Google Earth Pro can display the Earth's surface in three dimensions, making it possible to visualise mountains, valleys, slopes and other terrain features rather than viewing the landscape only from directly above. This can be particularly useful for geography, engineering, environmental studies, planning, fieldwork and GIS presentations.
The supplied reference material highlights several useful techniques for creating a 3D view, including activating terrain, changing the camera angle, adjusting elevation exaggeration and saving the final view as an image.
What Is a 3D Terrain Map?
A 3D terrain map represents the Earth's surface using elevation information so that differences in height can be viewed from an angled perspective.
In Google Earth Pro, terrain can be combined with satellite imagery to create a more understandable representation of the landscape. This is especially useful in mountainous or hilly areas where a flat satellite image may not clearly communicate changes in elevation.
If you also need to find elevation above mean sea level, see our guide on How to Find Elevation on Google Earth, where we explain how to do it step by step.
Step 1: Open Google Earth Pro
Launch Google Earth Pro on your computer and search for the location you want to map.
Choose an area containing noticeable terrain, such as mountains, hills or valleys. A relatively flat location may not show much visual difference when viewed in 3D.
Google Earth provides navigation controls that allow you to zoom, tilt and rotate the view.
Step 2: Turn On Terrain
Make sure the Terrain layer is enabled.
Terrain is essential because it allows Google Earth Pro to display elevation differences. Without terrain information, the satellite imagery will appear essentially flat.
Google's documentation also confirms that terrain settings can be adjusted through the 3D View options.
Step 3: Tilt the Map to See the Terrain
Once terrain is enabled, change the viewing angle from the normal top-down perspective.
Use the navigation controls in the upper-right corner of Google Earth Pro to tilt and rotate the view. Alternatively, you can use your mouse to manipulate the camera.
An angled view makes slopes, ridges and valleys much easier to recognise.
For example, if you are examining a mountainous watershed, a tilted view can make the drainage pattern and surrounding hills easier to understand than a conventional overhead view.
Step 4: Adjust Elevation Exaggeration
Google Earth Pro provides an Elevation Exaggeration setting that can make terrain appear more pronounced.
On Windows, go to:
Tools → Options → 3D View
Under the terrain settings, adjust Elevation Exaggeration.
Google's current documentation states that the value can be set between 0.01 and 3.0. A value of 1.5 is described by Google as showing a natural elevation appearance.
Use a moderate value when you want a realistic presentation. Increasing the exaggeration can make subtle hills and valleys easier to see, but excessive exaggeration can make the landscape visually misleading.
Step 5: Improve the 3D View
After adjusting the terrain, experiment with the camera position.
You can:
- Zoom closer to the terrain
- Tilt the camera
- Rotate the view
- Change the viewing direction
- Centre the area of interest
- Adjust elevation exaggeration
The goal is to find an angle that clearly communicates the terrain without making the landscape unnecessarily distorted.
If your location contains available 3D buildings, Google Earth Pro can also display them as realistic 3D imagery.
However, 3D Buildings are optional and are not required to create a 3D terrain map.
Step 6: Add GIS Data or Other Layers
You can make the terrain map more useful by adding geographic information such as:
- KML or KMZ boundaries
- GPS tracks
- Roads
- Rivers
- Points and placemarks
- Image overlays
- Other supported geographic data
Google Earth Pro can display additional map information over terrain, allowing you to combine the 3D landscape with project-specific information. Image overlays can also be integrated with the shape of the terrain.
This can be useful for showing a project area, watershed boundary, road alignment or other geographic feature in its terrain context.
Step 7: Save the 3D Terrain Map as an Image
When your 3D view is ready, you can save it as a map image.
Go to:
File → Save → Save Image
Google Earth Pro allows you to adjust image resolution and select map elements such as a title, legend and other map information before saving.
For a professional map, choose an appropriate viewing angle and resolution before saving the final image.
Once you have completed this process, you may also want to learn How to Measure Land Area in Google Earth Pro, if you need to measure distance in metric or any other unit.
Practical Applications
A 3D terrain map can be useful for:
- Engineering: visualising project locations and terrain conditions.
- GIS: presenting spatial data together with elevation.
- Environmental studies: showing mountains, watersheds and landscape features.
- Planning: communicating the relationship between infrastructure and terrain.
- Education: explaining topography and physical geography.
Common Problems
The terrain looks flat
Check that the Terrain layer is enabled and that you are viewing the area from an angled perspective.
The hills look too exaggerated
Reduce the Elevation Exaggeration value. Excessive exaggeration can make slopes appear steeper than their underlying elevation data suggests.
The 3D view is slow
Google notes that terrain quality can be reduced to improve performance. This can be useful on computers that struggle with detailed 3D rendering.
The map does not look professional
Avoid excessive terrain exaggeration and choose a clear camera angle. Also remove unnecessary layers before saving the final image.
For additional information and the latest guidance, see the official Google Earth Help documentation on Measure distance and elevation.
Important Limitation
A 3D view in Google Earth Pro is primarily a visualisation tool. It should not automatically be treated as a survey-grade terrain model. For detailed engineering design or precise topographic analysis, use appropriate surveyed elevation data and dedicated GIS or engineering software.
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