Untold Earth - Episode Guide

Beyond its iconic height, the Redwood Forest is sacred to the Yurok Tribe and a scientific frontier for the study of vast biodiversity that exists nowhere else on Earth. This episode of Untold Earth explores the varied relationship between The Redwoods, their forest ecosystems, and the humans who live and work among them. Asking, at every turn, what makes these trees epically singular in nature?

Icebergs are often found in the world's most remote, coldest and dangerous seas. But each spring, a unique geological phenomenon brings hundreds of Icebergs into the communities along Newfoundland's Northeast coast, where they have become a staple of everyday life. What are these icebergs doing here? And why is it imperative that we keep our eyes on them?

Mosses were among the first land plants to evolve out of the ocean roughly 450 million years ago. They grow everywhere, from the world's harshest landscapes to cracks in the sidewalk. This episode of Untold Earth gets up close and personal with the mosses of the Hoh Rainforest to understand their vital role in this ecosystem and potential to offer a glimpse into our planet's future.

Many of the big saline lakes of the Americas are on the brink of collapse due to climate change and water diversions. Mono lake's survival is due to the scientists, activists, and locals who have fought for decades to preserve it. Home to a unique ecosystem of brine shrimp, alkali flies, and migratory birds, Mono Lake's desiccation would be detrimental to the wildlife and humans who call it home.

From Aristotle to Darwin, Humankind's effort to understand bioluminescence spans thousands of years. Even though it's one of the oldest fields of scientific study, answers remain elusive. In this episode of Untold Earth we get in the water with the bioluminescent algae of the Salish Sea, experiencing and asking: what is it about this inscrutable mystery that inspires such obsession?

Devil's Tower, also known as Mato Tipila or Bear's lodge, was formed over 50 million years ago. Rising dramatically from the Wyoming plains, this spellbinding monolith is a pillar of Lakota Sioux mythology, and an enduring challenge to rock climbers worldwide. But through thousands of years of human fascination, one critical question remains unanswered: how did it get here?

The Grand Prismatic Spring is the most recognizable thermal feature of Yellowstone National Park, but some of its most fascinating features are invisible to the naked eye. Underwater exists a diverse system of microbes which scientists have been studying for decades, and have been the catalyst for life changing discoveries. Could these microbes be the key to discovering life on other planets?

Kilauea in Hawai'i has been in a state of near-constant eruption for decades, providing researchers with a uniquely reliable setting to study one of our planet's most unpredictable and destructive forces. In a time of climate panic and tangible ecological destruction, what can we learn about the survival of our planet from one of the harshest environments on Earth?

Below the Chihuahuan Desert in southeastern New Mexico, lies an extensive system of limestone caves, among them the famed Carlsbad Cavern, home to one of North America's largest underground chambers. But there is more to this subterranean world than gigantic geological formations. It is also ground zero for a microbial war that's been raging for thousands of years, right beneath our feet.

Antelope Canyon might be the most visited and photographed slot canyon in the world, but there is more to this ancient sandstone structure than meets the eye. Formed millions of years ago, and revered as a spiritual site for the Navajo Nation, the origins of this geologic wonder are as fascinating as its beauty is renowned.

In kitchens around the world, truffles represent culinary excellence and prestige, but in the forest they're just another flora fighting to exist, using somewhat…unusual methods. In the lush woodland of the Pacific Northwest, these modest mushrooms' adaptation strategies are promoting not only their own survival, but that of their forest ecosystem at large.

Pando, Latin for 'I spread,' appears to be a forest but is actually one massive tree. Weighing 13 million pounds, Pando is the world's largest living organism. It has thrived in Utah's Fishlake National Forest, spreading across 106 acres with 47,000 stems. Find out how human intervention has both threatened its survival and sparked a passionate mission to protect it.

The Atchafalaya River Basin is the United States' largest river swamp and Louisiana's first line of defense against the extreme weather that threatens the Gulf Coast. How does this swamp and its Cypress trees protect us from extreme weather? And how can we protect them?

Locked within the stones and fossils of Petrified Forest National Park lies a record of life, death, and resilience during one of Earth's most extreme periods of environmental change. What secrets do these fossilized ecosystems reveal about the prehistoric past, and how can they help predict the future of life on Earth?

The awe-inspiring visuals of the aurora borealis have fascinated humanity for centuries, but its most enduring mystery lies not in what we see but what some have claimed to hear for generations. Although such accounts have long been dismissed by modern science, could it be that these stories were right all along?

In Florida's wetlands, the carnivorous pitcher plant is blurring the lines between predator and ally. Home to entire unique ecosystems, there are more to these ancient organisms than many realize. So why do these beautiful and vicious plants have mercy on some and not others?

Every winter, off the coast of South Australia, thousands of giant cuttlefish gather for the showdown of a lifetime. In an effort to win a mate, these shape-shifting sea creatures display some of the most bizarre and brilliant tactics in the animal kingdom. The unique habitat attracts thousands of cuttlefish each year, making it the largest aggregation of the species in the world.

Where typical ocean tides average about three feet, the Bay of Fundy's record-setting tides soar over 50. This means 160 billion tons of water rush through the bay twice every day, generating enough potential energy to power a small city. This singular phenomenon could revolutionize our approach to renewable energy, but harnessing the Bay of Fundy's tidal power is also extremely complicated.

The shimmering dunes of White Sands National Park harbor an extraordinary secret: fossilized human footprints that suggest human presence in the Americas as much as 10,000 years earlier than previously believed. How did these footprints in the sand manage to survive for so long? And why is their discovery changing everything we thought we knew about human history in the region?

With under 40 pupfish left in the wild, these are possibly the rarest fish on the planet. The Devils Hole pupfish have existed in isolation for thousands of years in an extreme environment where few species could survive. How did they end up in such an inhospitable place? And what makes their survival so important?

Lençóis Maranhenses sits at the intersection of three biomes—a rare overlap that supercharges biodiversity. Across 350 square miles of dunes, the rainy season brings thousands of crystal blue lagoons into view, many big enough to swim in. What makes this surreal environment possible? And why, even after 2 million years in existence, does it still feel so mysterious?