The Web Version of Google Earth
Google Earth Web is the browser-based version of Google Earth, which renders the earth in 3D format and allows you to interact with rich media and geographic data. Google Earth allows you to search for and plot locations; manipulate your view of a location; fly over and between locations; plot out routes between locations; and view satellite, historical, and time-lapsed imagery.
Google Earth Web is free to use but requires a Google account. It is cloud-based and does not require installing local software. It can be used by those with zero coding experience, or can be customized by those with some coding experienced. Google Earth Web works best in Chrome, but now supports other major browsers as well.
Google Earth Web is an excellent platform for digital, multimedia, place-based storytelling.
How to Create Digital Map Stories & Projects
After the 2024 Redesign
The Google Earth Web editing interface underwent a redesign in 2024. This short 8-1/2 minute video tutorial (24) created by a University of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada) student demonstrates how to create a Google Earth Web project using the most current version.
The Old Editing Interface
This 29-minute recorded webinar (2021) by the Google Earth team demonstrates how to view Google Earth Web stories, and then walks through creating projects of your own, finding and adding places on the 3D globe, adding a Street View perspective, and adding your own textual and media content to your places. It also explains how to customize your place markers and the view associated with each place, how to preview each section of your project and the full project, how to reorder the places/sections of your project, and how to share your project with others.
This webinar recording reflects the platform before the big Google Earth Web redesign that happened in September 2023, and the subsequent redesign that happened in early 2024. There is now only a single horizontal platform-wide menu at the top of the screen.
Examples from the CSUF Community
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(Google Earth Web) The Life Story of Maria (Nieto) RobledoThis Google Earth Web story chronicles the life of my Mexican immigrant great-grandmother, who raised my father. Created by Colleen Robledo Greene, CSUF Digital Scholarship Librarian.
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(Google Earth Web) Patrick Flanagan: WWI ServiceThis multi-part Google Earth Web story chronicles the World War I U.S. Army service of my great-grandfather Patrick Flanagan.
External Examples from Voyager
Following is a selection of interactive tours available in the Voyager feature of Google Earth Web, which focus on social justice themes. These are arranged in alphabetical order.
Multi-Chapter Story Examples
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(Google Earth Web) Canada's Residential Schools, by Canadian Geographic"The residential school system is older than Confederation itself, having lasted from 1831 to 1996, and represents a dark aspect of Canadian history. These government-sponsored, church-run schools aimed to assimilate Indigenous children by taking them away from their families and forcibly eradicating their cultural identity. Residential schools have left a horrible legacy that survivors, communities and families are still struggling to overcome and heal from to this day."
See Also
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Google Earth Help: How images are collected"You can see a large collection of imagery in Google Earth, including satellite, aerial, 3D, and Street View images. Images are collected over time from providers and platforms."
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Google Earth Help: Use Street View in Google Earth"You can use Street View to explore places more closely. Zoom in to check out buildings, landmarks, bridges, and more."
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Google Earth Help: Use Timelapse in Google Earth"Tour the world and see how our planet has changed over time through a global time-lapse video of the planet from 1984 to today."