The BEST episodes of How the Earth Was Made season 1

Every episode of How the Earth Was Made season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of How the Earth Was Made season 1!

There's a lot of information in How the Earth Was Made, but perhaps the most interesting relates to time. Quite often, the numbers are so staggering that scientists refer to it as "deep time," an appropriate term when one grapples with the notion that our planet is 4.5 billion years old, or that the oceans were formed by rainfall that lasted literally millions of years, or that 700 million years ago, Earth was completely covered by ice that was a mile thick, with surface temperatures reaching minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other end of the scale are numbers that seem surprisingly small: for instance, it wasn't until 220 years ago that the accepted church doctrine regarding the planet's age (no more than 6000 years, according to the Bible) was seriously challenged and that the key to its past was found in rocks, not scripture, while the discovery that dinosaurs once ruled the Earth came considerably later than that. Using a combination of computer graphics and animation, various drawings and diagrams, photos, location footage, and expert commentary, this fascinating, 94-minute History Channel production takes us from the very beginning, when the planet was formed by meteors colliding in space, through numerous major events (including the appearance of water, granite, and oxygen) and mind-boggling catastrophes (such as mass extinctions caused by volcanic eruptions or the enormous meteor that wiped out 75% of all living things, including the dinosaurs, some 65 million years ago), right up to the present; there's even a glimpse into the future, when Earth will likely end up as barren and lifeless as Mars (no need to hit the panic button yet, though--a few billion more years will pass before that happens). Bonus features include additional scenes and a documentary entitled "Inside the Volcano." --Sam Graham

Last Updated: 1/20/2024Network: HistoryStatus: Ended
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Driest Place On Earth
star
8.00
92 votes

#1 - Driest Place On Earth

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/17/2009

The Atacama desert is considered the driest place on Earth. Since human records of the area began, some places have never received rain. But the records don't stop there--the Atacama is also the oldest desert in the world, and recently it has been dated to an amazing 150 million years old. Other research shows that the surface of this desert is also incredibly ancient, with boulders lying there that have not moved for over 23 million years--more than 50 times longer than it's taken for our human species to evolve. The soil is so dry, it has been used as a test bed for the Mars rovers. And though the desert was once thought to be completely lifeless, strange bacteria discovered there have given scientists new hope that they might find life on the red planet. Atacama is also home to the largest copper mine in the world. Inspect the riddle of the Atacama and uncover how this extraordinarily dry landscape was created.

Directors: Peter Chinn
Watch Now:Amazon
New York
star
7.76
118 votes

#2 - New York

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/10/2009

It is one of the most man-made spaces on the planet, but everything in New York from the height of the skyscrapers to the way the subway was constructed to the position of the harbor is governed by the extraordinary forces that ultimately shaped this city. You can tell the geology of Manhattan at a glance by looking at the skyline. The skyscrapers of Midtown and Downtown are built on hard granite; the low-rise buildings in between are built on a soft, gravelly soil left over from the Ice Age. Learn how New Jersey and North Africa were neighbors 250 million years ago, how the rocks New York are built on are the remains of mountains that 450 million years ago were as tall as the Himalayas, and how Long Island is covered in rubble that remained as ice sheets retreated 10,000 years ago.

Directors: Peter Chinn
Watch Now:Amazon
Tsunami
star
7.51
113 votes

#3 - Tsunami

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/7/2009

Tsunamis are one of the most terrifying forces of nature, destroying all in their path. The December 26th Tsunami is estimated to have released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs. What are the enormous forces that generate these catastrophic waves deep on the ocean floor? With 50% of the world's population living within a mile of the sea, this episode looks at what could happen in the future. East coast cities from New York to Miami face the threat of a truly colossal wave that could be generated by the collapse of an active volcano off the coast of Africa.

Directors: Peter Chinn
Writer: Peter Chinn
Watch Now:Amazon
Krakatoa
star
7.47
149 votes

#4 - Krakatoa

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/24/2009

On August 27th, 1883 a series of blasts on the island of Krakatoa culminated in a colossal explosion that blew the island apart in one of the largest eruptions in recorded history. We explore the underground forces that led to this extraordinary explosion that killed over 36,000 people and the devastation that it caused. But this is not just history because Anak Krakatoa (the Son of Krakatoa) is growing bigger and bigger and will blow again

Directors: Peter Chinn
Watch Now:Amazon
Great Lakes
star
7.44
116 votes

#5 - Great Lakes

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/24/2009

Scientists seek clues to the formation of North America's Great Lakes, the largest expanse of fresh water on the planet; delving into an underground salt mine; investigating a fossilized coral reef; diving to the bottom of Lake Superior.

