To celebrate World Oceans Day on June 8, Google has released a bunch of gorgeous new images of ocean life as part of its Street View feature in Maps. Now you can contemplate what it means, metaphorically, when your mapping app suggests that oceans are just as important as cities.
Google recommends you check out these amazing “street views” of ocean life:
Dive with giant ocean sunfish (Mola mola) and giant parrotfish off the coast of Bali.
Swim underwater alongside schools of giant travely in Mexico.
Do the backstroke with humpback whales in the Cook Islands.
See the breathtaking beauty of sea turtles in Timor-Leste.
Search the ruins of shipwrecks in Aruba.
In American Samoa, you can go for sunset walk along Ofu Airport Beach, or walk along Ofu beach, known as one of the most scenic beaches in the world.
In Chagos Islands, you can tour Ile du Sel, a tiny island vegetated with a thick forest of coconut palms, and explore the famed bird nesting habitat of Grande Ile Bois Mangue.
Of course part of this effort is designed to call your attention to the ways that humans interact with the oceans in the same way we interact with the land. That’s why the effort also includes a Global Fishing Watch visualisation, showing where we are fishing (and in many cases, overfishing) around the world. Check out the video, below, which offers a pretty stunning view of fishing patterns.