Getting Started

Introduction
Getting Started
1. If you haven’t done it already, download Google EarthTM 5.0 from earth.google.com and install
it on your computer.
2. If you haven’t done it already, download the Essentials_3E_Geotours.kmz file and save a copy
to your desktop.1 (The Essentials_3E_Geotours.kmz file contains the Geotours for all chapters,
so you only need to download this once!):
For Essentials of Geology, Third Edition, go to:
www.wwnorton.com/studyspace/disciplines/geology.asp
3. Double-click the Essentials_3E_Geotours.kmz file, and Google EarthTM will open automatically
(or open Google Earth™ first, and then select File > Open to open the file).
4. In the left-hand sidebar you will see a Places panel, and in the Temporary Places folder you
will see an Essentials_3E_Geotours.kmz folder. Double-click this folder, and you will see an
Essentials_3E_Geotours folder. Double-click this folder, and you will see a list of Geotours for
each chapter.
5. Open the Geotour folder that you want to use and go explore!
1
By downloading Geotours.kmz you acknowledge that it was created solely to accompany Stephen
Marshak's Essentials of Geology and is limited to use with only Stephen Marshak's Essentials of Geology
and may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means for any
other purpose without the written permission of the publisher.
Geotours
See for yourself . . .
How to Use Google Earth ™
to See Geologic Features
In earlier editions of this book, we could provide photos of landscapes, but could not convey a 3-D image of a region from
a variety of perspectives. Fortunately, web-based computer tools such as Google Earth™, NASA World Wind, or Microsoft
Virtual Earth, now permit you to tour our planet at speeds faster than a rocket. You can visit millions of locations and see for
yourself what geologic features look like in context. These tools provide a compilation of imagery in a format that permits
you to go to locations quickly and view them from any elevation, perspective, or direction. You can examine boulders on
a hillside, zoom to airplane height to see the landform that the boulders rest on, and then zoom to astronaut height to see
where the landform lies in a continent. You can look straight down or obliquely, and you can stay in one position, circle
around a location, or fly like a bird over a landscape.
To help you use computer-visualization programs to understand geology, each chapter of this book includes a Geotour,
with locations and descriptions of geologic features relevant to the chapter. Because only Google Earth™ can be used on both
PC and Mac computers (as of this writing), we key the Geotours to the Google Earth™ format. Below, we provide a brief
introduction to the use of Google Earth™ in the context of this book. Some of the details of procedures may change as Google
updates the program. There’s not room for a complete tutorial, but you’ll find that the program is so easy to use that you will
be proficient with it simply by working with it for a few minutes. The thumbnail images provided on this page are only to help
identify tour sites. Go to wwnorton.com/studyspace to experience this flyover tour.
Opening Google Earth™
To use a Geotour, start by opening Google Earth™.
As the program initializes, an image of the globe
set in a background of stars appears in a window.
The toolbar across the top provides a window icon.
Click on this icon and a left sidebar appears (Image
GP.1)—click on the icon again and the sidebar disappears so that the image becomes larger. The toolbar
also provides a pushpin tool for marking locations,
and a ruler tool for measuring distances. The sidebar
contains information about locations and provides
options for adding information to the screen image.
For example, when you click on “borders,” “roads,”
and “Populated Places” in the Layers panel, political boundaries, highways, and city names appear to
provide a visual reference frame (Image GP.2). Any
location you have marked with a pushpin appears in
the sidebar within the Places panel. Double-clicking
on the location in the sidebar will make the pushpin
appear and will take you to the location. If you type a
location in the Search panel at the top, a click on the
magnifying glass icon will fly you to the location.
GP.1
Images provided by Google Earth™ mapping service/DigitalGlobe,
TerraMetrics, NASA, Europa Technologies—copyright 2008.
