Google Earth Image Overlay
Jasmine Lemaitre
In Google Earth Pro "Edit Image Overlay", the only way I have found to enlargeor shrink the overlay while maintaining the X:Y aspect ratio is tograb one of the four green corners (not the four middle of edge"T"s), and carefully pull it in a direction exactly toward or awayfrom the image center "+". Is there any better way?(Note Properties > Location > Fit to screen wipes out rotation.)
Thanks @Kazuhito! Indeed one finds that holding SHIFT while moving any of the 4 corners, or four "T" edges, will all do the same job: proportional scaling!(Also noted in .) Works on Linux too.(Alas, one must zoom out to be able to access these eight items if one is too zoomed in. But then one cannot see what one was trying to look at.)
I am trying to add an image overlay to Google Earth Web. It works fine in Google Earth Pro on my desktop, but I can't seem to make it work in Earth Web. I want to be able to have folders in my project with different base images for the contents of each folder (three folders, one with the google earth base imagery for under summer points and paths, one with a GeoTIFF of winter satellite imagery for winter points and paths, and a third with a similar idea to the winter one).I have tried two things:
At this time (end 2022), the Google Earth Web client does not (yet?) support creation of basic image overlays in its content creation tools. As you found, you can create a Tiled Overlay (if you have the URL for a set of hosted map tiles), but you can't create a basic overlay from a single image. Earth Web also does not currently support GeoTiff or other GIS data import & conversion like Earth Pro does, though we hope that will come in the future.
That said, you should be able to load a KML/KMZ in Earth web which already contains one or more image overlays (created in Earth Pro or elsewhere), as you tried to do. There are a number of reasons why it might not work, which depend on what images you're using, how the overlays were created, and where the data is stored or hosted. If you want help debugging why your current KMZ doesn't work, please provide a copy (or link to) your file if possible, or a sample that shows the issue. Probably best to post that in a new question focused just on that issue.
I built a model of an entire neighborhood in SketchUp: houses, trees, topography, etc. I would like to be able to display it in 3D in the context of the surrounding neighborhoods, but when I import the SketchUp model as a KMZ into Google Earth, my model conflicts with the existing buildings and vegetation on the site. If I turn the existing buildings and trees off (3D Buildings > Photorealistic) in Google Earth, it turns the hi-res topography off with it.
I also have access to Photoshop, so if there is a solution to this issue involving Photoshop, I should be able to utilize that method. However, I already tried overlaying an exported image from SketchUp onto an exported image from Google Earth - using the same Scene/Placemark Snapshot - for both images, but the images do not align due to what seems to be a difference in camera lens settings between the two programs. I scoured the internet, but could not find a way to view/alter the camera lens settings in Google Earth in order to match them in/to SketchUp.
I also tried the Match Photo tool in SketchUp, but the dialog box and pins are incredibly difficult to use. For a model like this that is not a simple, rectangular building and needs to be rendered on all sides in 2D, Match Photo is not a feasible solution.
Then I add the screenshot fm GE with the building in it to a Style in SU and turn on XRAY mode to see my terrain in my model as well. A bit of adjusting gets things pretty close. I have curbs, basketball courts, road striping, etc to help with alignment.
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This help guide outlines the process to georeference (geographically place on the surface of the earth) a scanned map or aerial image and digitize features from it in Google Earth Pro, a desktop software.
Requirements: Google Earth Pro (desktop program) installed and an image file (e.g.: JPEG, TIFF) of an historical map or an aerial image. Google Earth will be used as a backdrop to overlay and digitize historical maps.
You can create custom features and store them in the folder that was previously created. The mapping tools at the top of the viewer offer custom feature creation such as points (placemark), lines (path) & polygons.
Hi, I have a job to do in a mine and as mines are constantly changing landscapes and shuffling earth mountains around it is not enough for me to use Google Earth satellite images. I would need to import an updated satellite image of the region into Litchi instead.
The mine is constantly doing this type of surveys and they can send me this data, however what format should I ask them to send me and how can I import and overlay this image on top of Google Earth satellite image within Litchi app?
