Google Maps' Street View team recently traveled to several locations in the Galapagos Islands, snapping panoramic views as they went. Using backpack-mounted cameras and underwater gear, they documented the unique diversity of the archipelago that helped inspire Darwin's theory of evolution. The government of Ecuador established the Galapagos National Park in 1959, setting aside 97% of the islands' land area for preservation. Collected here are images from Google's team as well as from other photographers, taking you on a virtual visit to these amazing islands.
Daniel Orellana of the Charles Darwin Foundation collects seashore imagery with the Street View Trekker at the Los Humedales wetland area on Isabela Island in the Galapagos.#
Daniel Orellana of the Charles Darwin Foundation crosses a rocky lava field to reach a land iguana restoration area in Bahia Cartago, Isabela Island in the Galapagos, in May of 2013. Bahia Cartago is a protected area not accessible to tourists but the Street View Trekker was invited to collect imagery there.#
A diver swims alongside a whale shark in the Galapagos Islands. Scientists from the Galapagos National Park, the University of California, Davis and the Charles Darwin Foundation, have launched an investigation to unravel the mysteries of the whale shark, a species believed to be present in the oceans for at least 60 million years. The first stage of the study involved placing transmitters on the sharks.#
In June of 2009, the Cerro Azul volcano on Isabela Island was in an active phase, spewing molten lava into the air, spilling it across its flanks, and widening existing lava flows.#
Daniel Orellana of the Charles Darwin Foundation crosses a field of ferns to reach some naturally occurring sulfur mines on the top of Sierra Negra, an active volcano on Isabela Island in the Galapagos.#
The Galapaguera, a giant tortoise breeding center, helps restore the population of the island tortoises, seriously threatened by invasive species, on San Cristobal Island. See it mapped.#
Early cherry blossoms in Tokyo, heavy snowfall in California, a festival of lights in Croatia, emotional displays at the Academy Awards, a heavy frost in England, and much more