1
GP.2
GT-1
The Basic Tools of Google Earth™
In Google Earth 4.3™, three navigation tools appear in the upper right-hand
corner of the screen (Image GP.3): (1) The Look tool (circle with an eye in
the center) allows you to rotate the view. You can do this either by clicking
and dragging the mouse on or within the outer ring, or by rotating the view
clockwise or counterclockwise by clicking on the left or right arrows, respectively. Double-clicking the N button reorients the view with north at the top of
the screen. Clicking on the top arrow of the Look tool tilts the image to show
an oblique view, whereas clicking on the bottom arrow rotates the perspective back towards vertical. You can see this contrast by comparing the “Basic
Tools-Vertical” and the “Basic Tools-Oblique” images of a site in the Andes
Mountains of Bolivia (Lat 18°21'36.08"S, Long 66°0'13.95"W) from an altitude
of 10 km (Images GP.4 and GP.5). Note that, because of the nature of the imagery used by Google Earth™, steep cliffs are distorted. Clicking and dragging
the mouse in the inner circle of the Look tool performs both actions simultaneously. (2) The Move tool (circle with a hand in the center) pans across
the image. By clicking the arrows, you move a finite distance in the specified
direction. Clicking and dragging the mouse in the inner circle acts as a joystick
and translates the view in any direction. (3) The vertical Zoom slider zooms
the view up or down. You can either move the slider or click on the end of the
bar. Clicking on the + end takes you to a lower elevation, whereas clicking
on the – end takes you to a higher elevation. The slider offers better control.
Using the “View” menu bar, you can click to display a bar scale in the lower
left portion of the screen. Note that the default setting in Google Earth 4.3™ is
to swoop (tilt) into a perspective view as you zoom closer. This auto-tilt behavior may be turned off in the Preferences (Options) menu.
On the Earth image, you will see a hand-shaped cursor. By dragging the
cursor across the screen, you can move the image. If you quickly drag the
hand cursor, while holding down the mouse, and then let go, the movement
will continue. For additional information, see the Google Earth™ User Guide.
GP.3
GP.4
Working with Location and Elevation
(Lat 43°8'18.84"N, Long 77°34'18.36"W)
On the bottom rule of the window, you will see
three information items. The location of the point
just beneath the hand-shaped cursor on the screen
is specified on the left in terms of latitude (degrees,
minutes, and seconds north or south of the equator) and longitude (degrees, minutes, and seconds
east or west of the of the prime meridian). Just to
the right of the Lat/Long information, a number
indicates the elevation of the ground surface just
below the hand-shaped cursor. The next number
to the right tells you how much of the image has
streamed onto your computer—an image starts out
blurry, and then as streaming approaches 100%, it
becomes clearer. The number on the far right (“Eye
alt”) indicates your viewing elevation.
To practice using these tools, enter the latitude
and longitude provided above and zoom to a viewpoint 25,000 km (15,500 miles) out in space. You will
see all of North America (Image GP.6). If you zoom
down to 1800 m (5900 ft), you can see the details of
Cobb’s Hill Park in Rochester, New York (Image GP.7).
Tilt your image so you just see the horizon, and rotate
the image so you are looking SW (Image GP.8). With
this perspective, you realize that the bean-shaped reservoir sits on top of an elongate ridge.
GP.5
GP.6
GP.7
GT-2
2
GP.8
Image Boundaries
(Lat 16°6'3.12"N, Long 75°48'25.84"E)
The globe that you see on your screen is a compilation of many separate satellite images merged by computer; some regions, therefore, look like a patchwork. To see this effect, fly to the coordinates provided in India and look down
from an elevation of 600 km (Image GP.9). Image boundaries may reflect one
or more of the following factors. (1) Resolution: The sharpness or clarity of
images on Google Earth™ depend on the resolution of the image that is available in the database. High-resolution images are clear at high magnification,
whereas low-resolution images appear grainy or pixelated at high magnification. Depending on the speed of your internet connection, it may take time
for the full available resolution of an image to show up. The image is fully
loaded when the blue circle in the lower right-hand corner has become solid.
