KML 🌍

KML (Keyhole Markup Language)

Open Beta
.kml · application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml

KML is the Google Earth format for geodata visualization on a virtual globe. Suitable for presentations, educational projects, and client communications.

Export KML now ✨ Open Beta — free, no limits

Key Features

Google Earth compatible
Styles and icons
3D support
XML format
Example KML export (central Moscow, 1x0.5 km)
Example: central Moscow, ~1×0.5 km, medium detail

About KML Format

KML is a language for describing geographic data, invented for Google Earth and later adopted as an OGC standard. The file is text: inside are placemarks, lines, outlines, their styles and labels. It opens with a double click in Google Earth and attaches in Google My Maps, QGIS and ArcGIS.

OpenStreetMap maps are exported to KML when the result has to be shown to another person: a client, colleagues, students. The features land on the globe, a click shows their properties, and the file itself can be sent by email — the recipient needs no GIS, Google Earth is enough.

In the file all the layers are laid out in folders named after the layers, each feature keeps its OSM tags in the ExtendedData block, and lines and fills get a color and a width. Coordinates are WGS84, as the specification requires. Roads, water and greenery lie on the ground surface, while buildings are extruded into volume: height is taken from the height tag, or computed from the floor count in building:levels at 3.5 meters per floor, and if neither is present the house gets six meters.

In Google Earth such an export looks like a three-dimensional city right away. If you do not need the volume, switch the buildings layer off in the tree on the left. For sending by email KMZ is handier — the same document in compressed form.

What Program Opens KML Files

The following programs and applications can open, edit, and work with KML (Keyhole Markup Language) (.kml) files exported from OSM2CDR:

🌐Google Earth 🌐Google Maps 🌎QGIS 🌎ArcGIS 💻Marble

Format specifications

Who Uses KML Maps

🏗
Google Earth
The file opens with a double click, and the features land on the globe together with their labels.
💻
Presentations
A clear presentation of the territory to a client with no GIS software on their computer.
📊
Educational projects
Ready material for a geography lesson: layers switch on and off in front of the class.
🎨
Route visualization
Route lines and points on a three-dimensional globe, with the option to fly over them.
🗺
Tourism
Landmarks and trails of a district as placemarks that anyone can see on their own computer.

How to Export KML

1
Select area
Draw a rectangle or polygon on the interactive map at osm2cdr
2
Choose KML
Select KML (Keyhole Markup Language) from the list of 127 available export formats
3
Export
Click Export and receive your .kml file in 1-5 minutes
4
Download
Download the ready KML file and open it in Google Earth

How to Open After Export

Popular maps in KML

Free

Get KML (Keyhole Markup Language) map exports

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between KML and KMZ?
Can I open KML in QGIS?
Are feature attributes preserved?
Why are the buildings three-dimensional in Google Earth?
The file came out too large — what should I do?

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