Measuring Area with Google Earth Pro

Do you ever have volunteers clean a park or other site and you don’t know how to calculate that area for your statistical report? One way is to use Google Earth Pro (thanks to Elyse Barone for the tip!).

Google Earth Pro is free!

1. Visit this website to download the program (make sure you download the “Pro” version) https://www.google.com/earth/explore/products/desktop.html
2. From the website here is how to take a measurement:
   https://support.google.com/earth/answer/148134?hl=en
   1. Open Google Earth.
   2. Navigate to a spot on the globe.
   3. In the menu bar, click Tools>Ruler. A box will appear.
   4. In the bottom left corner of the Ruler box, make sure that Mouse Navigation is checked.
   5. Click the tab for what you want to measure:
      • In Google Earth, you can measure:
        • Line: the distance between two points on the map
        • Path: the distance between multiple points on the ground
      • In Google Earth Pro, you can also measure:
        • Polygon: the distance or area of a geometric shape on the ground
        • Circle: measure the circumference of a circle on the ground
        • 3D path: the distance between a building and various places on the ground
        • 3D polygon: the height, width, and area of 3D buildings
   6. On the map, click a starting point for your measurement.
   7. Click an end point.
   8. You’ll see a line or shape on the globe that shows what you’re measuring. The measurements will show up in the “Ruler” box.

Save your Measurement

Once you’ve taken a measurement, you can save it:

1. In the “Ruler” box, click Save.
2. In the “Name” field, type a name for what you measured.

In the bottom right corner, click OK. Google Earth will add your measurement under “Places” in the left-hand panel.