While the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River might be world famous tourist attractions, not all of us are lucky enough to be able to visit the place in our lifetimes. That, however, doesn’t mean we cannot have a life-like, virtual tour of the place, does it? Thanks to the folks from over at American Rivers and Google, we now have a Google Street View edition (more like River View , as the USA Today put it!) of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon – accessible to anyone with decent internet connectivity and a basic computer.
It was on Thursday, March 14, 2014 that Google announced the release of its newest Street View Trek which navigates “America’s most endangered river”. Apart from offering virtual tourists a panoramic view of the grandeur that is the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River, this edition of Google Street View has nobler intentions. More about that later, though.
In order to check out Google’s newest Street View addition, all you need to do is to open Google Maps on your browser and navigate to the Grand Canyon using the Search option. A simpler solution would be to simply click the links below that would take you to the some amazing locations. Why not start with the Deer Creek Falls or North Canyon and then move on to the Nankoweap Granaries ? You can then check out the Hermit Shale , and not to mention some wildlife in the form of the big horn sheep , For the budding paleontologist in you, why not explore the remnants of a Volcanic dam that came to be, millions of years ago?
In a post on the Google Lat-long blog, Chris Williams, Senior Vice President of Conservation at American Rivers, explains the risks that this natural wonder faces. According to him, the Colorado River is one of the most important natural resources in the United States. However, it is also one of the most endangered, he cautions. Over the course of the past century, the river has been dammed and diverted to feed the needs of an increasing population – a staggering 36 million people that live in the large geographical belt that spans from Denver to Los Angeles. The river also fuels a $26 billion recreation industry and irrigates a staggering 15 percent of the crops that grows in the United States. The result? By the time the Colorado River reaches its mouth near the Gulf of Mexico, the water flow barley resembles a trickle. Not to mention the recent tragedies that have occurred there.
The ultimate aim of this Street View project is to increase public awareness about the fragility of the river, the Grand Canyon and the surrounding areas in order to educate the general public about the need to protect and restore the river.
Images via Google Maps
