Google Earth: a new tool for mountaineering

Google.com comes up with another gem called Google Earth. If understood correctly, this software download snaps from actual satellite photos taken in recent years and overlaps in the topographic information base. The result is a three dimensional representation of the entire planet! Knowing this made me think about Seven Wonders of the World that How a simulated landscape can be compared to the real world!
One of the best features of Google Earth is the degree to which it is interactive. A user can zoom in and out (even in space), bread here and there, and click and drag. With a good Internet connection, the program will download the more detailed images zoom. There is also a feature that lets you enter a place name or address auto-display. Another feature allows the use of latitude and longitude coordinates to find your area of interest automatically. This is particularly useful for the interests of the mountaineers because the names and areas of desert and mountains are not included in the database. One of the favorites in terms of capabilities is the choice of reference.
You can find places of interest, including the major cities which have much more detail than in mountainous or forested areas. Much could be said about the display of populated areas, but that is irrelevant here. Another thing to note is that most of the topographic structures are very simplified. Both details and topographic photo-definition should continue to grow in the future. Google Earth is a work in progress and that a prototype of the same technology is yet to come. There are two updated versions available, one of which includes the use of GPS, and the other for commercial use.
Most Geopark events and activities involve physical activity, whilst the majority of resources (maps, guide books, trail leaflets etc.) are designed to ensure that ramblers or walkers will be able to understand the geoheritage they are crossing, or to guide them to specific sites or features. However many elderly or disabled people are not able to visit the real thing, yet may well have an interest in the landscape and geology not only of their local area, but of areas across Europe. This paper presents work using Google Maps, Google Earth to create a virtual Geopark for Geomon/Anglesey Geopark. Trail leaflets have been converted to virtual tours, individual sites are illustrated using images and descriptions, and a forthcoming book following the long distance coastal footpath around the perimeter of the Geopark is transformed into a virtual tour of the coastline. The creation of these online resources is relatively simple, following some of the basic rules of HTML, the internet source language, and the tools contained within the software itself. An image bank or photo-album has been created using online tools of Google Earth from which images can be inserted into the Google Earth resource. Users simply install a KML or KMZ file from the Geomon website and upload the information onto Google Earth (or map) and can then view any of the sites or follow trails.