1 00:00:03,045 --> 00:00:09,668 What would happen if every person on earth disappeared? 2 00:00:11,375 --> 00:00:14,302 This is not the story about how humans will become extinct... 3 00:00:15,458 --> 00:00:20,624 but what happens next happens to the earth. 4 00:00:23,080 --> 00:00:26,458 In this episode from 'Life after people'... 5 00:00:26,497 --> 00:00:32,124 we look at the world below us which is normally hidden undisturbed. 6 00:00:32,745 --> 00:00:37,544 If we take a look there, we see caves of crystal... 7 00:00:37,577 --> 00:00:41,119 mysterious remains and strange animals. 8 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:44,120 Covered in mud of Central America... 9 00:00:44,158 --> 00:00:48,459 are the treasures of the Titanic of the West buried. 10 00:00:48,491 --> 00:00:52,744 Welcome to Earth. Number of inhabitants: zero. 11 00:01:06,277 --> 00:01:09,784 Man was by nature a surface animal. 12 00:01:10,485 --> 00:01:14,110 The habitat of man However, it went in two directions... 13 00:01:14,983 --> 00:01:19,071 in the air and underground. 14 00:01:19,607 --> 00:01:24,441 They built complex mines, tunnels and underground cities. 15 00:01:24,481 --> 00:01:28,070 The further you descend, the stranger the environment... 16 00:01:28,104 --> 00:01:30,521 in life after man. 17 00:01:36,269 --> 00:01:38,851 An hour after humans. 18 00:01:40,517 --> 00:01:45,565 It is quiet above ground at Seattle Airport. 19 00:01:48,182 --> 00:01:50,101 But six meters underground... 20 00:01:52,139 --> 00:01:55,267 there are plenty of arrivals and departures. 21 00:01:58,179 --> 00:02:04,637 These computer controlled trains work without manpower. 22 00:02:05,719 --> 00:02:09,345 The main control room emits radio signals... 23 00:02:09,384 --> 00:02:12,310 who take care of it that the trains do not collide. 24 00:02:12,342 --> 00:02:15,766 The trains slide a station inside... 25 00:02:15,799 --> 00:02:18,643 the doors open... 26 00:02:18,673 --> 00:02:21,256 and close again. 27 00:02:21,589 --> 00:02:24,385 The train leaves for the next station. 28 00:02:24,838 --> 00:02:28,676 It's ominous and ironic at the same time. 29 00:02:28,712 --> 00:02:33,049 The train is the only thing moving at an airport. 30 00:02:39,834 --> 00:02:41,635 One day after man. 31 00:02:42,750 --> 00:02:46,507 In the mountains, more than 110 km north of San Francisco... 32 00:02:46,541 --> 00:02:50,333 There is a strong smelling mist in the air. 33 00:02:51,331 --> 00:02:56,841 At the largest geothermal complex in the world things go wrong. 34 00:02:57,455 --> 00:03:01,293 That's because there is under this complex of 104 square km... 35 00:03:01,329 --> 00:03:08,082 the heat of the earth's core the water turned into red-hot steam. 36 00:03:08,118 --> 00:03:14,077 It will be 235 degrees Celsius spat up. 37 00:03:15,574 --> 00:03:19,117 Man has more than here 20 power plants built. 38 00:03:19,157 --> 00:03:23,908 They needed this huge one capture the force of nature. 39 00:03:24,697 --> 00:03:27,161 We produce natural steam from the ground. 40 00:03:27,195 --> 00:03:30,739 Several kilometers underground we drill wells. 41 00:03:31,361 --> 00:03:34,123 We collect the steam through pipes... 42 00:03:34,153 --> 00:03:36,830 the one over the land walk to power plants. 43 00:03:36,860 --> 00:03:42,571 Behind me you see a power station which converts steam energy into electricity. 44 00:03:43,525 --> 00:03:47,281 Forty percent of all geothermal power in the US... 45 00:03:47,316 --> 00:03:49,862 was produced here. 46 00:03:49,898 --> 00:03:53,903 Enough for more than a million to supply homes with electricity. 47 00:03:54,439 --> 00:03:57,069 Those houses are now empty... 48 00:03:57,104 --> 00:04:02,614 and this precisely balanced one system is on the verge of collapse. 49 00:04:03,060 --> 00:04:06,154 So do other power plants. 50 00:04:06,184 --> 00:04:09,728 If no one uses the electricity... 51 00:04:09,767 --> 00:04:12,444 the central unit closes automatically. 52 00:04:16,599 --> 00:04:23,352 Now the piping hot steam can nowhere to go anymore... 53 00:04:24,597 --> 00:04:29,099 and the pressure slowly increases. 54 00:04:35,510 --> 00:04:37,348 Two days after humans. 55 00:04:41,259 --> 00:04:44,801 Deep in this mountain in Colorado... 