Visit Eartha^TM at DeLorme Headquarters, in Yarmouth, Maine
Housed in a three-story glass atrium at the company’s headquarters in Yarmouth, Maine, Eartha took two years to build and represents earth as it is seen from space. Every continent is beautifully detailed, with vivid colors illustrating all levels of vegetation, major roadways and cities. Ocean depths are also completely represented.
“Eartha is the largest image of earth ever created,” says DeLorme. “Eartha will instill a sense of wonder in people when they first see it and we hope they walk away from it with a better appreciation and knowledge of the world around them.”
Directions to visit Eartha

The Guinness World Record Holder
Eartha is a 3-dimensional scale model of our earth with mountains and landforms in full 3D, that rotates and revolves, simulating the earth’s real movements. Eartha was given the title of “World’s Largest Revolving/Rotating Globe” by the editors of the Guinness Book of World Records in 1999, and still holds that record today. It measures 41.5 ft in diameter. Unveiled July 23, 1998 Eartha took two years to build and represents earth as it is seen from space. It rotates and revolves on a specially designed and built mechanized, cantilever arm.
The Official Measurements
The official measurements of Eartha were made for Guinness by several independent and licensed surveyors who found the Globe to measure 41 feet, one and one-half inches, slightly less than the rounded figure of 42 feet that was projected by DeLorme staff members. Still, 41′ 1.5″ was more than enough to surpass the former record-holder, the Globe of Peace in Apeccio, Pesaro, Italy (which is 33 feet in diameter and does not revolve or rotate).
An Engineering Accomplishment
Every aspect of Eartha was developed using computer technology. It was designed by David DeLorme, CEO. and constructed by DeLorme staff members. “The building of Eartha was a tremendous challenge for all of us,” says DeLorme. “It will help us make even better maps and will help others envision how we on earth are all connected.”
The Data
The mapping data, which took over a year to compile, is completely unique. It is a special composite database built from satellite imagery, shaded relief, colored bathymetry (ocean depth data) and information from terrestrial sources, such as road networks and urban areas. The printed Eartha database is equivalent to about 140 gigabytes (or 214 CD-ROMs), making it one of the largest in the world! Its scale is 1:1,000,000, which works out to be one inch equaling nearly 16 miles. At this scale, California is three and a half feet tall!

The Infrastructure
Eartha’s “skeleton” is the Omni-Span^TM Truss structure - a DeLorme-developed system of over 6,000 pieces of lightweight aluminum tubing. The “skin” is constructed of over 792 map sections, printed on special materials and mounted on lightweight panels. Those panels are then affixed to the structure with a unique bolt system. Each panel spans 8° latitude by 10° longitude.

The Mechanism
Eartha tilts at 23.5 degrees, just as the earth does. It revolves on a specially designed cantilever arm and rotates on an axis. This action is powered by two electric-powered motors, which are commanded by a computer. One combined Eartha revolution and rotation occurs every minute at maximum speed.

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About DeLorme
DeLorme is a leading provider of mapping products and technical solutions for the consumer and professional markets. The premier innovator in its field, DeLorme has consistently been first to market with groundbreaking ideas like topographic map books for individual states (Atlas & Gazetteer^TM series), nationwide street mapping and topographic software titles (Street Atlas USA® and Topo USA®), and a GPS receiver designed for use with laptop PCs (Earthmate®). DeLorme has also pioneered a wide range of software capabilities including address searching, address-to-address routing, voice navigation with GPS, 3-D map images, and countless others.
With its XMap line of software and datasets, DeLorme is breaking down the barriers to GIS technology by combining top shelf capabilities with unmatched affordability and ease of use. Now, with its TopoBird aerial collection platform, DeLorme can also deliver high-resolution color aerial imagery with exceptional cost- and time-saving efficiency.
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photo by Jeffrey Stevenson