How the Earth Was Made examines how the forces of geology have shaped our planet and the way we live today.
Episode 1 - The Grand Canyon
A look at how the Grand Canyon in Arizona was believed to have been formed by the slow draining of an ancient lake which formed the Colorado River and carved the canyon out over millions of years.
Episode 2 - Vesuvius
A look at the geologic history of Mount Vesuvius which destroyed the ancient city of Pompeii; how geologists are collecting evidence that the volcano is stirring again; and how another eruption could spell disaster for the unprepared heavily-populated city of Naples.
Episode 3 - Birth of the Earth
A trip four billion years back in time to show the formation of planet Earth; to how molten material came together and solidified into rock; how the world survived a collision with a Mars-sized planet; how water arrived and formed the oceans, and when the first lifeforms appeared.
Episode 4 - Sahara
A look at the Sahara, the largest desert on Earth, and how scientists have uncovered fossilized evidence of whales, fresh water shells and ancient human settlements – clues that this searing wasteland was once a fertile land with a great sea.

Episode 5 - Yosemite
A look at how the geographically diverse Yosemite Valley was formed, and the debate whether it was carved by crushing ice age glaciers or a volcanic ripping of the Earth.
Episode 6 - The Rockies
A look at the mighty Rocky Mountains; how they are being formed by geologic uplifting from the collision of the Pacific Plate and the North American Continent, and the evidence that these geologically young mountains are still growing.
Episode 7 - Ring of Fire
A look at the Pacific Ring of Fire – the largest region of volcanic activity on Earth, that stretches around the Pacific Ocean from New Zealand, to Japan, to the Aleutians and down through the Andes mountain range of South America.
Episode 8 - Everest
A look at the geologic history of Mount Everest, the tallest peak in the world, and how the Himalayas mountain range was really once an ancient seabed, pushed up to the roof of the world by tectonic smashing of the Indian plate into the Asian continent.
Episode 9 - Death Valley
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.
Episode 10 - Mt. St. Helens
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.
Episode 11 - Earth's Deadliest Eruption
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; caused intense climatic change that killed 95% of the life on the planet and paved the way for the next dominant species – the dinosaurs.
Episode 12 - America's Ice Age
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.
Episode 13 - America's Gold
A look at how gold, a scarce element left behind by the explosions of supernovas, was collected by the forming Earth and how its geologic processes concentrated it in various places throughout the globe.