56 00:04:44,841 --> 00:04:49,225 man preserved the ability to destroy the earth. 57 00:04:49,423 --> 00:04:54,056 Cheyenne Mountain is in fact a large block of solid granite. 58 00:04:54,088 --> 00:04:56,719 A tunnel was bored through it. 59 00:04:56,754 --> 00:05:00,178 Then there were other parts excavated. 60 00:05:00,211 --> 00:05:02,972 One of the walls has a large, steel door... 61 00:05:03,003 --> 00:05:07,008 and behind it lies, as it were, a city. 62 00:05:08,543 --> 00:05:14,170 There is a huge complex in this mountain that was once the base of NORAD... 63 00:05:14,207 --> 00:05:18,343 the North American Aerospace Defense Command. 64 00:05:18,373 --> 00:05:23,883 Coordinated during the Cold War the American commanders... 65 00:05:23,913 --> 00:05:27,006 here's an answer on a possible nuclear attack. 66 00:05:27,037 --> 00:05:30,462 It was built for one purpose only. 67 00:05:30,494 --> 00:05:36,704 The Cheyenne Mountain complex is designed to withstand a nuclear attack... 68 00:05:36,743 --> 00:05:42,620 or an explosion of a few megaton in the vicinity. 69 00:05:44,741 --> 00:05:50,866 If there are near the complex an atomic bomb would explode... 70 00:05:50,905 --> 00:05:54,827 it would barely move inside. 71 00:05:55,280 --> 00:05:59,995 The complex became special designed to ensure... 72 00:06:00,028 --> 00:06:03,073 that everything stood still if the mountain were to move. 73 00:06:03,111 --> 00:06:06,322 Every building rests on shock absorption. 74 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:09,204 They are, in fact, huge feathers. 75 00:06:09,234 --> 00:06:15,324 They close the buildings for shock waves from outside. 76 00:06:16,482 --> 00:06:20,072 Cheyenne Mountain had to withstand a nuclear attack... 77 00:06:20,106 --> 00:06:24,774 but now sits forever on the lowest state of alert. 78 00:06:25,479 --> 00:06:28,821 The destruction of this once secret complex... 79 00:06:28,854 --> 00:06:31,400 will happen from within. 80 00:06:36,851 --> 00:06:38,901 Three days after humans. 81 00:06:40,225 --> 00:06:44,775 More than 440 kilometers south of El Paso, Texas. 82 00:06:44,807 --> 00:06:49,890 In this mountain in the Chihuahuan Desert a secret lies hidden in Mexico. 83 00:06:50,431 --> 00:06:54,388 Huge crystal caves and a hellish environment. 84 00:06:56,221 --> 00:07:00,521 The temperature can rise here up to 54 degrees Celsius... 85 00:07:00,553 --> 00:07:04,061 and the humidity level to almost 100%. 86 00:07:04,094 --> 00:07:07,683 Man would here only survive for 15 minutes... 87 00:07:07,718 --> 00:07:13,014 without these special cooling suits that look like an astronaut suit. 88 00:07:15,173 --> 00:07:19,972 But for these huge crystals this was the perfect environment. 89 00:07:20,006 --> 00:07:25,717 Many of these crystals are over nine meters long and half a million years old. 90 00:07:25,754 --> 00:07:28,883 Some weigh more than 55,000 kilos. 91 00:07:31,003 --> 00:07:33,964 The crystals consist of plaster... 92 00:07:34,002 --> 00:07:39,547 a fire-resistant mineral thanks to its low thermal conductivity. 93 00:07:39,584 --> 00:07:45,211 It is therefore used as an insulating material used in plasterboard and plasterwork. 94 00:07:45,249 --> 00:07:51,374 These crystals were under water until miners pumped out the caves. 95 00:07:53,496 --> 00:07:56,707 To keep the water out of the cave... 96 00:07:56,745 --> 00:08:01,911 there was more than 83,000 liters water pumped out... 97 00:08:01,952 --> 00:08:04,250 and all day long. 98 00:08:05,577 --> 00:08:09,202 Now that the pumps have failed... 99 00:08:09,242 --> 00:08:13,199 takes the water back into the caves. 100 00:08:14,283 --> 00:08:21,451 Will these natural wonders dissolve in the rising water? 101 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:30,081 Ten days after humans. 102 00:08:30,944 --> 00:08:33,527 Below the city of Lubbock, Texas... 103 00:08:33,569 --> 00:08:39,079 there is still plenty of life with thousands of residents. 104 00:08:41,358 --> 00:08:46,606 Some scholars argue that the underground inhabitants... 105 00:08:46,648 --> 00:08:50,700 it in a life after man will still have over us. 106 00:08:54,229 --> 00:08:56,232 These are prairie dogs. 107 00:08:56,271 --> 00:09:02,396 They build underground cities would cover half of the Netherlands. 