(2) Season: Some images show regions in the winter, when leaves are down
and the ground is visible, whereas some show regions in summer, when the
canopy of trees hides the ground. (3) Photo Tint: Not all satellite images are
taken in the same way, so not all have the same basic color tint. Google Earth™
constantly updates images, as new ones become available, so a region that
looks like a patchwork one day might not the next.
GP.9
Finding Locations Using Latitude and Longitude
(Lat 48°52'25.26"N, Long 2°17'42.18"E)
You can find towns, parks, and landmarks on the Earth using Google Earth™
by entering the name in the search panel in the upper left corner. For example,
enter Arc de Triomphe, hit the return button, and you fly to this well known landmark in the center of Paris, France (Image GP.10). Many of the places you will
visit in Geotours of this book are not, however, near a well-known landmark.
Thus, to get you to a locality, we provide a latitude and longitude in the form:
Lat 48°52'25.44"N, Long 2°17'42.31"E
The first number is the latitude in degrees, minutes (60' = 1°), and seconds (60.00" = 1').
Simply enter the latitude and longitude on your screen. When typing numbers into
the space provided on the program, you can abbreviate as:
48 52 25.44N, 2 17 42.31E
GP.10
Note that instead of typing in latitude and longitude, you can simply copy the
“.kmz” files provided in this book’s website onto your computer. When you
double-click on a file, it will open Google Earth™ and add all the locations
referred to in the book to the “Temporary Places” folder. Then you simply
need to click on the particular image referred to in a Geotour and the program
will fly you straight there.
Enjoy!
Please take advantage of the Geotours provided in this book. They provide you with an understanding of geology that
simply can’t appear on a printed page, and they are, arguably, as fun as a video game. Take control of the Google Earth™
tools, change your elevation and perspective, and fly around the landscape. Geology will come alive for you, and exploration of the Earth may become your hobby.
Images provided by Google Earth™ mapping service/DigitalGlobe,
TerraMetrics, NASA, Europa Technologies—copyright 2008.
3
GT-3
PRELUDE
How to Use
Google Earth™
Opening Google Earth™
To use a Geotour, start by opening Google Earth™. The program will initialize and an image of
the globe, with a background of stars, will appear on your screen. A toolbar across the top of
the window provides a window icon that allows you to switch from a full-screen view (no
sidebar) to a partial-screen view (sidebar), a pushpin tool for marking locations, and a ruler tool
for measuring distances (other icons that perform additional features are also available).
4
Panels Sidebar
The sidebar contains information
about locations and provides
options for adding information
to the screen image.
The topmost panel in the
sidebar is the Search panel.
There you can type in a
location in the text blank and
click the magnifying glass to
execute the search (and then
fly directly to the location).
The middle area is the Places
panel. It stores locations that
either you create yourself or that
you open using File > Open (e.g.,
this Geotour file). Clicking the
box next to a name will toggle
between showing/hiding the
feature (note that showing an
entire folder loads everything in
the folder to memory, taking
considerable time). Doubleclicking the icon (recommended)
or name of an item within a folder
will take you to that location.
The lowermost panel in the
sidebar is the Layers panel,
which shows content
provided by Google Earth™
and associated
collaborators. For example,
when you click on Borders and
Labels in the Layers panel,
country and state boundaries as
well as city names will appear to
provide a visual reference frame.
Any of these three panels may be
hidden by toggling the triangle
next to their respective name.
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Places Panel
The Places Panel contains all of the Geotour Sites from the textbook, More Geotour Sites, and
Worksheets organized by chapter (note: PC users will see +/- boxes that expand/collapse the
folders).
6
Time Sequence & Flyover Controls
The top figure shows the controls for time-based sequences and historical animations. The
lower figure shows the controls for automated flyover tours.
