The weather may be getting frightful for some, but we still have a chance to get ‘out and about’ and warmly navigating some of Canada’s greatest parks and natural sites online.
Google and Parks Canada have spent much of the past year partnering on a comprehensive digital documentation project to acquire and deliver immersive panoramic imagery from the country’s national parks and historic sites and deliver it to Internet users across Canada and around the world.
It marked the first use of the Google ‘Trekker’ Street View digital media backpack this year, and now we can see the results.
Throughout the summer, Google teams travelled across the country to document our natural and cultural heritage. Using the specialized backpack, loaded with digital imaging equipment, GPS technology and more, they captured scenes and recorded information about more than 50 sites from coast to coast.
By visiting the Google Maps or Google Earth website, Street View lets users visually explore and navigate an urban neighborhood or natural envirornment through panoramic street- and ground-level photographs. The digital imagery allows for interactive movement through a 360
Parks Canada and Google launch a collection of magnificent and breathtaking panoramic Street View images from over 50 of Canada’s national parks and historic sites.
degree panorama.
Parks can be searched by name, with images, information and facilities descriptions for sites such as the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site in Nova Scotia, the Thousand Islands National Park in Ontario, or British Columbia’s Glacier National Park.
One of Google’s Street View operators passes through the Dauphin Gate at the Fortress of Louisbourg while collecting imagery with the Trekker Street View backpack.
Next year, Google and Parks Canada will continue their work to capture even more places, adding more opportunity for virtual visits, adding them to several Canadian ski resorts already in its Library.
“Throughout this exceptional adventure, Google received outstanding support from the whole Parks Canada team, to whom we extend our grateful thanks. With their help, we hope that Street View imagery in Google Maps of our national parks and national historic sites will help Canadians explore our country as never before and open a window into the beauty of Canada to the world,” said Aaron Brindle, Communications & Public Affairs, Google Canada.
Parks Canada stretches across a network of 44 national parks, 167 national historic sites and four national marine conservation areas.
-30-
submitted by Lee Rickwood