108 00:09:02,935 --> 00:09:06,443 The prairie dog is not a dog just a rodent. 109 00:09:06,934 --> 00:09:12,562 Their closest relatives are squirrels, marmots and tree squirrels. 110 00:09:13,057 --> 00:09:16,766 Evidence has shown that they have their own language... 111 00:09:16,807 --> 00:09:20,645 with different words for different predators. 112 00:09:21,555 --> 00:09:24,647 Like their most efficient predator... 113 00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:26,267 man. 114 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:34,521 Barking and a nodding movement indicate that a predator is approaching. 115 00:09:36,759 --> 00:09:40,515 According to biologists, their population was at its peak... 116 00:09:40,550 --> 00:09:46,675 in the eighteenth century, with about five billion prairie dogs. 117 00:09:46,714 --> 00:09:51,181 As more people came... 118 00:09:51,213 --> 00:09:54,922 techniques also emerged to control the prairie dog. 119 00:09:54,963 --> 00:10:00,425 From a slow one silent death with poisonous gas... 120 00:10:00,461 --> 00:10:04,964 to a brutal, quick death with a shot from far away. 121 00:10:07,334 --> 00:10:13,590 In 2010, 98% of prairie dog population has been lost. 122 00:10:15,790 --> 00:10:18,503 After humans, the prairie dog doesn't have to... 123 00:10:18,539 --> 00:10:20,837 not to be afraid to be shot. 124 00:10:20,871 --> 00:10:26,085 They don't have to let their guard down for someone with a gun. 125 00:10:26,121 --> 00:10:29,462 They also need to feel not to worry about poison. 126 00:10:30,036 --> 00:10:33,377 No more bullets or gas. 127 00:10:33,410 --> 00:10:39,335 How big can this colony grow? now that their greatest enemy is gone? 128 00:10:45,906 --> 00:10:49,248 One month after humans. 129 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:53,119 In the tunnels below Seattle airport... 130 00:10:53,154 --> 00:10:58,534 is a transportation system that was fully automated... 131 00:10:58,569 --> 00:11:01,449 come to a standstill. 132 00:11:01,485 --> 00:11:06,533 The last emergency lights also go out. 133 00:11:06,567 --> 00:11:08,735 The last battery is giving up. 134 00:11:08,775 --> 00:11:14,818 In the semi-darkness and ominous wagons... 135 00:11:14,856 --> 00:11:16,527 the light now goes out completely. 136 00:11:17,773 --> 00:11:24,775 All electricity in these trains has failed, except for one thing... 137 00:11:24,813 --> 00:11:26,897 the emergency batteries. 138 00:11:26,937 --> 00:11:30,065 They love the public address system in operation. 139 00:11:37,350 --> 00:11:40,609 A train to oblivion. 140 00:11:40,641 --> 00:11:44,776 In life after man no one gets in anymore. 141 00:11:48,722 --> 00:11:51,851 At the coast from the Caribbean Grenada... 142 00:11:51,888 --> 00:11:58,097 is located at a depth of six meters a circle of concrete and steel children. 143 00:11:58,136 --> 00:12:01,395 Are these statues? from an ancient civilization... 144 00:12:01,427 --> 00:12:03,264 or something even stranger? 145 00:12:03,301 --> 00:12:09,060 What secret do these come with images of humans come to life? 146 00:12:15,965 --> 00:12:18,974 One month after humans. 147 00:12:22,463 --> 00:12:27,843 Under a historic building There's a secret hidden in Hollywood. 148 00:12:28,419 --> 00:12:32,045 The Capitol Records office is an icon. 149 00:12:32,085 --> 00:12:37,630 It was the first round office building in the world. 150 00:12:38,250 --> 00:12:43,167 Many people in Los Angeles found... 151 00:12:43,207 --> 00:12:48,717 that this building belongs to a record company looked like a stack of records. 152 00:12:48,747 --> 00:12:55,465 In the original press releases and the information for guides... 153 00:12:55,495 --> 00:12:59,085 However, it stated that this was incorrect. That was just a coincidence. 154 00:13:00,494 --> 00:13:04,581 The building had three recording studios on the ground floor... 155 00:13:04,618 --> 00:13:09,286 and also hid a treasure trove underground. 156 00:13:10,366 --> 00:13:17,451 Located nine meters underground an echo chamber with perfect acoustics. 157 00:13:18,113 --> 00:13:21,740 The concrete walls here are 25 cm thick... 