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A virtual trip to the Amazon River courtesy of Google Street ViewMar 22, 2012 (Los Angeles Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Armchair travelers, get ready to go to the Amazon River. Google Inc. announced Wednesday that street view images of the Amazon's Rio Negro Reserve is now available through Google's Street View. The challenge is figuring out where to begin your exploration -- you can take a virtual hike in the rainforest, or imagine floating down the wide Rio Negro -- the largest left tributary of the Amazon, and the largest blackwater river in the world. (Spin around 180 degrees and you'll see the wake of the boat in the river). We also liked exploring the smaller tributaries where the forest has flooded. The images were captured via the Google Street View tricycle, which the Google Street View team strapped to the top of a small boat that cruised down waterways and pedaled around local trails and communities. Images of schools and community centers were collected through tripod technology. In a blog post about the project, Karin Tuxin-Bettman, project lead of Google Street View in the Amazon, writes that her team used 500,000 still photos to create the immersive, 360-degree panoramic views. Google's hard work is definitely your gain. It is possible to start your explorations from Google Maps by going to the Brazil map and dragging Pegman to the Rio Negro, but make it easy on yourself by clicking on our links above or heading to the Street Map gallery. Happy virtual travels! ALSO: Robojelly 2.0: Robotic jellyfish now powered by hydrogen Asking job applicants for Facebook password, fair or legal? Nokia patents a tattoo that vibrates when the phone rings ___ (c)2012 the Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |