In 2013 Parks Canada and Google began a two-year collaboration to document many of Canada’s most iconic national heritage places through the unique panoramic lens of Google Street View.
Courtesy of Google Canada
The first year’s field season began in May at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site in NS and concluded at Pacific Rim National Park Reserve in BC in September. Google teams hiked along trails and through campgrounds, drove park roads, explored historic sites and even went inside notable buildings, all while photographing them as 360 degree panoramas destined for publication within Google Street View.
Now, after a very productive summer of work, both Parks Canada and Google are pleased to announce that you can go explore them for yourself!
About Street View
© Parks Canada
Street View allows Google maps users to visually explore and navigate a neighbourhood through panoramic street-level photographs. To access the images, zoom into the lowest level on Google Maps or you can drag the orange “Pegman” icon on the left-hand side of the map onto a street outlined in blue. You can move up and down streets, or look around in 360 degree panoramas. You can see where Street View is available here: www.google.ca/streetview
2013 marks the first year Google’s new “Trekker” Street View backpack was used in Canada. Capable of going anywhere a person can hike, the Trekker is the work-horse of the Parks Canada-Google collaboration, allowing Google to document a wide range of features within Canada’s national heritage places including back country hikes, front country day use trails, campgrounds, the many nooks and crannies of historic properties, and even along the fortification walls of historic battlements.
What’s next?
Next year Google and Parks Canada will continue to work together to document additional national heritage places across Canada, and to return to ones already visited to fill in missing pieces.
Bringing Street View to Parks Canada locations gives Canadians and people around the world a chance to virtually explore national heritage places from across Canada. From planning a summer vacation to augmenting classroom lesson plans, the partnership between Parks Canada and Google will better connect Canadians to the amazing places and geography that defines this country.
For more information on Google and Street View, please visit
www.googlecanada.blogspot.ca/
www.google.ca/streetview
Courtesy of Google Canada
Courtesy of Google Canada