158 00:13:21,780 --> 00:13:24,955 and the concrete ceiling as much as 30 cm. 159 00:13:25,737 --> 00:13:29,694 This means there are no vibrations and outside noises inside. 160 00:13:30,527 --> 00:13:33,288 Thanks to the trapezoid shape... 161 00:13:33,318 --> 00:13:38,236 one can have an ultrasound in the room of up to five seconds. 162 00:13:41,899 --> 00:13:46,365 The room was designed by guitar legend Les Paul... 163 00:13:46,397 --> 00:13:52,855 and used in recordings by superstars like Frank Sinatra... 164 00:13:52,896 --> 00:13:54,779 and Nat King Cole. 165 00:13:56,645 --> 00:14:02,404 One month after humans it is quiet in this room. 166 00:14:03,851 --> 00:14:06,528 That won't last forever. 167 00:14:13,099 --> 00:14:16,476 One year after humans. 168 00:14:17,014 --> 00:14:19,312 Under the Mexican desert... 169 00:14:19,347 --> 00:14:24,429 the crystal caves have filled up with steaming, mineral-rich water. 170 00:14:26,428 --> 00:14:30,682 For some crystals water is the biggest enemy, like salt. 171 00:14:32,384 --> 00:14:37,385 But here, heat worries and the mineral anhydrite for it... 172 00:14:37,425 --> 00:14:42,721 that these crystals weigh 55,000 tons can only grow in water. 173 00:14:43,590 --> 00:14:46,138 Like the pumps after humans would fall out... 174 00:14:46,173 --> 00:14:49,881 and would not pump away water, the mines would fill up again. 175 00:14:49,922 --> 00:14:54,258 If there are the same concentrations of minerals were... 176 00:14:54,295 --> 00:14:58,003 and the same temperatures to keep them in perfect condition... 177 00:14:58,044 --> 00:15:00,971 they would continue to grow. 178 00:15:01,002 --> 00:15:03,253 They can grow up to 30 meters long. 179 00:15:04,126 --> 00:15:07,585 With almost 30 meters in length... 180 00:15:08,291 --> 00:15:13,256 they soon become a phenomenon that has never been seen before on earth. 181 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:25,586 Two years after humans. 182 00:15:25,620 --> 00:15:30,454 Near the island of Grenada strange images of people stare... 183 00:15:30,494 --> 00:15:35,541 on the seabed up into the endless sea. 184 00:15:36,533 --> 00:15:40,408 A man of concrete sitting at a typewriter... 185 00:15:40,449 --> 00:15:42,783 but will never type a letter. 186 00:15:44,573 --> 00:15:48,365 This cyclist will not move an inch. 187 00:15:49,197 --> 00:15:52,455 This traditional still life... 188 00:15:52,488 --> 00:15:55,911 is anything but lifeless. 189 00:15:58,152 --> 00:16:01,280 The artist Jason DeCaires Taylor... 190 00:16:01,318 --> 00:16:04,826 designed them that way that their lives are only just beginning. 191 00:16:06,650 --> 00:16:12,740 The underwater sculptures are designed to create coral reefs. 192 00:16:13,231 --> 00:16:17,817 So they were made of material where coral likes to grow. 193 00:16:18,939 --> 00:16:24,484 When there were still people, were found on the seabed... 194 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:27,695 often Roman or Greek statues found. 195 00:16:28,436 --> 00:16:33,069 Those statues were made of marble, that is soft enough to cut... 196 00:16:33,101 --> 00:16:36,893 but durable enough to withstand centuries underwater. 197 00:16:36,934 --> 00:16:40,642 After a cleaning they looked like new again. 198 00:16:42,681 --> 00:16:47,599 In this case the artist chose for concrete made of cement... 199 00:16:47,639 --> 00:16:51,857 sand, microsilica and fiberglass. 200 00:16:52,803 --> 00:16:55,766 These are perfect attachment materials... 201 00:16:55,802 --> 00:17:01,100 for the liquid lime skeletons that are produced by coral. 202 00:17:02,259 --> 00:17:08,018 Millions of sea creatures change these once human forms... 203 00:17:08,050 --> 00:17:09,601 forever. 204 00:17:09,633 --> 00:17:12,808 Thousands of corals cling to it... 205 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:17,887 and some images are completely covered within a year. 206 00:17:17,922 --> 00:17:21,797 It's interesting to view those images now. 207 00:17:21,837 --> 00:17:26,671 They lead, so to speak already a life after man. 208 00:17:26,711 --> 00:17:28,678 After just a few years... 209 00:17:28,710 --> 00:17:34,338 these images resemble no longer on people. 