GOOGLE EARTH

Step 1. Download and open the .kmz file

- Depending on whether you are making a base map for a location in the US or any other place in the world you will first need to open one of the following pages in order to download the .kmz file:

• For the US go to: http://www.earthpoint.us/TopoMap.aspx• For the rest of the world:

https://services.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Topo_Map/MapServer

- For the US topographic map, simply click on “View in Google Earth” button and save the .kmz file to the desired location.

- For the rest of the world, on the ArcGIS REST Service Directory page click on “Google Earth” and download the .kmz file to the desired location.

Step 2. Find your land, open .kmz file

- Now open Google Earth and under “File” → “Open” and choose your .kmz file. It will automatically be uploaded.

- In the “Search box” type the name and/or address of your location and click on ‘Search’. The location will automatically be brought into view.

- In the sidebar on your left, click on the box “Earth Point Topo Map” to turn off the topographic view for now. If you’re working with the “World_Topo_Map” (the .kmz file for the rest of the world) follow the same steps from now on.

- You can save the map to “My Places” by right-clicking on “Earth Point Topo Map” and choosing the option “Save to My Places”. You can do the same with the location name – by right-clicking on it and choosing “Save to My Places”.

- In the sidebar, you may also want to turn off some of the layers to make the view clearer.

Step 3. Mark the property boundary (new layer)

- Zoom in if you need to and make sure you’re in ‘airplane’ view (flat view of the Earth), and not in Earth view. To do so, pan upwards with your mouse and click “N” to reset to North.

- To mark the property boundary click on the “Add Polygon” icon.

- A window will pop up. Name your polygon and, while the window is open, start drawing in the boundary.

- Once you’re done drawing the property boundary you can adjust the transparency of the polygon and the width of the line in the pop-up window under “Style, Color”.

Step 4. Toggle to topographic map

- Toggle to the topographic map by marking the box in the sidebar named “Earth Point Topo Map” (under My Places). Zoom in or out a little if needed. Again, make sure you’re in ‘airplane’ view and click “N” to reset to North.

Step 5. Draw contours (new layer)

- In order to draw your contour line, click on the “Add path” icon.

- Follow the same procedure as while drawing the polygon. Name your path and, while the window is open, draw over the contour lines you can see on the topographic map.

- Adjust the color and the width of the path. Repeat for all the contours on your property.

- It may be a good idea to name the lines according to the height above sea level which they represent on the map (in this case the height on the map is shown is feet).

- Once you’re done drawing in all the contours, toggle back to satellite view. Your map should look something like this:

Step 6. Print map or image

- To save an image of your map, go to “File” → “Save” → “Save as Image”. A new menu should appear at the top of the map giving you options to adjust image resolution and map background.

- Set the resolution to a maximum. Set the ‘Styling’ of the map to your liking (Full color, Desaturated, Grayscale).

- Save the image to a folder of your choice. This might take a few moments. You’ll end up with a map looking like this: