The BEST episodes written by Peter Chinn
#1 - Tsunami
How the Earth Was Made - Season 1 - Episode 9
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.
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#2 - Great Lakes
How the Earth Was Made - Season 1 - Episode 7
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.
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#3 - Yellowstone
How the Earth Was Made - Season 1 - Episode 8
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.
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#4 - Asteroids
How the Earth Was Made - Season 1 - Episode 10
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.
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#5 - Hawaii
How the Earth Was Made - Season 1 - Episode 12
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.
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#6 - Iceland
How the Earth Was Made - Season 1 - Episode 11
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.
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#7 - Deadliest Earthquakes
NOVA - Season 38 - Episode 1
In 2010, several epic earthquakes delivered one of the worst annual death tolls ever recorded. The deadliest strike, in Haiti, killed more than 200,000 people and reduced homes, hospitals, schools, and the presidential palace to rubble. In exclusive coverage, a NOVA camera crew follows a team of U.S. geologists as they enter Haiti in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. The team hunts for crucial evidence that will help them determine exactly what happened deep underground and what the risks are of a new killer quake. Barely a month after the Haiti quake, Chile was struck by a quake 100 times more powerful, unleashing a tsunami that put the entire Pacific coast on high alert. In a coastal town devastated by the rushing wave, NOVA follows a team of geologists as they battle aftershocks to measure the displacement caused by the earthquake. Could their work, and the work of geologists at earthquake hot spots around the U.S., one day lead to a breakthrough in predicting quakes before they happen? NOVA investigates compelling new leads in this profound scientific conundrum.
#8 - The Alps
How the Earth Was Made - Season 1 - Episode 13
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?
Watch Now:Amazon#9 - Storm That Drowned A City
NOVA - Season 32 - Episode 14
The narration is melodramatic, some of the interviews feel stagy--but the footage of Hurricane Katrina and its horrendous aftermath is staggering. Hurricane Katrina - The Storm That Drowned a City, a NOVA special, begins a year earlier, when a team of scientists created a computer simulation of the destructive effect a powerful storm could have on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Though local officials took it seriously, the federal response was skeptical, and little was done to strengthen the city's protection. Using a combination of remarkable video of the developing storm and interviews with scientists, city residents (black and white), and member of the Army Corps of Engineers, Hurrican Katrina builds a compelling story of the disaster as it unfolded. Sophisticated graphics explain how hurricanes form and how the levees failed. The special touches lightly on the possibility that global warming may be exacerbating the intensity of hurricanes, but shies away from the political storm of the meager federal response to the devastation of New Orleans. The result is a vivid, detailed description of the natural disaster, but an incomplete portrait of the social one. --Bret Fetzer