Back in May, Google said that its Street View team traveled to the Galapagos Islands to capture panoramic images of the place that inspired Charles Darwin to pin his initial theory of evolution. Now on the 178th anniversary of Darwin’s discovery of the islands, Google has partnered with the The Charles Darwin Foundation, the Catlin Seaview Survey and the Directorate of the Galapagos National Park to release the imagery to the world.
Before we get to the images, check out Google’s short documentary about its trip to the famous islands:
As part of its efforts to map the islands, Google’s Street View team visited all the famous locations on each island. Here’s a shot off the coast of San Cristobal where Frigatebirds gather:
Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper tour of the Galapagos Islands without a shot of the famous Galapagos giant tortoise. Here’s a shot of a few tortoises that are kept at the Galapaguera breeding center:
To add to its already impressive collection of underwater imagery, Google explored the shallow waters around some of the islands. Here’s a rather exceptional image of a group of sea lions that were playing around the divers:
For the bird lovers out there, Google got a close up shot of some Blue-Footed Boobies on North Seymour Island:
For something a little more geological, here’s some amazing Street View imagery of the sulfur mines at Minas de Azufre:
Near the sulfur mine is the Sierra Negra volcano. Here’s a shot from inside the crater, and it’s still active:
For more Street View imagery of the Galapagos Islands, check out Google’s landing page that shows all the locations you can explore from the comfort of your chair.
[All Images: Google Street View]