Instruction for Using Google Maps in 3D Mode

When you see numbers like this within the text of this website:
33 53 49.5 -117 57 12.8  
or this:    
33°53'49.7"N 117°57'12.8"W
those are latitude and longitude. Use Ctrl-C to capture those characters (coordinates) and paste them into Google and then click on "Maps." To move about in this mode, use the mouse-scroll-wheel to zoom in and out and the left mouse-click-hold and then drag the mouse around to move scene around.

In the lower left is a small picture labeled Satellite. Click on that to see an aerial photo view. (It says satellite but it is mostly data taken from airplanes.)
Now you are in Satellite View.

To Move About in Satellite View
mouse-scroll-wheel to zoom in and out
left mouse-click-hold and drag mouse around to move scene around
ctrl-mouse drag forward/backward tilts the world up and down
ctrl-mouse drag left/right turns the world clockwise of counterclockwise

Note, the last two only works when you are Satellite View. The first two works for both the Map View and Satellite View. You will at first be amazed that you can move about in space. Then a few seconds later, after the novelty wears off, you will notice the 3D view isn’t perfect. To reduce the amount data to store, trees are digitally created from only hints in the data. Some places like Boston are much more highly resolved. Eventually even we in the outback will get that kind of detail.

To Transition to Google Street View click on a street and zoom in (scroll-wheel) closer and closer until it automatically tilts flat. Did you notice it suddenly changed to a whole different data base? This is Street View. Sometimes it takes a few seconds for the detailed imagery to get to your computer. If you zoom in on a point not on a road, you can’t get into street view of course, and what it will look like is that the zooming feature just stops at some point. You can tilt the world with ctrl-mouse drag forward/backward but it won’t go all the way to horizontal like it does if it successfully transitions to street view.

To Move About in Street View
The same commands as above. You can left mouse-click-hold and drag mouse around to move scene around. You can mouse-scroll-wheel to see some detail on the side of the road. And you can tilt the world with . . .
ctrl-mouse drag forward/backward   tilts the world up and down
ctrl-mouse drag left/right   moves your view more to the left or more to the right
(The ctrl key doesn’t have to be held down like it does when you are in Satellite View.)

If you get lost, zoom back (mouse-scroll) out of Street View and click the small “map” in the bottom left. That not only puts you in map mode but rotates you so north is up. You can click back to satellite view, and scroll forward to get back to the ground.

City Boundaries
It is very handy in studying trails on Google Maps to see the boundaries of your city while looking at something in particular. Do that by first entering “City of Fullerton” into Google and then click on Maps. It will put the city in pink with a red boundary. You can then move about and tell where you are by the color of the background.

Download Google Earth
For instructions on how to install Google Earth Pro, go to: https://support.google.com/earth/answer/21955?hl=en