You can now tour the Galápagos, one of the most biodiverse places on earth, direct from your computer — with a little help from Google.
Google has launched footage it collected in May of the Pacific Ocean archipelago as part of its Street View special collections, marking this week’s 178th anniversary of Darwin’s historic first encounter with the Galápagos Islands.
See also: Google Street View Captures Space Shuttle Flight
The collection includes a panorama of the Galápagos giant tortoise breeding center, a tour of the Charles Darwin Research Station and underwater footage of sea lions. Viewers will see much of the Galápagos's wildlife, including marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies and Frigatebirds, Google's official blog reports.
Google says the footage will help with ongoing research of the islands, including animal migration patterns and the impact of tourism.
Getting the footage wasn't easy. In May, Mashable reported that a team of hikers captured the panoramic images of the islands with Trekker, a set of 42-pound, backpack-mounted cameras. The special street view cameras feature 15 lenses that automatically take photos every 2.5 seconds.
The exploration doesn't stop with the panoramas. Visitors can get insight from experts and more information about the Galápagos Islands on Google's behind-the-scenes tour.
Viewers can also log onto Darwin for a Day, a web application that allows users to document the animals and plants they see in the footage. Nature novices can take their best guess and enter simple terms like "bird," and more advanced explorers can identify species by name.
To complete the project, Google partnered with the directorate of the Galápagos National Park, the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Catlin Sea Survey. For more, check out the video above.
Image: Flickr, Dallas Krentzel