Tips and tricks for Google Earth

Google Earth has changed the way we look at our planet. This awesome program lets you explore any part of the world and observe cities and landmarks from only a few meters away.

But there's more to Google Earth than just exploring. Let's take a look at three interesting features in this program: using layers, adding placemarks and measuring distances

Layers add extra information to the map to enrich your experience. There are all sorts of layers with very different contents such as historical landscapes, weather forecast, information about traffic, Wikipedia articles and places of interest – like bars, hotels or shopping malls.

To add a layer to your current view, just tick the specific layer and it will be automatically placed over the map. To remove it, simply remove the tick. Also, remember you can download extra layers from the Google Earth website.

Placemarks are also a handy feature in Google Earth. They work like bookmarks for your favorite places. If you want to add your current location to Placemarks, click on this button and fill in the window fields with a name and description for the selected spot. You can also choose an icon to identify it more easily, as well as customize other elements like style, color and altitude.

Finally, Google Earth also lets you measure the distance between two specific locations on the globe. Click on this button to open the ruler tool and then select the path tab. Choose the measurement unit you prefer, and start tracing a route on your map. The ruler window will be updated in real time with the current distance as you create the route on the map.