Virtual Tour of the Almanor Basin

Using Google Earth to Tour the Almanor Watershed

New online mapping tools are making it easier for us to share mapping information online.

The Sierra Institute has compiled most of the available mapping for the Almanor Basin into a 'virtual tour.' We have done this by creating overlays which drape map layers such as zoning, streams, subwatersheds, and geologic type over a three dimensional landscape that the user can move interactively. This 'virtual tour' uses a free software program called “Google Earth.”

Google Earth allows anyone with a moderately fast internet connection to view 3-D satellite imagery of anywhere on Earth. The Almanor Basin and most of Northern California were photographed by satellite in 2005. These are the images you'll see in our virtual tour.

To view the virtual tour:

1. Install the Google Earth software program on your computer by clicking here.

2. Download one of the Almanor Basin Virtual Tours from the list below.

3. Open the Google Earth software, and use the 'FILE>OPEN> menu to load the file that you have downloaded (.kmz)

4. The tour that you load will show up in the 'Table of Contents' on the left-hand side of your screen. Highlight the folder that you want to tour, and click the '>' (play) button at the bottom of the menu.

Download the Almanor Basin virtual tour to your computer.

Download the Stairway of Power tour to your computer. The Stairway of Power is a series of hydroelectric plants along the Feather River in Plumas County.

Download Almanor Basin GIS layers in Google Earth.