Atlas - Uncovering Earth

Atlas 1 Great Rift Valley Long: Atlas explores East Africa’s Great Rift Valley. Stretching through thirty five hundred miles of East Africa, from Ethiopia to Mozambique, the Great Rift forms the world’s largest system of geological faults. The Rift Valley is so vast it can be seen from space. From its beginnings 35 million years ago, the Great Rift Valley transformed the landscape. And this geological upheaval made some of the iconic East African wildlife what it is today. Atlas travels through time to reveal surprising connections. How flamingos are pink because they live in the strange, volcanic lakes created by the Rift. How a variety of fish species were forced to evolve odd eating habits because of changes in the ancient ’Great Lakes’. And when the Great Rift formed, how it created the huge Serengeti plains, which hosts one of nature’s most impressive spectacles - The Great Migration.

Atlas will take you back through time to witness the evolution of another species - us. Human beings evolved because changes in climate and landscape here forced our distant ancestors to get down from the trees and walk upright on two legs.

Fast forward to the present day and the connection of landscape to the people becomes clearer: Nomadic Tribes such as the Massai; the tough Afar people who mine one of the Rift’s treasures; the Hadza who hunt and gather their food daily. Even Nairobi’s city dwellers rely on the volcanic forces that created the Rift in the first place. But ultimately, this will be a tale of destruction, because the Rift Valley will one day reach a cataclysmic conclusion...

2 Hawaii: From blind spiders to the active volcanoes, this iconic island chain has manry stories.

Long: Atlas examines the islands of Hawaii, magical places steeped in mystery. Discover why they exist, how they affect a huge slice of the globe, and why the surf is always up. From blind spiders to the active volcanoes, Hawaii and her sisters tell a multitude of ascinating stories, each revealing a little more about this iconic island chain.

3 Mysteries of the Mediterranean Long: Atlas reveals the Mediterranean Sea as never before. A unique journey through time to discover how this place gave birth to great ancient empires the earliest agriculture and three of the world’s great religions. A fascinating and entertaining story of connections between geology, nature and humankind, brought to life with stunning photography.