Rise of the Continents

Episodes

The first episode examines Africa, using its landmarks, mineral wealth, and wildlife to show how the continent formed from the remains of an ancient supercontinent. Featured elements include the creation of Victoria Falls, diamond mines in Sierra Leone, early whale skeletons buried in sand, and the nutrient-rich grass of the Serengeti Plains. The second episode covers Australia, explaining how its journey as a continent influenced Aboriginal history, modern mining, and the evolution of its unique wildlife.

Iain Stewart visits Coober Pedy, an opal mining town, to recreate the breakup of Gondwana and demonstrate how Australia's formation created a vast underground aquifer. Cliffs along the Australian Bight recall the time when Australia was joined to Antarctica. The third episode addresses North and South America, which were carved from Pangaea 200 million years ago and pushed westward as separate island continents. Subduction created the Andes, the longest continual mountain range, and 300 million years ago New York was at the heart of a huge mountain range.

Using the llama as an example, Stewart explains that most of South America's wildlife originated in North America and moved south when the two continents joined three million years ago. The final episode reveals Eurasia's origins. Its destruction led to Eurasia's formation. The freshwater fish Karimeen, from the backwaters of Kerala in southern India, indicates that India was once 4,000 kilometers south of its current position on the other side of the Tethys, joined to Madagascar.