210 00:17:41,415 --> 00:17:43,832 Four years after humans. 211 00:17:44,789 --> 00:17:50,915 Deep in Cheyenne Mountain is the old headquarters of NORAD... 212 00:17:50,954 --> 00:17:52,791 still intact. 213 00:17:53,661 --> 00:17:57,500 Here the army could with 12 million lines of computer code... 214 00:17:57,535 --> 00:18:01,079 in 27 different programming languages... 215 00:18:01,118 --> 00:18:07,541 determine if there is a missile or a flock of birds arrived. 216 00:18:08,657 --> 00:18:12,828 Now that there is no more danger for nuclear war... 217 00:18:13,615 --> 00:18:17,915 draws attention to an intruder from within. 218 00:18:19,071 --> 00:18:20,493 Water. 219 00:18:21,904 --> 00:18:26,702 Located in the complex a reservoir of 17 million liters... 220 00:18:26,736 --> 00:18:31,451 built by the army to maintain the temperature. 221 00:18:31,485 --> 00:18:34,446 This was drinking water, but it was also meant... 222 00:18:34,484 --> 00:18:37,908 because of all those electric ones keep equipment cool. 223 00:18:37,941 --> 00:18:42,905 It was there waiting just in case the US would be attacked. 224 00:18:42,939 --> 00:18:50,321 Now the more than 1300 springs are standing that protect the building, under pressure. 225 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:55,530 The water from the reservoir is leaking... 226 00:18:55,561 --> 00:18:58,689 due to the lack of maintenance. 227 00:19:00,018 --> 00:19:02,565 When the springs give way... 228 00:19:02,601 --> 00:19:07,897 could that mean the end for one of the strongest buildings in the US. 229 00:19:08,849 --> 00:19:12,771 What happens to the granite, happens to the rest too. 230 00:19:12,806 --> 00:19:15,484 During an earthquake or landslide... 231 00:19:15,513 --> 00:19:17,895 or something else what makes the mountain move... 232 00:19:17,929 --> 00:19:20,892 then the building experiences that movement too... 233 00:19:20,929 --> 00:19:22,729 causing the building to collapse. 234 00:19:24,762 --> 00:19:28,138 A place that is against nuclear weapons ceased... 235 00:19:28,177 --> 00:19:33,936 loses slowly due to water its structural strength. 236 00:19:40,257 --> 00:19:43,053 Five years after humans. 237 00:19:47,796 --> 00:19:53,673 In the heart of one of the most beautiful natural parks of the US... 238 00:19:53,712 --> 00:19:58,215 a rain of antifreeze drips slowly inwards. 239 00:20:01,168 --> 00:20:04,924 Here, at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico... 240 00:20:04,958 --> 00:20:10,586 is of course sulfuric acid penetrated the limestone... 241 00:20:10,624 --> 00:20:14,840 and has one of the largest caves eroded in North America. 242 00:20:15,497 --> 00:20:22,085 When there were still people, they moved the caves receive 350,000 visitors per year... 243 00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:26,421 who came by bus or car. 244 00:20:26,952 --> 00:20:31,371 We have three large parking lots built on top of the cave. 245 00:20:31,409 --> 00:20:35,117 Compare it with an old car in the driveway. 246 00:20:35,158 --> 00:20:39,957 It leaks spots of oil and coolant on the ground. 247 00:20:39,990 --> 00:20:43,865 Just multiply that by s with 350,000 visitors per year. 248 00:20:43,905 --> 00:20:50,872 Between the parking lot and the cave contains almost 230 meters of limestone. 249 00:20:50,904 --> 00:20:57,196 But even when man was still there, fluid from the car leaked through it. 250 00:20:59,943 --> 00:21:04,493 Scholars estimate that there is more than three billion liters of polluted water per year... 251 00:21:04,525 --> 00:21:08,151 leaked through the caves. 252 00:21:09,024 --> 00:21:14,072 Five years after humans it's still dripping. 253 00:21:14,106 --> 00:21:17,151 Like the parking lot after man was still full... 254 00:21:17,188 --> 00:21:23,397 you now got a long, steady stream with contaminating liquid. 255 00:21:24,270 --> 00:21:29,020 When lightning strikes, they can even catch fire... 256 00:21:29,059 --> 00:21:36,311 which also causes melted plastic and the associated chemicals leak into the cave. 257 00:21:36,932 --> 00:21:43,271 So it would take decades before the cars were destroyed enough... 258 00:21:43,306 --> 00:21:46,600 to avoid liquids to leak more into the ground. 