BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THE VOLCANOES ON MARS! WE’VE GOT OUR OWN LAVA-FILLED MOUNTAINS RIGHT HERE ON EARTH! AND NOW WE’RE GETTING BETTER VIEWS OF THEM.
GOOGLE HAS COLLECTED IMAGERY FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR ITS STREET VIEW PROJECT -- FROM THE GLACIERS OF GREENLAND TO THE GREEN HILLS OF AFRICA.
NOW -- FOR THE FIRST TIME, GOOGLE HAS GONE BENEATH THE PLANET'S SURFACE -- TO BRING VIEWERS AMAZING IMAGES OF AN ACTIVE VOLCANO. THE WEB GIANT RECENTLY SENT A CREW TO FIND OUT. ALL THE WAY TO VANUATU -- AN ARCHIPELAGO LOCATED IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC -- MORE THAN 1-THOUSAND MILESOFF THE COAST OF AUSTRALIA.
THE TINY ISLAND NATION IS HOME TO LUSH JUNGLES -- BLACK SAND BEACHES -- AND NINE ACTIVE VOLCANOES. GOOGLE PARTNERED WITH VETERAN EXPLORERS GEOFF MACKLEY AND CHRIS HORSLEY -- TO GO INSIDE ONE OF THEM -- TO GET A VIEW OF THE VOLCANO -- LIKE YOU'VE PROBABLY NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
THE TEAM TRAVELLED TO THE ISLAND OF AMBRYM -- HOME TO TWO VOLCANOES -- BENBOW AND MARUM. UNPREDICTABLE AND DANGEROUS, THE CHIEF OF THE LOCAL VILLAGE CALLS THE VOLCANOES, "DEVILS" -- BUT THEIR NATURAL BEAUTY IS UNDENIABLE.
Voice of Chris Horsley, Extreme Adventurer: "It's so vast and such an incredible landscape. There's a real heartwarming feeling that you get when you see the lava lake itself. It's an
incredible feeling."
STRAPPING ON A HI-TECH BACKPACK -- CALLED THE TREKKER -- HORSLEY AND MACKLEY RAPPELLED DOWN 400 METERS INSIDE THE MARUM CRATER TO COLLECT 360 DEGREE "STREET VIEW" IMAGERY.
THEY GOT AN UP CLOSE LOOK AT THE VOLCANO'S GIANT LAKE OF LAVA -- A FIERY CAULDRON OF BOILING ROCK -- ROUGHLY TWICE THE SIZE OF A FOOTBALL FIELD.
Voice of Chris Horsley, Extreme Adventurer: "Standing just meters away from one of the most active lava lakes in the world really surges energy through your whole body. It is like staring into the sun or the heart beat of the planet really."
AND NOW PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD CAN VISIT THE VOLCANO TOO -- VICARIOUSLY AND SAFELY FROM THE COMFORT OF THEIR HOME -- USING GOOGLE'S
WEBSITE.
Instructional Links
Website: Google Maps, Street View, Lava Lake, Marum Crater, Ambrym Volcano
Website: Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History, Global Volcanism Project | Interactive site with images, maps, & info on 10,000 years of volcanoes around the world.
Encyclopedia Article: World Book Student, Volcano | Information, map, images, diagrams & links.