Eartha, The Giant Globe At DeLORME
What is Eartha? Well, to answer that question you must first ask, What is DeLORME?
The DeLORME Sign In Yarmouth, Maine
DeLORME is a magical place. It’s a place where people work to create the maps that you use everyday. The data, the physical map, the digital map, GPS maps are all created here. In Yarmouth, Maine at the DeLORME headquarters. DeLORME is actually one of a handful of mapmakers that still own and produce their own map content for both commercial use as well as government use.
Eartha is the centerpiece in the main lobby. Eartha holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s largest revolving/rotating globe. But Eartha is more than that.
Parked In The DeLORME Parking Lot
Completed in 1998, Eartha is the largest printed image of the earth ever created. Complete with mountains and land forms in full 3D, she rotates and revolves on specially designed and built mechanized, cantilever arms, simulating the real earths movements.
Eartha was developed and designed using computer technology. It represents one of the largest computer mapping databases in the world. The printed data is equivalent to 214 CD-ROMS of information, or 140 gigabytes! I’m no techie, but I think that’s a lot.
Eartha is at a scale of 1:1,000,000, one inch on Eartha equals nearly 16 miles on the Earth. To give you an idea of just how big Eartha really is, find David in this picture.
David Next To Eartha
I took this picture from the second story (out of three stories), while David was down on the first floor in the lobby. Yes, I said three stories. Eartha is over 41 feet tall with a circumference of nearly 130 feet. That’s big!
So what else is at DeLORME other than Eartha? Well…
Curtis, Gladys And David In The Map Store At DeLORME
There’s this really cool, large map store. Unfortunately, this is the only picture I have of the map store. Trust me, it’s really big.
And talk about maps. This store has every map you have ever wanted and some you didn’t know you even needed. Want a map of Egypt? They got it. A map of the Netherlands? Yup, they got that too. Russia, Germany, France, Canada, South Africa? They have it all. Terrain maps and weather maps and political maps and children’s maps. Small maps, large maps, wall sized maps, place mat maps. You can easily get overloaded with all the information in there.
Their is a ton of information on DeLORME and Eartha that I have not even touched upon. Please make sure you click on the various links, to go to the DeLORME website for more information.
A Wall In DeLORME With A Map On It
The Geo Bug Trackable On The Back Of Our Car Window
Being that DeLORME is all about maps and mapping, they have an extensive collection of GeoCahing materials. We bought 2 Geo Bug trackables for our vehicles.
The Geo Bug Trackable On Our Motorhome Windshield
So now when we are going down the highway, or parked in a lot somewhere, someone can log onto the GeoCaching website and log that they have spotted us. So keep your eyes peeled.
We also bought a couple other GeoCaching items, a large map and some round push pins.
I’ve always wanted a large map, backed by cork board, on a wall somewhere in my home filled with push pins of all the places we have traveled. Now, when we get home, I can do that.
DeLORME also has a case filled with all the GeoCaching coins from all around the world.
David Checking Out A Case Filled With GeoCaching Coins
I’m such a geek. I fully admit it. Thank you Ron for telling us about this little gem. I really enjoyed the map store and could have spent a considerable amount of time in there. Alas, we had to get back on the road. So maybe next time.
I wonder if they give tours?
