Want to see Redwood National Park but don’t have the time or money to make the trip? How about Yosemite or Death Valley? Thanks to the graciously, life-improving, expanding Internet, you can now take a stroll through five California national parks right on Google Street View. The Official Google Blog outlines this new step. While seeing these monumental landscapes in person cannot be replicated online, there is something especially majestic about gazing through the Redwoods on your Street View. Perhaps you’ll like the view enough to make the actual trip one day.
Google World Wonders Project Lets You Explore From Your Browser
Is the economy continuing to hinder your travel plans? Do you like the idea of visiting distant places but can’t handle being on an airplane for more than three hours? Never fear! The Google World Wonders Project is here to satisfy your wanderlust without ever leaving home.
Using its famous Street View technology, Google has managed to deliver some of the most impressive world heritage sites to Internet users directly through their browser. Street View, which has been used to explore cities across the globe for a number of years, employs a special camera system that captures images in a 360-degree, panoramic format. When those images are stitched together and displayed online they create a virtual space that offers viewers a chance to wander around some very iconic places. But unlike Street View, the World Wonders Project is even able to go inside some famous buildings.
The full list of places that are part of the project can be found on the World Wonders webpage where they are organized by both region and theme. Some of those places include the archaeological areas of Pompeii, the Palace of Versailles and the Hiroshima Peace Museum in Japan, just to name a few. You can even visit the Antarctic hut of explorer Robert Falcon Scott, who lost his life on a return journey from the South Pole in 1912.
In addition to the Street View virtual environment, each of the locations also includes a brief explanation of its historical or cultural significance, as well as additional photographs and videos of the site. That information is organized nicely and serves as a great introduction to the different places as well.
If you can’t travel at the moment, the Google World Wonders Project just might be your best alternative.
Google Street View Helps Visualize Cool Summer Attractions
As summer blazes on, travelers are looking for cool places to go. A quick escape from summer heat to a water park, beach or lake might be just what they have in mind too. But how about a look first? Google Street View can give us a panoramic view from positions along many streets in the world, including some major summer attractions.
A little warm where you are today? Click on one of these featured attractions for a taste of coolness and summer fun ahead.
Adventure Island is a water park located northeast of Tampa, Florida, across the street from Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, featuring 30 acres of water rides, dining and other attractions.
Discovery Cove is a theme park in Greater Orlando, Florida. Guests can interact with a variety of marine animals, most notably bottlenose dolphins. The park is located adjacent to sister parks SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica. In addition to swimming with dolphins, Discovery Cove guests can interact with exotic birds, tropical fish, rays and land mammals.
Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier located at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, and home to Pacific Park and a family amusement park with a large Ferris wheel.
SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park, and marine-life based zoological park, near Orlando, Florida, that when combined with its neighbor Discovery Cove and the Aquatica waterpark, it forms a larger entertainment complex devoted to Earth’s oceans and the array of life that inhabits them.
Google Street View was introduced in the United States but can now be seen in 48 countries around the world.
See more Google summer attractions in the U.S. through Street View imagery, and make plans to cool off today.
[Flickr photo by matheuslotero]
Using Google Maps To Launch A Zombie Invasion
The zombie craze has now infected Google Maps. A horde of living dead is coming to your street. A new app called Home Sweet Zombie from Confused.com allows you to type in the surname and address of someone you hate, then sit back and watch as zombies descend on their house. It’s a great way to get back at your former boss or the significant other who dumped you. If you’re filled with self-loathing you can even send them to your own house.
This app was designed by Jamie Gibbs, who writes about all things geeky on his blog. There, he reveals that he has more zombie stuff in the pipeline.
I tried it out on a few addresses in different countries and most worked. The only time the program came up blank was when I typed in Obama and the White House, proving once again the liberal bias among zombies. This also raises the question of whether they’re really as dead as they claim. I mean, has anyone actually seen their death certificates?
[Photo courtesy Confused.com]
Explore the Amazon with Google Street View
Yesterday, in honor of World Forest Day, Google rolled out a new addition to their popular Street View application. The Internet search giant updated the service with imagery and data from the Amazon River, giving would-be explorers the opportunity to travel along that famous waterway without ever leaving the comfort of their own home.
According to the official Google Blog members of the Street View team from both the U.S. and Brazil traveled to the Amazon Basin back in August in order to collect the thousands of images necessary for its inclusion into the system. That team worked closely with the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to environmental conservation in the Amazon and the improvement of the quality of life for those living there. All told, they collected more than 50,000 still images, which were digitally stitched together to create the 360-degree panoramic views that are the hallmark of Street View.
The Amazon River is truly one of the great natural wonders of our planet. It stretches for more than 6400 kilometers (4000 miles) in length and at its widest points it can be as much as 48 kilometers (30 miles) in width. It is so massive in scope that it is estimated that approximately 1/6 of the world’s fresh water is contained in this one river alone making it the lifeblood of the Amazon Rainforest that surrounds it. That dense forest is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth.
I had the unique opportunity to visit the Amazon a few years back and found it to be a spectacular destination. The dense forests, diverse wildlife and miles of water are amazing to behold. Most travelers will never have the opportunity to visit the place for themselves, however, which makes the river’s inclusion in Street View all the better.