Exercise 2 – Introduction to Google Earth – Soil Lab
Part 2 – Incorporating external data into Google Earth
Several organizations have created data or modified existing data for viewing and analysis in Google Earth. Incorporating this data into Google Earth is very easy. To demonstrate, we will utilize a Google Earth .kmz file created by the California Soil Resource Lab that is used to access
detailed USDA soils data. Navigate to: http://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/soilweb/
and click on the “SoilWeb Earth” link. You can save the file to your computer and open it with Google Earth, or you can select “Open with”, click on the browse button, and select Google Earth. Click Ok and “SoilWeb” should appear in your “Temporary Places” in the Places panel.
Navigate to your house, and then zoom in on the area around it. Click in the View panel on the area/yard around your house and a soil information box should open (make sure “SoilWeb” is turned on in the Places panel).
1.
What type of soil is your house built on? Click on the soil name in the information box. This should open a website with detailed information about the soil. 2.
What is the geomorphic position of this soil? Under the “Component Name” column, click the “Soil Type 1” link to open a detailed description of the soil profile.
3.
How deep is a typical profile? 4.
What soil order does this soil belong to?
