That’s a Google Street View mapping-photography car we spotted on eastbound Avalon at 35th this afternoon. Google’s 360-degree views from the road have been around for a while, but our sighting coincides with word we got this week that the mapping service is offering something new in our area: Water views.

A PR rep for Google Maps e-mailed WSB to say that West Seattle views on/from the water have recently gone live; the mapping service partnered with Coastwise Imaging, using the Trekker backpack system (you can see the equipment on the Coastwise site).

If you want to see the water views, you can click any of the following four links we were provided – Alki Beach (starting near Anchor/Luna Park), Alki Point, Duwamish Head (starts by Seacrest), and the Duwamish Waterway (starts near Terminal 5, with the image showing the Shell-related vessels that left two months ago) – among 20 Seattle waterway views now available via Google Maps.

T