Google Earth Satellite Views of the Mtns.

Hi, Does anyone have any tips on how to use Google Earth to find hi-res, in-focus views of the slides, etc. in the mountains?
I can find my pickup parked outside my house, but I can't get a good in-close view of the mtns.
I have the feeling they told the satellite camera not to bother with hi-res shots of pure terrain (because nobody wants to look at that).
Any help appreciated.

I reduced the field of focus to the smallest area, I've tried typed in the Lat and Long coordinates, but the closest focus I can get is still from a few thousand feet up.

Just a guess, but the government is probably more interested in seeing your pickup than a slide on a distant peak, so we get higher res images where the people are. Big brother IS watching you. So... we need to take the good - with the bad.

cbcbd said:

...Most of these satellite imaging programs use the same data and they have lists of the available resolution in a certain area...

Click to expand...

Hi-res imagery availability of a particular area depends on satellite orbit, weather, and commercial marketing opportunities. There are 3 U.S. suppliers of commercial satellite imagery - DigitalGlobe, OrbImage, and Space Imaging. Google Earth uses DigitalGlobe. Try OrbImage and/or Space Imaging. If they have the images you're looking for you can buy them on their websites.
OrbImage
Space Imaging

try Terraserver-USA

daxegraphix said:

Hi, Does anyone have any tips on how to use Google Earth to find hi-res, in-focus views of the slides, etc. in the mountains?

Click to expand...

I think Google Earth is cool, but for scoping out the mountains I use
Terraserver-USA . Much better resolution!

Oldsmores said:

Hi-res imagery availability of a particular area depends on satellite orbit, weather, and commercial marketing opportunities. There are 3 U.S. suppliers of commercial satellite imagery - DigitalGlobe, OrbImage, and Space Imaging. Google Earth uses DigitalGlobe. Try OrbImage and/or Space Imaging. If they have the images you're looking for you can buy them on their websites.
OrbImage
Space Imaging

Click to expand...

Thanks for the correction, 'Smores.

daxegraphix said:

Hi, Does anyone have any tips on how to use Google Earth to find hi-res, in-focus views of the slides, etc. in the mountains?
I can find my pickup parked outside my house, but I can't get a good in-close view of the mtns.
I have the feeling they told the satellite camera not to bother with hi-res shots of pure terrain (because nobody wants to look at that).
Any help appreciated.

I reduced the field of focus to the smallest area, I've tried typed in the Lat and Long coordinates, but the closest focus I can get is still from a few thousand feet up.

Click to expand...

Try
Nasa Worldwind
It's a sizable download, but it offers 1 meter b&w images as well as topo maps, all in 3-D and best of all....It's Free.


Sample of Arrow Slide

Depending on zoom, the imagery on Google may be taken by airplane survey...its not all satellite AFAIK.

i just took a look at google earth for the first time in a while, and i am not sure if there has been some recent updates or what, but the area from bigelow to saddleback in maine looks to be a lot more updated now. I don't remember it being this detailed before. kinda cool
Baxter is a lot more up to date now too, as well as the presidentials.

i am new to google earth and cant seem to get enough of it. just downloaded it yesterday.
was also wondering how often (if ever) the shots are updated.

yup, forget those amateurs like Terraserver...

get NASA's World Wind and you won't go back. Same data, way better interface and it isn't subject to the browser frustrations.

or when I want to see lots of different things (not just photos) for a small area I use my own GIS, but that's another story...

spencer

Has anyone seen Microsoft's attempt at breaking into the mapping & aerial photo game with their site: local.live

Keep in mind, not all areas have aerial photos available. There's a 'birdseye' feature on the left side of the screen (looks like 3 skyscrapers) that allows you to view a very detailed aerial photo.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention it's free!!!

age of google earth data

Google earth states on their web site "Google Earth acquires the best imagery available, most of which is approximately one to two years old."
This seems to be accurate.

I work in the Kendall Square area. There is a park near me that was in place by early this spring, but it doesn't show on google earth.

I am buying a piece of land in a remote part of Oregon (40 miles from Klamath Falls.) I was last there in 2003. It was interesting to look and see that a house went in across the street. (a good thing, it has a long drive and is set way back from the road).

What I find odd is the elevation data. I thought I had used the tilt function in an area where it worked with real elevation, data. But even looking at Mt Washington, the tilt function is like tiliting a flat map, not very useful.

Thanks for all the links. I'll have to try some of these other sites.

The slide on Mount Colden caused by Hurricane Floyd in 1999 doesn’t show up in the software. Still it's fun to play with.

New York Imagery

For locations in New York State, see the link to the state's GIS Clearinghouse interactive map. New York overflew the whole state over the past couple of years, so it is pretty recent stuff. The state paid for 3M resolution, but counties had the option to pay for an updgrade to 1M. Many did.

]

nasa worldwind

What I love about nasa worldwind is to put it on 'topographic view' and then get down enough so you see everything in 3d, like you where walking on the trails, and mapped on 'topo'.. fun fun

Jake said:

For locations in New York State, see the link to the state's GIS Clearinghouse interactive map.]

Click to expand...

When zooming in with Google Earth over NY the notice displayed is "Image ©2005 New York GIS" and the resolution is spectacular. Presumably they are using the NY data; the same thing happens in MA (and Google Earth is a nicer interface than MassGIS' Java-based OLIVER interface).