Possible to download height map data from Google Earth? And import to Blender

Hello, any one know if its possible to download height map data from Google (because they are probably highly accurate) and then import that and apply it on a plane or something to form that area in Blender?

If so, how?

Thanks all.

I’d like to know also - terrain is always a problem for me.
Ed

I don’t know what format the terrain data from google comes in, but if you can get a greyscale height map you can use a ‘displace’ modifier to apply the height to a subdivided plane. There’s a tutorial on how to do something like this here.

i use the original global and local height data ( google uses this )

the STRM 2.1
( 30)
http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/version2_1/SRTM30/
( 1)
http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/version2_1/SRTM1/
and
GMTED 2010
http://topotools.cr.usgs.gov/gmted_viewer/
the highest resolution is the 7.5 arc second
http://topotools.cr.usgs.gov/gmted_viewer/gmted2010_global_grids.php

you will need GDAL to read the file formats
http://www.gdal.org/

also blender has GIS plugins ( and a gis fork of blender )

i normally am not using the Earth data in blender but other bodies in this solar system
the LOLA/MOLA plugin and the
MRO - HIRISE plugin

or if you do not need the planet curvature or to be geo referenced

use the built in
“import image as plain”
then sub divide it 2048 or 4096 times ( or less if you do not have 32 gigs of ram )
and add a “displacement” to it using the Height data in 32bit FLOAT normalized to 0 to 1 *.tiff image
or normalized to 1,65536 and 16 bit UNSIGNED *.tiff image
this is what i used for the posts in this forum thread

a rather quick import of the STRM2.1 regon7
http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/version2_1/SRTM1/Region_07/
of "the Big Isle "
used gdal_translate to convert it to a tiff , then reduced the image size by 2/3
then used a displacement on a plain
http://7.t.imgbox.com/9ukwKvDK.jpg http://9.t.imgbox.com/9V5YeXPG.jpg

so it can be done while watching the LAST "daily show "