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Navigation Controls
In Google Earth™ 5.0, three navigation tools appear in the upper right-hand corner of the
screen:
• The Look tool (circle with an eye in the center)
allows you to rotate the view. You can do this
either by clicking and
dragging the mouse
on or within the outer
ring, or by rotating
the view clockwise or
counterclockwise by
clicking on the left or
right arrows,
respectively. Clicking
(or dragging) the N button reorients the view with
north at the top of the screen. Clicking on the top
arrow of the Look tool tilts the image to show an
oblique view, whereas clicking on the bottom arrow
rotates the perspective back towards vertical (note:
shift + scroll wheel provides a shortcut for this
action). You can see this contrast by comparing
the "Basic Tools-Vertical" and the "Basic ToolsOblique" images of a site in the Andes Mountains
of Bolivia. Note that, because of the nature of the
imagery used by Google Earth™, steep cliffs are
distorted. Clicking and dragging the mouse in the
inner circle of the Look tool performs both actions
simultaneously.
• The Move tool (circle with a hand in the center) pans across the image. By clicking the
arrows, you move a finite distance in the specified direction. Clicking and dragging the
mouse in the inner circle acts as a joystick and moves the view in any direction.
• The vertical Zoom slider zooms the view up or down. You can either move the slider or click
on the end of the bar (the slider provides more detailed control). Clicking on the + end takes
you to a lower elevation, whereas clicking on the – end takes you to a higher elevation. Using
the “View” menu bar, you can click to display a bar scale in the lower left portion of the
screen. Note that the default setting in Google Earth™ 5.0 is to swoop (tilt) into a perspective
view as you zoom closer. This auto-tilt behavior may be turned off (On a Mac: Google Earth >
Preferences > Navigation > Navigation controls or On a PC: Tools > Options > Navigation >
Navigation controls).
• On the Earth image, you will see a hand-shaped cursor. By dragging the cursor across the
screen, you can move the image. If you quickly drag the hand cursor, while holding down the
mouse, and then let go, the movement will continue.
• For additional information, see the Google Earth™ User Guide (http://earth.google.com/
userguide/v4/#navigating).
8
Information Bar
On the bottom rule of a Google Earth™ 5.0 window, you will see several information items.
On the far left side is a map scale that can be toggled on/off (View > Scale Legend).
The location of the point just beneath the hand-shaped cursor on the screen is specified in the
center of the screen in terms of latitude (degrees, minutes, and seconds north or south of the
equator) and longitude (degrees, minutes, and seconds east or west of the of the prime
meridian). Note that you can change how these locations are displayed (On a Mac: Google Earth
> Preferences or On a PC: Tools > Options).
In addition, the center of the screen also shows the approximate elevation of the ground surface
("elev") just below the hand-shaped cursor.
The number on the far right (“Eye alt”) indicates your viewing elevation.
Finally, on the far right side of the window is a blue circle that graphically shows if your computer
is busy processing (e.g., streaming image data as you zoom in—at first the image starts out
blurry, and then as streaming approaches 100%, it becomes clearer).
Hints & Tips
• Do not turn on all the folders at once as it will load everything in the Geotours at the same
time.
• You can make the Panels sidebar wider by clicking and dragging on the right side of the
Panels sidebar (the border between it and the main Google Earth™ window).
• You may turn off the auto-tilt feature (On a Mac: Google Earth > Preferences > Navigation >
Navigation controls or On a PC: Tools > Options > Navigation > Navigation controls).
• Some subtle features are more easily seen by temporarily increasing the vertical exaggeration
to 3 (On a Mac: Google Earth > Preferences or On a PC: Tools > Options). A good rule is
generally keep the vertical exaggeration at 1 or 1.5.
• The Search and Layers panels can be hidden by clicking the triangle next to their name in
order to see more of the Places panel.
• The Geotours are easier to interact with using a mouse (preferably with a scroll wheel) than
with a trackpad.
• If things look flat and lack a third dimension, check that “Terrain” is turned on in the Layers
panel.
• Please be patient as images are loading into cache as some placemarks will look incomplete
until the images are completely loaded.
• Shift + scroll wheel changes the tilt of the view, whereas shift + left mouse button allows both
rotation and tilting.
9