Add Google Terrain Layer

Use this layer to see the shape of the land behind your data. It is a cartographic rendering, not elevation data — for slope, contours, or profiles you need a digital elevation model, not this layer.

• The tool has no dialog. Clicking it creates the tile layer and adds it to the active map immediately.
• The layer is added with the name Google Terrain layer. It arrives at the top of the drawing order, so move it to the bottom of the Contents pane to use it as a backdrop beneath your own layers.
• The tiles are served from Google's tile endpoint https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=p&x={x}&y={y}&z={z}. An internet connection is required whenever the map draws — the tiles are streamed, not stored in the project.
• Tiles are served in Web Mercator. ArcGIS Pro reprojects them on the fly when the map uses another coordinate system, which can soften the imagery slightly at large scales.
• Because this is a tile layer rather than a raster dataset, it cannot be used as the input to raster geoprocessing tools. To analyse imagery, add a raster dataset with Add Raster To Map instead.
• Review Google's terms of service before using these tiles in published maps or commercial deliverables.
• The tool reports an error if there is no active map.

1. Open or activate the map that needs the backdrop.
2. On the KGA Toolbox tab, in the Data Creation group, open Quick Template, point to Add Basemap, and click Add Google Terrain Layer.
3. In the Contents pane, drag the new Google Terrain layer layer to the bottom of the drawing order.

Requires an active KGA Toolbox license. The tool validates the license before running.