How The Earth Was Made

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.

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.

Four and a half billion years ago the Earth formed from dust in space to become a molten ball of rock orbiting the Sun. This episode travels back in time to investigate.

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.

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.

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.

The single longest linear feature on Earth--the "Ring of Fire" circles almost the entire Pacific. It is a ring of active volcanoes.

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.

It is not only a place of natural splendor but a geologic treasure trove as well. Hidden in the sediments of the rocks in its walls is evidence of the coldest time on our planet.

Mt. St Helens--thought to be dormant--shocked America when it exploded.

In the remote wastes of Siberia buried under snow are the remains of one of the greatest catastrophes that the Earth has endured. 250 million years ago, huge volumes of lava spewed out onto the surface.

Why do we have ice ages and when is the next one due? Chart the progress of different ice ages through the history of our planet, from Snowball Earth hundreds of millions of years ago to the recent ice ages.

Gold dates from the time of the supernova explosion that gave birth to the building blocks of our solar system, and over the aeons geologic processes have concentrated it into various nooks and crannies around the globe.