Directors: Peter Chinn
Writer: Peter Chinn
Watch Now:Amazon
Yellowstone
star
7.43
142 votes

#6 - Yellowstone

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/31/2009

Geologists evaluate Yellowstone National Park, one of the most dangerous geological features on Earth; the park is hit by 500 earthquakes in early 2009, raising concerns a super-volcano is beginning to stir.

Directors: Peter Chinn
Writer: Peter Chinn
Watch Now:Amazon
Asteroids
star
7.43
143 votes

#7 - Asteroids

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/21/2009

Asteroids might provide clues about the formation of early Earth; detective work uncovers that a big nickel deposit in Canada, vast oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico and a gold mine in South Africa all resulted from asteroid impacts.

Directors: Peter Chinn
Writer: Peter Chinn
Watch Now:Amazon
Loch Ness
star
7.37
95 votes

#8 - Loch Ness

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/3/2009

Home to the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, this lake holds more water than any other lake in Britain. It's only 10,000 years old, but billions of years in the making. Trace the extraordinary story of Loch Ness: from the three billion year old bedrock of Northern Scotland, to the giant glaciers that carved out the Loch. On this incredible journey we reveal that Loch Ness was once part of America, giant dinosaurs, suspiciously similar to the fabled monster once roamed the area, and that the entire region was engulfed by huge volcanic eruptions as Scotland was ripped from its birth place on the American continent. Could the mythical Loch Ness monster be a descendant of the dinosaurs, somehow surviving in the murky waters of the loch

Directors: Peter Chinn
Watch Now:Amazon
Hawaii
star
7.35
90 votes

#9 - Hawaii

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 5/5/2009

The Hawaiian Islands are the most remote island chain on the planet. Emerging in the center of the Pacific, their origins have remained a puzzle for generations. Follow the story of the attempts to try and understand these beautiful, yet violent islands. It is a story of raging volcanoes, vast landslides, mega-tsunamis and strange forces emerging from the bowels of the planet. It reveals that Hawaii's Big Island is over 25 times bigger than Mt. Everest, that the entire Island chain is disappearing faster than any other land mass on Earth, and that volcanoes here might hold essential clues as to the inner workings of our planet.

Directors: Peter Chinn
Writer: Peter Chinn
Watch Now:Amazon
Iceland
star
7.33
118 votes

#10 - Iceland

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 4/28/2009

It is the largest and most fearsome volcanic island on the planet. We'll scour the island for clues, to address the mystery of what powerful forces are ripping Iceland apart and lighting its fiery volcanoes. Here, lava rips huge tears in the ground and new islands are born from the waves. Yet despite the active volcanoes, Iceland historically has been covered in and carved by ice. Fire and ice collide, locked in a titanic battle, as glaciers explode and cataclysmic floods decimate the landscape. But Iceland's volcanoes have had ramifications far beyond the shores of Iceland, causing climatic chaos and devastation across the planet; a fate which may one day happen again.

Directors: Peter Chinn
Writer: Peter Chinn
Watch Now:Amazon
San Andreas Fault
star
7.21
236 votes

#11 - San Andreas Fault

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/10/2009

The San Andreas Fault runs roughly 800 miles through some of the most valuable real estate in the world. The southern section hasn't had a significant quake for over 300 years and is now primed and ready for another "big one." This new series takes a trip along the most famous fault line in the world and examine the geology that gives it its immense destructive power. It's an investigation given new urgency by recent warnings from 300 of America's leading scientists about the death and devastation that a major earthquake on the fault could unleash on Los Angeles.

Directors: Peter Chinn
Watch Now:Amazon
The Alps
star
7.10
89 votes

#12 - The Alps

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 5/12/2009

The jagged backbone of Europe, spanning seven countries and providing essential water to millions, the Alps are Europe's most important landmark. But how did marine fossils get here, seven thousand feet above sea level?

Directors: Peter Chinn
Writer: Peter Chinn
Watch Now:Amazon
The Deepest Place On Earth
star
6.89
231 votes

#13 - The Deepest Place On Earth

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/17/2009

The Marianas Trench is the deepest place on earth, deeper than Mt. Everest is high. The trench is where the ocean floor disappears into the center of the earth. The pressures at this depth are 17 times greater than what it takes to crush a nuclear submarine. Only two men have ever been down the Trench, fewer than have set foot on the moon. Follow the daring missions into the abyss and explore the extraordinary geology that has created this deep scar along the ocean floor

Directors: Peter Chinn
Watch Now:Amazon