259 00:21:46,638 --> 00:21:50,228 After that it will take another 50 to 100 years... 260 00:21:50,262 --> 00:21:54,053 for all that rock stuff has been washed over the cave. 261 00:21:55,510 --> 00:22:01,186 The influence of man will be noticeable here for a long time. 262 00:22:03,633 --> 00:22:06,311 However, can that prevent this animal from... 263 00:22:06,341 --> 00:22:09,800 returns to his old place? 264 00:22:14,464 --> 00:22:16,431 Six years after humans. 265 00:22:19,254 --> 00:22:26,837 Groups are gathering in California deer at the geothermal power plant. 266 00:22:28,127 --> 00:22:32,961 They are attracted to the heat of the 130 km long steam pipes... 267 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,927 that man has left behind. 268 00:22:35,958 --> 00:22:41,668 Although the cooling towers and electricity has been out for a long time... 269 00:22:41,706 --> 00:22:47,049 more than 18,000 kilos of steam remains per hour through the pipes. 270 00:22:47,788 --> 00:22:53,215 Now the deer stands one unpleasant surprise awaits. 271 00:22:53,245 --> 00:22:56,254 Like the pipes no longer maintained... 272 00:22:56,286 --> 00:23:00,124 leaks occur due to corrosion and steam escapes... 273 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:03,252 which is getting louder and louder. 274 00:23:03,284 --> 00:23:06,329 As loud as the engine of a fighter jet. 275 00:23:06,366 --> 00:23:09,459 That would last for many years. 276 00:23:09,490 --> 00:23:13,577 After the pressure for years has run out, the discharge follows. 277 00:23:14,156 --> 00:23:18,373 Deep in the earth's core water comes into contact with magma. 278 00:23:18,404 --> 00:23:23,072 From that collision arises the destructive one power of super hot steam. 279 00:23:23,111 --> 00:23:27,696 The rusted pipes can no longer handle that pressure. 280 00:23:32,151 --> 00:23:34,153 In life after man... 281 00:23:34,191 --> 00:23:38,244 a lot changes in the underground world. 282 00:23:39,565 --> 00:23:44,732 But some underground places survived by drowning. 283 00:23:45,771 --> 00:23:51,980 We know this because it is somewhere has already happened in America. 284 00:23:59,226 --> 00:24:01,940 Forty years after man. 285 00:24:02,850 --> 00:24:08,395 Rusted mementos of man decay further underground. 286 00:24:10,265 --> 00:24:16,723 However, some places have escaped to the underground destruction. 287 00:24:18,929 --> 00:24:24,391 For decades, man extracted millions of dollars in minerals... 288 00:24:24,428 --> 00:24:28,681 from the Bonne Terre mine, near St Louis, Missouri. 289 00:24:28,718 --> 00:24:31,762 The lead from the mine was used for batteries... 290 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,680 paint and bullets. 291 00:24:34,717 --> 00:24:39,799 Ammunition from WWI was used until the Vietnam War. 292 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:43,347 The Bonne Terre mine opened here in 1860. 293 00:24:43,380 --> 00:24:45,880 The diamond drill was developed here. 294 00:24:45,921 --> 00:24:52,344 Also the steam drill and many other drills that are used today... 295 00:24:52,378 --> 00:24:55,174 were developed here. 296 00:24:55,210 --> 00:25:00,672 In the 60's Bonne Terre was declared 'empty'... 297 00:25:00,709 --> 00:25:02,960 and ultimately abandoned. 298 00:25:04,250 --> 00:25:06,548 When the pumps failed... 299 00:25:06,583 --> 00:25:10,374 the natural began groundwater to rise. 300 00:25:10,415 --> 00:25:14,253 This created double, subterranean worlds. 301 00:25:14,997 --> 00:25:18,622 It's like... enters another world. 302 00:25:18,662 --> 00:25:22,500 It is first of all not at all what you expect... 303 00:25:22,536 --> 00:25:25,001 because it's a lot bigger than you think... 304 00:25:25,035 --> 00:25:30,497 but it is also a completely different world where your senses don't seem to work. 305 00:25:31,617 --> 00:25:37,742 Huge pillars reach out up to 90 meters up from the ground. 306 00:25:37,782 --> 00:25:42,118 To stand on that ground, However, an oxygen tank is needed... 307 00:25:42,155 --> 00:25:48,908 because a large part of Bonne Terre is now under water. 308 00:25:49,653 --> 00:25:56,027 What I find fascinating is how time has stood still here. 309 00:25:56,068 --> 00:26:01,152 In nature so many things become powered by oxygen. 