superlayer

The Geograph British Isles Project is a large collection of georeferenced photographs covering Great Britain and Ireland. The goal of the Project is to collect photographs from every square km. This file will overlay locational information about the photographs and provide links to the photographs.

Special Instructions

You must zoom in before the placemarks for the individual photographs appear.

Original Data and KML Content By:

Nearby.org.uk

Screenshots:

Under Other Category in the GE Library Browser:

IARU Locator Echo

This network link will place a marker in the center of your Google Earth view that has the name of the IARU locator for that position. I’m not exactly sure what this is, something to do with amateur radio.  Looks like it works for the entire globe.

Original Data and KML Content By:

Nearby.org.uk

Under Other Category in the GE Library Browser:

Worldwide UTM Grid Lines

This is a network link that will overlay 100km, 10km and 1km UTM gridlines onto Google Earth. The higher resolution gridlines automatically become visible as you zoom in.

Original Data and KML Content From:

Nearby.org.uk

Screenshots:

Under Placemark Collections Category in the GE Library Browser:

UK Datasets from nearby.org.uk

Large collection of a wide variety of datasets maintained by nearby.org.uk Looks like it is updated regularly and includes the following datasets:

• Triangulations Pillars
• Wall Flush Brackets
• Passive Stations
• Fundamental Bench Marks
• Hills
• Photos
• Milestones
• Ports
• Lighthouses
• Castles
• Motorway Junctions
• Follys
• Historics
• Megaliths
• Walks
• Fords
• Caves
• Mines
• Radio Transmitters
•  

Original Data and KML Content By:

nearby.org.uk

SRTM KML Project

The SRTM KML Project was created by Jiro Shirota.  The file will overlay a shaded relief map of the Earth based on elevation data from the Space Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM).  As a bonus, it will also overlay the USGS Topographic Map data available from TerraServer.  Only covers the United States.

Original Data and KML Content By:

The SRTM KML Project

Screenshots:

Google Earth BBS Discussion:

US Amateur Radio Repeaters

Placemarks showing the location and frequency of amateur radio repeaters throughout the United States.

Original Data and KML Content By:

K5EHX Amateur Radio Repeater Mapping

Under Placemark Collections Category in the GE Library Browser:

Google Earth BBS Discussion:

World Wide Panorama

Collection of several 1,000 placemarks to Quicktime VR panoramic photographs that are linked via placemarks in Google Earth.  The photographs are sorted into various categories such as Gardens, Transportation, Water, etc.  Each image must be opened in a browser window for viewing.

Original Data and KML Content By:

The World Wide Panorma

Screenshots:

Under Geology Category in the GE Library Browser:  

California Groundwater Aquifers

Polygon overlay of groundwater aquifer locations in California. Based on data from the California Department of Water Resources.

Special Instructions

CTRL-Click on a colored area to see the name of the Aquifer and Sub-Basin. The file is about 5 megabytes so it might take a minute or two to load.

Original Data From:

California Department of Water Resources

KML Content Created By:

Matt Fox

Screenshots:

Under Aviation/Transportation Category in the GE Library Browser:  

Structurally Deficient Bridges

 This placemark collection contains data for approximately 70,000 bridges throughout the United States derived from the National Bridge Inventory Database 2006. The following fields were extracted from the database and are included for each placemark in the collection:

• State Code
• Route Number
• Latitude
• Longitude
• Year Built
• Kind of Material/Design
• Type of Design/Construction
• Condition of Deck
• Condition of Superstructure
• Condition of Substructure

This placemark collection only contains information on bridges with a status of "Structurally Deficient".  For a better understanding of the data, I suggest reading Coding Guide for the Structure Inventory and Appraisal of the Nations Bridges.

It’s a big file so give it a minute or two to load.

Bathymetric Map of Hawaiian Islands

Highly detailed bathymetric map overlay of the Hawaiian Islands. I masked out the actual islands so you don’t lose the aerial photography data in Google Earth.

Original Data By:

The Hawaii Coastal Geology Group

KML Content Created By:

Matt Fox

Screenshots:

Google Earth BBS Discussion:

Zillow Labs Neighborhood Boundaries

Database of nearly 7,000 neighborhood boundaries in the largest cities of the US from my favorite real estate website.

Please DO NOT email me about errors or omissions in this data.  The dataset was created by Zillow.  If you want to learn more about how they created the data, check out their blog post on the subject.

Special Instructions

Simply download the KML file at the top of this post. Then select the state for which you’d like to view the neighborhood data. These are network links and will load the data when you select the state. Some (TX, CA, etc) will take longer to load than others. Texas is the largest, at around 8 megabytes.

Original Data From:

Zillow Labs

KML Content Created By:

Matt Fox (with the help of Shape2Earth).

Licensed under the Creative Commons License.

Screenshots: