Fearless Planet

The life story of the Grand Canyon, from the moment of its birth, through a painstaking period of growth over several billion years, through to the dramatic events that gouged this massive and breathtaking scar into the earth.

4.56 billion years ago, a planet the size of Mars collided with our Earth. It set off a chain of events that would transform the Earth from a lifeless wasteland into the fertile, blue planet we know today. This is that story.

The Great Barrier Reef abounds with life. But it is under attack from above and below the water. A team of marine biologists and geologists investigate the clues of how the reef was born, what makes it thrive and how it may disappear within our lifetime.

A network of dry river beds lies beneath the Sahara Desert; one that science has only recently discovered. A team of geologists, sand boarders and adventurers cross the desert to look for clues on how a lush savanna became one of earth's driest places.

The story of Hawaii, perched on the edge of a tectonic plate, is precarious and violent. Hawaii's big island is the youngest in the island chain, but bubbling deep in the earth under it is a new island, destined to emerge in a mere 10,000 years.

Alaska is a vast, frozen wilderness that for 125 million years has played silent witness to the greatest lightshow on earth. Her secrets are about to be revealed to those who dare to look.