Kaehn, I am in the same situation as is LPHill and I understand the situation. I need to lay a plat of a new housing development on top of the mission area to build Litchi missions for each lot. It would be the easiest to overlay an opaque plat over the Litchi map instead of entering all the lat/longs individually.
WB Map Overlay GE16322314 303 KB
Has anyone successfully imported a kml or kmz file that contains user created raster image overlays in to Manifold? I have a series of raster image overlays I would like to use but don't want to have to manually georegister them. They work fine in Google Earth but won't import to Manifold like a vector based KML will.
hi mdsummer, im so sorry cant understand well.. will u please be more specific,..hehe.. this is interesting.. i did follow ur instruction above And wont work to me.. i have a kml file and i want all the images imported to manifold without manually georegistering it..
Users accessing NFHL through the FEMA GeoPlatform or Flood Map Service Center will not be impacted by this update. More information on ways to access the NFHL can be found at -library/assets/documents/13424. For more information, please call or email a FEMA Map Specialist at 1-877-FEMA-MAP or FEMA...@fema.dhs.gov.
Google Earth is a popular Internet application through which users can view maps. This web site provides zipped Keyhole Markup Language (.kmz) files through which users can view map overlays created from FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer on Google Earth images.
You must already have the Google Earth application installed on your computer to use these files. The starting point for obtaining the software is Information about the system requirements needed for your computer to run the software is available through A user guide is available at
FEMA offers two applications: "Stay Dry" and "FEMA NFHL." Stay Dry is more simple and focused. NFHL is less limited but more complex to use. Each is described below, and each has its own .kmz file. For optimum performance, please do not open both, and do not have more than one copy of each, in Google Earth at the same time.
To use the .kmz files, first save them to your computer. Do this by right-clicking on a hyperlinked file name below, choosing "Save Target as" (Internet Explorer) or "Save Link As" (Firefox), changing the file name if you wish (be sure that the file name has the extension .kmz), and clicking on save.
If you plan to use mapped flood information displayed in Google Earth for official purposes, insure that imagery and other map information displayed with the flood data meet FEMA's standards for map accuracy.
Some Geographic Information System (GIS) software can import GIS data encoded in the kmz format used for these applications. This technique is unlikely to work with the kmz files provided below. If you are interested in using the NFHL in GIS software, use the NFHL GIS data or NFHL Web Map Service (WMS) or Representative State Transfer REST) Service. All product options and services are available through FEMA's Map Service Center (MSC) at
"Stay Dry" is a focused application that provides basic flood hazard map information from FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer for an address. It allows you to view flood hazard zones and Flood Insurance Rate Map numbers and boundaries.
"FEMA NFHL" is a general application that provides for the display of flood hazard zones and labels, floodways, Coastal Barrier Resources System and Otherwise Protected Area units, community boundaries and names, base flood elevations, cross sections and coastal transects and their labels, hydraulic and flood control structures, flood profile baselines, coastal transect baselines, limit of moderate wave action lines, river mile markers, and Flood Insurance Rate Map and Letter of Map Revision boundaries and numbers. Additional reference layers include the status of NFHL data availability, point locations for Letters of Map Amendment (LOMAs) and Letters of Map Revision Based on Fill (LOMR-Fs). You control the information displayed by turning layers on and off. A basic knowledge of Google Earth and FEMA flood hazard information will help users of this application.
The name of each layer is hyperlinked to a description of the layer, the map symbols used for the layer, and links to other FEMA web sites relevant to the layer. If a layer is turned on, clicking the text below the name of the layer (text that starts with "Draws at...") zooms the Google Earth view to a sample display of the layer. Layers are organized for display at one or more of three "eye altitude" (map scale) ranges in Google Earth: status maps at high altitudes, regional overviews of flood hazards at medium altitudes, and detailed flood hazard maps at low altitudes. Click on the hyperlinked folder name of the application to see the altitudes at which data in the layers are displayed.
Version 3.0.1 includes a NFHL data status layer, simplified flood hazard symbols which match the latest in Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) specifications and an updated organization of features and layers to align with the latest FIRM Database schema.
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