Google’s Street View team trekked the Grand Canyon for these panoramas

Continuing with its quest to put the offline world online, the Google team has gone off-road once again to capture the real world in amazing 360 degree panoramas. The latest place to get the Street View treatment? The Grand Canyon.

Google announced in June last year that as part of its Trekker programme, it would be taking specially customised camera equipment on hikes around areas like Muir Woods and the Canyon. Now the results have been integrated into Google Street View, so you can see what it would be like to take a stroll down the Bright Angel Trail, gaze out over the Colorado River or see the photo-ready sites otherwise reserved for postcards.

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According to Google Maps product manager Ryan Falor, the update includes more the 9500 interactive panoramas covering 75 miles (120 kilometres) of trails and surrounding roads, which were captured by Google employees with the Android-operated 40 pound (18 kilogram) backpacks which carry the 15-lens camera system and take photos every 2.5 seconds.

The resulting images also cover nearby areas like the meteor crater located a few miles away. Previous examples of Street View awesomeness include underwater shots in Australia, Botswana’s Okavango Delta and parks and palaces worldwide.