Working with Google Earth– Adding Image Overlays

Working with Google Earth ? Adding Image Overlays

Please see the "Overlay Overview" video tutorial prior to working through this tutorial. The overview lays out the our objectives for this part of the sample project. Adding the Image

1. In Picasa Web Albums, press the Link to this Photo link near the bottom of the right-hand panel. 2. Select the largest size available in the Select size drop down menu. 3. Check the Image only (no link) box. 4. Next, click the Embed image box. This will highlight the link. 5. Press CTRL + C to copy the link.

6. Launch Google Earth. 7. Hover over the upper right side of your Google Earth browser to activate the navigation tools.

Use the tools to navigate to the area where you would like to place the image overlay.

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8. Press the Image overlay icon. 9. Enter a Name for your overlay in the property box that appears. 10. Place your cursor in the Link field and press CTRL + V to paste the link you copied from your

Picasa Web Album image. Press OK.

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Matching the map Image to geographic features Map projections are methods of representing a sphere or three dimensional object on a plane. All map projections distort the map image in some way. Map-makers choose a projection based on the properties they would like to present with the least distortion. Google Earth uses a WGS84 projection. This means that maps created using other projections may not match up perfectly with the geographic features in Google Earth. The Bison Range map was created using a different projection than the WGS84 projection than Google Earth uses. For this tutorial, it isn't crucial that we have an exact geographic match to Google Earth. We can match up geographic features on the map with features in Google Earth to create a representation of the Bison Ranges that is accurate enough for our purposes.

1. Identify features on your map that you can match to features in Google Earth. Rivers, the Montana-Canada border, and state borders are the most useful features for this example. These features have been circled in the image below.

2. Identify corresponding features in Google Earth. a. You can use the Google Earth Fly to feature to identify major geographic features. The Fly to feature was used here to locate the Yellowstone River. b. Google Earth layers can also be helpful. Note that the Borders and Labels box is checked in the Layers panel. All other layers have been turned off.

3. Use the green handles to manipulate the map and match the features as closely as possible. a. The crosshairs in the center allow you to reposition the entire map. b. Handles on the edges of the map can be used to stretch the map. c. The green diamond rotates the map.

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Note: The properties box must be open to work with the map overlay. If you have closed the Properties box, right click on the overlay in the Places panel and choose Properties from the drop down list.

4. When you are satisfied with your map location, press OK in the Properties box. Note: If map image needs to match up more closely with geographic features in Google Earth, the GooWi Explorers project team can geo-reference the map to re-project it in the WGS84 format. Creating a folder in Google Earth Before you proceed, you should create a folder in Google Earth to hold the image overlay and lines you create for the project.

1. Right click on My Places in the Places panel. 2. Select Add from the drop down menu. 3. Click on Folder. 4. Name the folder and press OK.

5. Drag and drop the image overlay into the folder you created.

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