Google Maps Goes Underwater

Perhaps you’re aware of Google Street View, which gives you a first-person panoramic view of most city addresses in the U.S.

You get there by zooming in all the way on Google Maps, or dragging the little orange person icon onto the map: Here’s Times Square in New York. That’s cool, but nothing new.

Starting today, however, you can go underwater on Street View. Google updated its blog and noted several amazing panoramas in Australia, the Philippines and Hawaii. Here’s how they’re doing it…

We’re partnering with The Catlin Seaview Survey, a major scientific study of the world’s reefs, to make these amazing images available to millions of people through the Street View feature of Google Maps. The Catlin Seaview Survey used a specially designed underwater camera, the SVII, to capture these photos.

Whether you’re a marine biologist, an avid scuba diver or a landlocked landlubber, we encourage you to dive in and explore the ocean with Google Maps. Check out our complete underwater collection, featuring a Google+ underwater Hangout from the Great Barrier Reef. And you can always explore more imagery from around the world by visiting maps.google.com/streetview.