Johannesburg: Google has reportedly added virtual trip to the Grand Canyon in its Street View mapping service.
Google partnered with advocacy group American Rivers, to showcase views of nearly 500km of white water rapids, towering red canyon walls, and rich geologic history.
Google project lead Karin Tuxen-Bettman hopes the images educate the public about the US waterway that American Rivers listed as the most endangered in 2013 due to drought and overuse.
According to the report, the imagery Google captured from Lees Ferry south of Page to Pearce Ferry shows signs of drought in a bathtub ring around Lake Mead, and the impacts of damming the river.
Amy Kober of American Rivers said that it was a valuable snapshot in time of what the river is like right now.
The crew of nearly 20 people used two rosettes of cameras mounted on two rafts to capture the imagery in August and then stitched it together.
Google revealed that the Colorado River views were the first it has published on Street View from the US, the report added.
