Use Timelapse in Google Earth

Tour the world and see how our planet has changed over time through a global time-lapse video of the planet from 1984 to today.

When you open Timelapse in Google Earth, the animation begins.

Explore Timelapse in Google Earth

Important: Timelapse in Google Earth displays time-lapse videos on the 3D globe, which means it uses a lot of bandwidth. For low bandwidth environments, or on older devices, it might take longer for imagery to come into focus as you pan and zoom. The feature is available on both web and mobile, and we recommend that you connect to WiFi.

Open Timelapse in Google Earth

1. On your computer, open Google Earth.
2. On the left, click Voyager .
3. Click Layers  Timelapse in Google Earth.

Explore the world with Timelapse in Google Earth

There are 3 ways to explore Timelapse in Google Earth:

Discover Stories

Choose from thematic stories that show global changes and explain their causes.

1. On your computer, open Google Earth.
2. On the left, click Voyager .
3. Click Layers Timelapse in Google Earth.
4. In the right panel, under the “Stories” tab, choose a story.
   • To move between the story’s locations: At the bottom right, click the arrows.
   • To leave the current story and return to Timelapse: At the bottom left, click Timelapse in Google Earth.

Tour Featured Locations

Explore interesting imagery through curated lists of locations around the planet.

1. On your computer, open Google Earth.
2. On the left, click Voyager .
3. Click Layers Timelapse in Google Earth.
4. In the right panel, click Featured Locations.
5. Select a category. Then, select a place that interests you.
   • To navigate to another location: On the right, select a place from the list.
   • To view all of the featured location categories: At the bottom of the list, select Back.
   • To share a Featured Location story: On the right, select a place from the list. Next to the location name, click Share . Follow the on-screen instructions.

Search for any location

1. On your computer, open Google Earth.
2. On the left, click Voyager .
3. Click Layers  Timelapse in Google Earth.
4. In the “Search the planet...” field, enter the location.

Control time animations

1. On your computer, open Google Earth.
2. On the left, click Voyager .
3. Click Layers Timelapse in Google Earth.
4. At the top right, you can control animations:
   • To control the animations: use Pause and Play .
   • To go to a specific date: click and drag the timeline.

Exit Timelapse in Google Earth

At the top left, click Back .