600 miles off the coast of South America in the Pacific Ocean there are 120 tropical islands that erupted from the deep ocean floor more than 10 million years ago. Journey from the lava ramparts to its fiery heart, we'll discover how the Galapagos archipelago became one of the most important areas of biodiversity in the world. Those swept here by storms and currents survived million to one odds to find untouched islands free from competition. These hardy pioneers evolved in remarkable ways in what's known as Nature's Greatest Experiment. Home to bizarre specialists and unexpected giants, the most precious collection of island creatures on Earth.
The film follows legendary stuntman Eddie Braun as he prepares and attempts the most dangerous stunt in cinematic history. Contemplating retirement and having survived over three decades of hellacious car crashes, explosions, high falls and death-defying leaps, Eddie decides to complete what his childhood hero never finished – the infamous Snake River Canyon rocket jump – an audacious televised event that almost killed famed daredevil, Evel Knievel.
At the very end of East Africa's Great Rift Valley, there's a 'land that time forgot'--the rolling grasslands of the Luangwa Valley. Seemingly untouched plains teem with Africa's most iconic animals. Some are unique to this place, others are critically endangered elsewhere. Here, prey exist in remarkable balance, each taking advantage of the secret at the heart of this Eden, the mighty Luangwa River and its dramatic annual transformation from dusty inferno to emerald paradise.
Beneath Yellowstone National Park, lies the biggest volcano on Earth. An eruption in the past was so big it plunged the earth into a volcanic winter that lasted years. A super-eruption would be more than millions of Hiroshima bombs going off all at once. It would be even worse than an asteroid impact: Entire cities lost beneath ash, people and animals crushed alive, power networks destroyed, sun dimmed across the globe, harvests failed, widespread famine.
Could this nightmare really happen? We will use the latest scientific data to uncover the danger beneath us, as we see our planet like never before.
The Namib Desert is one of the oldest deserts and also one of the most diverse. With 50ºC (120ºF) temperatures and half a millimetre of rainfall annually, we see how this is possible. Half the size of Oklahoma, from its Skeleton Coast through the sea of sand to the haze of distant mountains this apparently forbidding desert hides secret water sources.
A mammoth Tsunami strikes the eastern seaboard. It would be a disaster of epic proportions. Some scientists believe this catastrophe could happen one day, but how? This episode shows the Atlantic island of La Palma has collapsed several times in mega-landslides. Another could trigger a tsunami with enough power to cross the Atlantic Ocean and decimate the US East Coast.
Those swept here by storms and currents survived million to one odds to find untouched islands free from competition. These hardy pioneers evolved in remarkable ways in what's known as Nature's Greatest Experiment. Home to bizarre specialists and unexpected giants, the most precious collection of island creatures on Earth.