Ever wish you could explore the Galapagos Islands? Now you can, without ever leaving the comfort of your computer chair.

Google in partnership with Galapagos National Park Directorate and the Charles Darwin Foundation on Thursday added brand-new, 360-degree images from the isolated volcanic islands to Street View.

"Now, you can visit the islands from anywhere you may be, and see many of the animals that Darwin experienced on his historic and groundbreaking journey in 1835," Raleigh Seamster, project lead for Google Earth Outreach, wrote in a blog post. "The extensive Street View imagery of the Galapagos Islands will not only allow armchair travelers to experiences the islands from their desktop computer, but it will also play an instrumental role in the ongoing research of the environment, conservation, animal migration patterns, and the impact of tourism on the islands."

Alongside the new Street View imagery, the Charles Darwin Foundation and iNaturalist, a website for citizen scientists, launched a new interactive Web project on Thursday called Darwin for a Day. The site lets you "step into Darwin's shoes by exploring the Galapagos Islands through Google Street View and document its unique plants and animals," Seamster wrote.

When you're looking around on the site and come across an interesting plant or animal, you can enter your best guess as to what it is and your observations will be shared with the iNaturalist community and CDF to contribute to research of the Galapagos.

The imagery has been in the work for months. The Google Street View team used Trekker, a 40-pound wearable backpack with a 15-camera system on top, to capture 360-degree views of the lush islands back in May. The Galapagos faces threats like invasive species, climate change, and other human impacts, making the documentation of island wildlife and vegetation more important than ever, Google said in May.

"We captured imagery from 10 locations," Google said. "We walked past giant tortoises and blue-footed boobies, navigated through steep trails and lava fields, and picked our way down the crater of an active volcano called Sierra Negra."

The islands are home to hundreds of wildlife species found nowhere else on the planet. The unique biodiversity of the islands inspired Charles Darwin to devise his theory of evolution following a visit to the Galapagos aboard the HMS Beagle in 1832.

To check out the new imagery for yourself, visit Google's behind-the-scenes experience.

Go here to see the original:

Explore the Galapagos Islands on Google Street View