Death Valley

January 26, 2010

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How the Earth Was Made - S2 - E9

A look at the geologic treasure trove of Death Valley; how one of the hottest places on Earth holds evidence for the coldest times on our planet; and how the valley, already well below sea level, is still sinking lower into the Earth.

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How the Earth Was Made: Season 2 - 13 Episode s

2x1 - Grand Canyon
November 24, 2009
The Grand Canyon is nearly 300 miles long and over a mile deep. You could stack four Empire State buildings one on top of the other and they still wouldn't reach the lip of the Canyon. As vast tectonic plates clash and grind against one another a giant plateau has been pushed up over a mile in the air. The Colorado river, flowing from high in the Rockies and carrying a thick load of sediment, has carved an amazing canyon in the rising plateau.
2x2 - Vesuvius
December 1, 2009
Mt Vesuvius is the world's most dangerous volcano, and it threatens three million people. It was responsible for the most famous natural disaster of ancient history, the eruption that destroyed the Roman city of Pompeii. And its most recent blast was caught on film in 1944. Today Vesuvius is the most densely populated volcano in the world. Now recent scientific discoveries show that it is capable of an eruption larger than ever before thought possible and that hidden beneath Vesuvius there is a vast magma chamber of boiling hot rock, ready to come out.
2x3 - Birth of the Earth
December 8, 2009
The creation of the Earth is explored. Included: a study of the planet's oldest rocks and meteorites to see what they reveal about the birth of the Earth and its continued existence after it was first formed.
2x4 - Sahara
December 15, 2009
Africa's Sahara Desert is the size of the United States, making it the largest desert in the world. It's also the hottest place on the planet. But now an astonishing series of geological discoveries has revealed this searing wasteland hides a dramatically different past. Scientists have unearthed the fossils of whales, freshwater shells and even ancient human settlements. All clues to a story that would alter the course of human evolution and culminate in biggest climate change event of the last 10,000 years.
2x5 - Yosemite
December 22, 2009
The Sierra Nevada, North America's highest mountain range, contains one of the most awe-inspiring geological features on the planet: Yosemite Valley. Walled by sheer 3,000-foot granite cliffs and made from one of the toughest rocks on earth, it is home to the mighty El Capitan and iconic Half Dome. Yet how this extraordinary valley formed has been the subject of controversy for over 100 years. Was it carved by gigantic glaciers or a cataclysmic rifting of the Earth?
2x6 - The Rockies
December 22, 2009
From Alaska to New Mexico, the Rockies are one of the great mountain belts of the world--caused by tectonic forces of the Pacific Plate pushing against the North American continent. They have formed as the earth's continental crust has been shortened under pressure--by around 1 inch a year. What's more, they are still rising and they are still young in geologic terms: when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth they had not even started to form.
2x7 - Ring of Fire
January 12, 2010
The single longest linear feature on Earth--the "Ring of Fire" circles almost the entire Pacific. It is a ring of active volcanoes from White Island just north of New Zealand, through the South China seas, Japan, Kamchatka, the Aleutians, the Cascades and down through the Andes. Almost 25,000 miles long, it is one of the most awesome sights on Earth.
2x8 - Everest
January 19, 2010
It is the tallest and biggest mountain on earth, as far removed from sea level as it's possible to be--and yet its sedimentary layers contain fossils that were once creatures that lived on the ocean seabed. The Himalayas formed when India smashed into Asia--propelled by plate tectonics. Everest is still rising but its height is limited--extreme erosion counteracts and limits the amount of uplift.
2x9 - Death Valley
January 26, 2010
A look at the geologic treasure trove of Death Valley; how one of the hottest places on Earth holds evidence for the coldest times on our planet; and how the valley, already well below sea level, is still sinking lower into the Earth.
2x10 - Mt. St. Helens
February 2, 2010
A look at the creation of the Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington state; its history of violent eruptions and the evidence another massive eruption could occur again in the near future.
2x11 - Earth's Deadliest Eruption
February 9, 2010
A look back 250 million years ago when a massive volcanic eruption, (in what is now Siberia), spewed lava one mile thick over an area the size of Texas and caused intense climatic change that killed 95% of the life on the planet; paving the way for the next dominant species – the dinosaurs.
2x12 - America's Ice Age
February 16, 2010
A look at past Ice Age eras that Earth has experienced throughout its existence; how the slightest changes in the planet's orbit and angle of rotation can bring them about; how long they can last, and when the Earth will endure another.
2x13 - America's Gold
March 2, 2010
In the deserts of Nevada, research analysts will examine sedimentary rocks, which have built up over many years, to reveal how extracting several layers of rocks can lead to the discovery of gold residing deep below the surface.

Death Valley

How the Earth Was Made - S2 - E9

How the Earth Was Made: Season 2 - 13 Episode s

2x1 - Grand Canyon

2x2 - Vesuvius

2x3 - Birth of the Earth

2x4 - Sahara

2x5 - Yosemite

2x6 - The Rockies

2x7 - Ring of Fire

2x8 - Everest

2x9 - Death Valley

2x10 - Mt. St. Helens

2x11 - Earth's Deadliest Eruption

2x12 - America's Ice Age

2x13 - America's Gold

How the Earth Was Made: All seasons

S0: Specials

S1: Season 1

S2: Season 2