Google Street View extends to zip lines through the Amazon rainforest

Google has teamed up with the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS) in Brazil to create Amazon Street View so people from around the world can get a close-up view of the Amazon jungle in Brazil.

Amazon Street View works the same as Google's Street View and allows users on Google Maps to navigate through hundreds of kilometres of Brazil's Amazon rainforest by simply clicking and viewing 360 degree photographs.

Amazon Street View traverses more than 500km of rivers, lakes and streams as well as 20km of trails through the Amazon.

Google worked with FAS, a Brazilian NGO that aims to promote conservation and sustainable measures in the Amazon and to better the quality of life of communities that call the Amazon home, in order to create Amazon Street View.

To get the images, the groups used what Google calls the Street View Trekker, a camera system that uses 15 lenses to capture 360 degree images about every 2.5 seconds as it travels through the Amazon.

The camera was strapped to the backs of hikers as they made their way through the thick forest snapping pictures along the way.

The system was also mounted in boats that travelled up and down some of the rivers and streams that run through the jungle.

To get an even closer look, Google and FAS dropped the system down a zip line to capture images from the heights of some of the tallest trees in the area.

This was the second instalment of Amazon Street View which was first launched in 2012.