Google Maps Travels North to Canada’s Arctic [PICS]

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Google has embarked on a trip to build the most comprehensive map of Canada's Arctic region to date, the company announced Wednesday night.

It is the furthest north that the Google Maps Street View team has traveled in Canada, and marks the first time that it has set foot in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, according to Google spokeswoman Deanna Yick.

Residents of Cambridge Bay, a small northern hamlet, used Google Map Maker to add roads, rivers, lakes and other points of interest -- including a daycare and nine-hole golf course -- to the area's map on Wednesday. The tool, which allows locals to add their knowledge directly to Google Maps, supports Inuktitut, one of Nunavut's official languages.

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"This is a place with a vast amount of local knowledge and a rich history. By putting these tools in the hands of our people, we will tell Nunavut's story to the world," resident Chris Kalluk says in statement.

Kalluk hosted a MapUp event in Cambridge Bay, where community members added their input to the Google map.

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To get around on the hamlet's gravel roads, the Google team is using its Street View trike, while capturing local scenery with a tripod, according to a blog post.

Local residents, like Kalluk, will be trained to use some of the Street View equipment, so they can document other communities in Nunavut.

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