310 00:26:01,192 --> 00:26:04,485 Oxygen is the big engine... 311 00:26:04,524 --> 00:26:08,659 who builds things up and also breaks down. 312 00:26:11,147 --> 00:26:17,321 In this environment, which has been flooded... 313 00:26:17,354 --> 00:26:21,276 all oxygen has been removed. 314 00:26:21,311 --> 00:26:25,861 Finding the natural processes there is still room, but very slowly. 315 00:26:25,893 --> 00:26:28,441 Life in slow motion. 316 00:26:30,392 --> 00:26:35,025 In the depths of this billions of liters more... 317 00:26:35,057 --> 00:26:39,062 an old, intact mine cart lies hidden. 318 00:26:39,098 --> 00:26:40,982 It's kind of a time capsule. 319 00:26:41,014 --> 00:26:44,473 You're like Superman. You travel back in time... 320 00:26:44,513 --> 00:26:47,310 because you dive in crystal clear water... 321 00:26:47,346 --> 00:26:51,303 and it is one of the few places where it looks like the diver... 322 00:26:51,344 --> 00:26:54,189 as it were flying through the water. 323 00:26:55,760 --> 00:27:00,429 These were once steps committed by miners... 324 00:27:00,467 --> 00:27:02,968 who descended into the mines. 325 00:27:05,382 --> 00:27:08,392 Materials such as shovels and drills... 326 00:27:08,424 --> 00:27:12,132 are still exactly as they are on the day the mine closed. 327 00:27:13,547 --> 00:27:19,057 They left a drill just plug it into the wall. 328 00:27:19,087 --> 00:27:23,387 In the next 20 to 40 years... 329 00:27:23,419 --> 00:27:30,588 will eventually let go and continue to rust away on the ground. 330 00:27:32,625 --> 00:27:36,795 Even the locomotive that brought up lead ore... 331 00:27:36,832 --> 00:27:42,128 is nothing more than a ghostly memento to the hard labor of yesteryear... 332 00:27:42,163 --> 00:27:45,090 the one in this exact spot was carried out. 333 00:27:45,122 --> 00:27:49,624 Just below us is one of them the small temples from the mine... 334 00:27:49,662 --> 00:27:53,619 where the ore truck dumped its ore. 335 00:27:53,661 --> 00:27:58,127 It was made of cheap steel... 336 00:27:58,159 --> 00:28:03,042 and now serves as an energy source for biological life here. 337 00:28:03,075 --> 00:28:06,950 Over time are all the nutrients gone... 338 00:28:06,990 --> 00:28:09,870 causing the iron to rust and finally disappears. 339 00:28:11,114 --> 00:28:14,206 All materials that were needed in the mine... 340 00:28:14,238 --> 00:28:16,571 were underground. 341 00:28:16,612 --> 00:28:20,997 They built engineering offices against those pillars... 342 00:28:21,028 --> 00:28:25,032 with doors, windows and even air conditioning for the humidity. 343 00:28:25,068 --> 00:28:31,656 So it was simple office building deep underground... 344 00:28:31,692 --> 00:28:33,990 and now deep under water. 345 00:28:35,357 --> 00:28:39,906 During the break the miners didn't go up... 346 00:28:39,939 --> 00:28:42,901 but they stayed downstairs. 347 00:28:42,938 --> 00:28:47,192 They went to a drinking fountain which is now completely flooded. 348 00:28:48,395 --> 00:28:55,113 A locker room where once banter could be heard from the miners... 349 00:28:55,143 --> 00:28:57,276 is now eerily quiet. 350 00:28:58,476 --> 00:29:01,769 Why was this mine closed? 351 00:29:04,099 --> 00:29:08,767 Everything was left here under the guise of progress. 352 00:29:08,806 --> 00:29:12,016 Those tools were no longer needed. 353 00:29:12,055 --> 00:29:17,103 None were used shovels or pickaxes anymore. 354 00:29:17,137 --> 00:29:24,352 What was a miner supposed to do with it? Then he was put to work at home. 355 00:29:24,385 --> 00:29:27,477 So it was no longer useful. 356 00:29:30,259 --> 00:29:33,553 The Bonne Terre mine has plenty of examples... 357 00:29:33,591 --> 00:29:38,260 of how environments decay at different rates. 358 00:29:39,297 --> 00:29:43,634 Here, for example, things move quickly. 359 00:29:43,672 --> 00:29:46,254 This sleeper is rotting away. 360 00:29:47,337 --> 00:29:52,136 A whole colony of organisms lives in it, who turn it into dust. 361 00:29:52,169 --> 00:29:57,927 That's because of the oxygen works here as an oxidant... 362 00:29:57,959 --> 00:30:01,253 unlike underwater, where there is no oxygen. 