304 Part IV — Google Earth Hacks
Buildings
The geological aspects of Google Earth are of course important, but man has had a significant
impact on how different locations around the world appear because of the buildings and struc-
tures that he has created. For completeness, Google Earth includes some man-made structures
in the Google Earth map. If you visit Seattle and click the Buildings checkbox, Google Earth
displays the various buildings in Seattle on the map (see Figure 15-12).FIGURE15-12: Buildings in Seattle in Google Earth.The result shows one of the effects we experienced: the apparent lack of very tall skyscrapers,
which helps give the wonderful impression of space and open-air feel that we discovered in
Seattle compared to New York.Extending Google Earth Information
Earlier in this chapter, you saw the information that can be built and overlaid within Google
Earth. Google Earth obviously comes with its own massive library of data, information points,
and highlights that can be overlaid on the map. All of this information is provided through a
series of data files that are in the Keyhole Markup Language (KML) standard. KML is a
specialized type of XML that enables you to build and organize points, routes, and other
information.