Nature Soundmap: Listen to the Sound of Nature

You'll probably agree with me that one of the best ways to experience nature is to be able to listen to its magnificent sounds. There's something particularly enlivening about being fully aware of the beauty and diversity of our world. Our planet boasts a wealth of inspiring places that give us this perspective, and they are spread all over the globe for us to enjoy. However, if getting to these places poses a challenge to you, there's another thing you can do to experience them - all you have to do is visit naturesoundmap! 
 

Nature Soundmap is a project funded by Wild Ambience, which has gathered a collection of about 400 high-quality natural soundscapes from all over the world. Over 90 nature sound recordists have visited the locations to make this collection possible, so you can virtually experience their sounds from the website itself. The equipment used for these recordings allows users to enjoy sensational 360-degree sounds of the locations that are so vivid, it will almost feel like you're actually there.
 

Nature Soundmap's website allows you to view an interactive map of the world that displays the particular locations the recordists have visited. By clicking on these locations, you will be able to listen to the corresponding sounds. Listen to anything from a monsoon in Borneo's tropical forest, to the erupting Piton de le Fournaise volcano in the Indian Ocean, frogs and crickets in the Amazon rainforest at night, kangaroos jumping in Australia, and a Great Blue Turaco singing in Uganda.
 

The website is incredibly easy to use, and it's also free (although donations are welcome from those who would like to support the fantastic work put into the project).

Click here to visit Nature Soundmap!

Here's a guide that will help take you through the website's main features:
 

• Visit naturesoundmap
• You will see a world map on your screen. Click and drag on the map to browse through it. Hover over the different locations marked in green to view more details about the sound subject and the location where it was recorded. By using the scroll button on your mouse, or the +/- buttons at the bottom-left of your screen, you can zoom in and out of the map (zooming in will allow you to see more location names).  

• Click on the desired location and a pop-up box will appear on your screen. This includes an image of the environment or animal the website features the sound of, as well as details about the recordist, location, habitat, and a more detailed description of the sound. Click on 'More info' / 'Read more' to read further about the location or sound (a new tab will be opened). Click on 'Listen' in the pop-up box to play the sound. Change to a random sound by clicking on one of the arrows on each side of the pop-up box.

• A player will appear at the bottom of your screen, displaying what you're listening to. Click on the "pause" symbol to pause the sound (or re-click on the 'Listen' button in the pop-up box). To change sounds, you may click on another location and repeat, or simply click on the "next" symbol in the player to go to another random location.

• You may even create your own little "playlist" of your favorite natural sounds by clicking on 'Add to Playlist' in the pop-up box. This action will send the sound to the player. To expand the player and access your sounds, click on the Playlist button on the right-hand side of the player. From here, you can click and drag to change the order of the sounds, or click on the 'X' to remove any of them from your list. Clicking on the Shuffle button, found above the Playlist button, will allow you to randomize the order of your sounds. Collapse the player by clicking on the Playlist button again.
   
• Share your favorite sounds with your social media friends by clicking on 'Share on Facebook' or 'Share on Twitter'  at the bottom of the player.
   

For the ultimate listening experience, Nature Soundmap suggests that you use headphones or decent speakers (good quality is recommended) to further the authenticity of your experience. If some sounds are quite loud, turn the volume down to a more reasonable level.

To immerse yourself even further into the experience, just close your eyes, picture your surroundings and take in all the aspects and dimensions of the sounds, including foreground and background noise. It's a truly remarkable and almost surreal experience that sucks you out of reality for a little while and draws you closer to nature.

Try Nature Soundmap now!