Google Street View is part of Google Maps, which maps out places all over the world and lets people go online to see them at ground level. Google Street View recently added something else and it is bringing viewers scenes from underwater locations. The latest entries to these beautiful watery scenes are some of the Brazilian Islands of Fernando de Noronha, and the Atol das Rocas.
These two locations are popular UNESCO heritage sites and are known for having beautiful beaches, majestic waterfalls, huge pods of dolphins, and several areas that are meant to protect the breeding groups of several species of endangered and other animals.
Google Street View is one of the only ways that people can actually see some of these places. Conservationists restrict the amounts of visitors and even totally block off some of the areas completely. With the brilliant scenes that Google Street View now offers, you can see the wonders that these islands have to offer.
The scenery recorded by Google Street View includes 360-degree views of things such as interesting and exotic rock formations, schools of fish, and even the famous Devil’s Hole. These views were taken by Google using its special 15-lens camera, which is called the Street View Trekker, known for being carried around poking out of a backpack and looking sort of like a flagpole.
Now, through the use of this special Trekker camera, Google Maps via Google Street View shows its users all kinds of remote places like these new island additions, both above and below the sea.
Google’s quest to get footage of scenes such as these new island beaches and their exotic sea life began in 2012 when they joined with the University of Queensland and the Catlin Group to create Sea View, a version of Google Street View. Google also joined in with a survey done by Catlin that studied the reefs of the oceans of the world and that is now providing its photos to Google to use on the Google Street Views website.
Some of the other ocean views that are available on Google Street View includes places like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Hanauma Bay in Hawaii, as well areas of the Philippines and in others in Australia.
Some of these pictures for Google Street view were taken with a type of underwater camera, the Catlin Seaview SVII. This camera takes a picture every three seconds while it travels through the water and then all of the images are stitched together using special software and put online to create an exciting virtual dive for viewers.
If you like to do your exploring from your desk chair, the underwater scenes that Google Street View provides a treat with these new features. Google Maps brings to customers the sights that they could never likely see in person for themselves.
