10 Wildest Google Street View Adventures

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(Image: Google)

The Street View feature on Google Maps can be a lifesaver when you need to know exactly where to go, and it provides important visual information that a bird's eye view experience simply can't provide.

It's also an amusing way for you (and several others, as it turns out) to kill time. You can zoom down the avenues of European capitals or hunt suburban side streets for tableaux of American life -- suburban samurai locked in battle, bike accidents frozen mid-fall, or the more risqué displays of human behavior you'll have to view on sites other than this one.

But Street View is so much more, as Google has amply demonstrated over the years, taking us to far-flung locations most people have never even heard about, let alone seen in person.

It's also brought us new visions of familiar landscapes, such as the breathtaking cliff faces of Yosemite National Park and the murky depths of Loch Ness, supposed home of the eponymous beast lurking in its waters.

Street View serves a dual purpose as entertainer and educator, bringing us to dizzying heights and depths, and offering immersive, interactive visual experiences. We can see the colorful and exotic Coral Triangle in Asia, home of the richest coral reefs on Earth, and the horrific prison cells of Robben Island, South Africa, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in solitary confinement before attaining freedom.

No matter how well travelled you are, on this big blue ball there's always something new under the sun. We've selected 10 of Street View's coolest, most fascinating tours for you to explore. Once you've enjoyed these, tell us about your favorites, and tell us in the comments section below if you have any favorites that we missed.

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