rofile is a simple way to understand how the ground rises and falls along a selected route. Instead of looking at elevation values one location at a time, Google Earth Pro can display the changes along an entire path as a graph.
This can be useful for studying roads, rivers, hiking routes, field-trip paths, hills, and other terrain. The profile shows distance along the path on the horizontal axis and elevation on the vertical axis.
What Is an Elevation Profile?
An elevation profile is a graph showing how elevation changes from the beginning to the end of a selected path.
For example, a path across a valley may show:
- A gradual increase in elevation
- A steep climb
- A high point
- A descent into the valley
- Another increase in elevation
Google Earth Pro also allows you to examine the elevation and distance at different positions along the path by moving the cursor over the profile.
If you also need to learn image overlay on top of Google Earth, see our guide on How to Find Elevation on Google Earth, where it helps to design infrastructures such as road, water and others.
How to Create an Elevation Profile in Google Earth Pro
Step 1: Open Google Earth Pro
Open Google Earth Pro on your computer and navigate to the area you want to study.
You can search for a specific location using the search box. For a river, road, mountain, or study area, zoom in until you can clearly identify the route you want to analyse.
Step 2: Create a Path
To create the route, use the Add Path tool.
Click the starting location and then continue clicking along the route. You can create a simple straight path using two points or add several points to follow a road, river, trail, or other feature.
The supplied tutorial demonstrates this approach by drawing a path across a river area and then using the saved path to generate the elevation profile.
Tip: Place the points carefully. If you want to study a river or road, make the path follow that feature rather than drawing a shortcut across the surrounding terrain.
Step 3: Save the Path
After completing the path, give it a meaningful name and save it in Places.
You can also change the path's colour and line appearance if it is difficult to see against the satellite imagery.
Step 4: Open the Elevation Profile
Find the path in the Places panel and open its options.
Select Show Elevation Profile.
Google Earth Pro will display the elevation profile in the lower part of the 3D Viewer. Google's official instructions confirm that you first need to draw or open a path and then select Edit → Show Elevation Profile.
Step 5: Read the Elevation Graph
The graph provides a visual representation of the terrain along your path.
The X-axis represents distance, while the Y-axis represents elevation. Moving the cursor along the profile lets you identify the elevation and distance at different points.
A rising line indicates increasing elevation, while a falling line indicates decreasing elevation.
Once you have completed this process, you may also want to learn How to Add a GPS Track to Google Earth Pro, if you need to download data from GPS to Google Earth.
What Can You Learn From the Profile?
An elevation profile can help you identify:
- Highest point along the selected path
- Lowest point along the path
- Areas of steep or gradual terrain
- Changes in elevation
- Approximate distance between locations
- Terrain patterns along roads, rivers, or trails
This makes the tool useful for geographic education, preliminary terrain assessment, fieldwork, and route analysis.
Example: Analysing a River
Imagine drawing a path across a river and the surrounding terrain.
The profile might begin at higher ground, descend toward the river, reach a lower section around the river valley, and then rise again on the opposite side.
The supplied tutorial uses this type of example and demonstrates how moving along the profile helps identify changing elevation and terrain characteristics.
Example: Analysing a Mountain Route
You can also create a path from a lower elevation toward a mountain summit.
The resulting graph can clearly show the transition from relatively low terrain to higher elevations. The supplied tutorial demonstrates this concept using a route toward Mount Everest, where the profile rises substantially as the path climbs.
Why Is the Elevation Profile Not Showing?
If Show Elevation Profile does not work correctly, check that you have created or opened a path.
Google's documentation also notes that if the elevation measurement displays 0, you should make sure the Terrain layer is enabled.
Another important point is that the elevation-profile feature discussed here is associated with Google Earth Pro desktop, rather than the standard mobile experience.
Important Limitation
The elevation profile is useful for understanding terrain, but it should not automatically be treated as a substitute for professional surveying or detailed engineering elevation data.
The quality of the result depends on the underlying terrain information and the path you create. For engineering design, construction setting-out, or legal surveying, use appropriate professional survey data.
For additional information and the latest guidance, see the official Google Earth Help documentation on Google Earth Pro release notes.
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