Google earth accuracy

[Russ Hatch]

Anbody have an idea how accurate the measuring point to point on Google Earth is? At our lodge we can see deer on a neighbors posted property acrossed the valley. Can't reach that far with our range finders and we have a ongoing discussion of how far it is. Thought I would use Google Earth and their measuring system if it is accurate. Thanks
Russ

[NomadPilot]

The .mil uses it as an imagery source. The coordinates are very accurate, and the measuring tool is only an algorithm comparing two coordinate sets. I think it could be used to settle your debate.

[Russ Hatch]

Good, I win by 100 yds. Thanks
Russ

[jonoMT]

The distance measurements in Google Earth are pretty accurate. Altitude measurements and the 3D depiction of terrain are limited to the accuracy of the source DEM (digital elevation models) - typically obtained from USGS and NASA. For the U.S. that should typically be DEMs that are based off a 10-meter sampling grid. Elevations may be off by 1-2 meters and anything in between sample points has to be interpolated. Still, you can come close enough for most uses.

[crowsnest2002]

MapMyRun.com -

Try this link, they use google maps and you can set way points and measure the distance out or out and back. Its more of a fitness thing, but it works pretty well for distance.

[SWN]

Today at work my task was to map various waypoints pertinant to our line of work. I GPS'ed about 50 with no problem. I had 5 spots that I could not access due to weather and a large body of water(our bay). I thought, how bout Google Earth. Fired it up, zoomed in on my 5 targets(which are very visable from the sat), jotted down the long and lat for each site. Cool, finished. Drove out to the area to check it out, each of the 5 waypoints from Google earth missed by up to a quarter mile or so. So bad that I could actually drive to one of the sites that is 300+ feet out in the water. Kinda makes you wonder.

[gbraach]

Originally Posted by SWN

Today at work my task was to map various waypoints pertinant to our line of work. I GPS'ed about 50 with no problem. I had 5 spots that I could not access due to weather and a large body of water(our bay). I thought, how bout Google Earth. Fired it up, zoomed in on my 5 targets(which are very visable from the sat), jotted down the long and lat for each site. Cool, finished. Drove out to the area to check it out, each of the 5 waypoints from Google earth missed by up to a quarter mile or so. So bad that I could actually drive to one of the sites that is 300+ feet out in the water. Kinda makes you wonder.

Verify that both your GPS and Google Earth are using the same coordinate system. I believe GE uses the WGS 84 datum.