The world’s largest outdoor rotating globe, known as Eartha, continues to captivate visitors and globe enthusiasts across the globe from its striking location in Yarmouth, Maine. Recognised by Guinness World Records as the largest revolving and rotating globe ever constructed, Eartha stands as a monumental tribute to cartographic engineering and Earth’s representation.
Measuring an impressive 41 feet (12.5 meters) in diameter and weighing approximately 5,600 pounds (2,540 kg), Eartha was designed and built by cartography pioneer David DeLorme and his team, with construction completed in 1998.
Housed within a spacious three‑story glass atrium at the former DeLorme headquarters (now owned by tech firm Garmin), the globe rotates on its axis while also revolving to mirror Earth’s own rotation and orbital movement feat made possible by precision engineering and dual electric motors.
Set at an axial tilt of 23.5 degrees, just like the real Earth, the structure brings geography to life by simulating a full day’s spin in roughly 18 minutes. Its detailed surface, created at a scale of 1:1,000,000, incorporates satellite imagery, shaded relief, and mapped features that make it both an educational marvel and a visual spectacle.
Since its official recognition by Guinness in 1999, Eartha has remained an iconic landmark for visitors driving along U.S. Route 1 and geography lovers alike, illustrating the beauty and complexity of our planet in grand outdoor form.