363 00:30:01,291 --> 00:30:04,253 In a few years there is nothing left of this... 364 00:30:04,290 --> 00:30:08,082 while the stuff is under water still look almost new. 365 00:30:08,122 --> 00:30:10,339 It's quite a difference. 366 00:30:12,829 --> 00:30:17,913 The mine is nowadays used as a diving location. 367 00:30:17,954 --> 00:30:22,088 Divers from all over the world come here with your own eyes... 368 00:30:22,118 --> 00:30:27,368 the processes behold those of have a major influence on human life. 369 00:30:27,409 --> 00:30:31,331 We can find small particles of iron just watch it peel away. 370 00:30:31,367 --> 00:30:37,326 That process goes here much slower than in the upper world... 371 00:30:37,365 --> 00:30:41,749 where large pieces of iron rust and fall down. 372 00:30:41,780 --> 00:30:45,488 Here it's always small pieces over a long period of time. 373 00:30:46,779 --> 00:30:50,570 The Bonne Terre mine was carved by man... 374 00:30:50,611 --> 00:30:52,862 like a hole in the earth. 375 00:30:53,944 --> 00:30:59,618 In life after man it is an eternal time capsule underwater. 376 00:31:00,316 --> 00:31:04,653 Sharing elsewhere emerged from a sunken ship. 377 00:31:04,690 --> 00:31:08,743 Not from the sea, but from a field. 378 00:31:08,773 --> 00:31:12,399 How did the Titanic get from the west? covered in mud... 379 00:31:12,438 --> 00:31:15,448 and he stayed there Buried for 150 years? 380 00:31:20,228 --> 00:31:22,905 50 years after humans. 381 00:31:23,227 --> 00:31:27,646 In the underground mine there are no more people... 382 00:31:27,683 --> 00:31:30,398 but their influence is still noticeable. 383 00:31:30,433 --> 00:31:33,692 Human research... 384 00:31:33,724 --> 00:31:37,775 had demonstrated that it would take at least 50 years... 385 00:31:37,806 --> 00:31:40,981 before the last drops oil and coolant... 386 00:31:41,013 --> 00:31:45,812 through the 230 meter thick layer of stone would have seeped from this cave. 387 00:31:46,804 --> 00:31:52,680 The cave is getting slow now its natural shape back... 388 00:31:52,718 --> 00:31:58,595 and that shape is full of bat droppings. 389 00:31:58,634 --> 00:32:03,597 After humans, the bat population would probably grow... 390 00:32:03,632 --> 00:32:07,969 especially since they are under less stress come to life. 391 00:32:09,506 --> 00:32:13,381 They fly out, to the river... 392 00:32:13,421 --> 00:32:15,304 and eat thousands of insects. 393 00:32:17,003 --> 00:32:20,262 They all take it back into the cave. 394 00:32:21,752 --> 00:32:27,297 They leave their feces fall to the ground while hanging. 395 00:32:27,334 --> 00:32:33,957 That pile of feces is extremely rich in organisms. 396 00:32:34,499 --> 00:32:38,456 This organic soil turns out to be very fruitful... 397 00:32:38,498 --> 00:32:40,416 for millions of insects. 398 00:32:40,455 --> 00:32:42,375 Millipedes, centipedes... 399 00:32:42,413 --> 00:32:44,380 and cockroaches. 400 00:32:45,496 --> 00:32:48,209 It could be straight out of 'Indiana Jones' can come. 401 00:32:50,119 --> 00:32:54,503 It's a hive of activity. Just keep your feet far away from it... 402 00:32:54,534 --> 00:32:58,160 so that those creatures don't crawl up your legs. 403 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:02,750 There's nothing so nasty like screaming with an oxygen mask on. 404 00:33:04,573 --> 00:33:10,829 After humans will eventually become the whole of space are covered in their feces. 405 00:33:10,863 --> 00:33:16,159 There is no natural system that it all washes clean. 406 00:33:16,195 --> 00:33:20,247 We know that the layer feces in this cave... 407 00:33:20,277 --> 00:33:22,327 was once more than 18 m thick. 408 00:33:24,026 --> 00:33:29,240 While these creatures taking back their old ground... 409 00:33:29,275 --> 00:33:34,239 this cave becomes slow but definitely a manure cave. 410 00:33:39,772 --> 00:33:42,865 150 years after humans. 411 00:33:43,687 --> 00:33:48,522 Some objects from human times are perfectly preserved. 412 00:33:49,478 --> 00:33:54,477 In Central America there is even a place where the time has already come. 413 00:33:55,559 --> 00:34:01,602 In 1865 the steamboat transported Arabia colonists and freight... 414 00:34:01,641 --> 00:34:04,058 across the Missouri River to the west. 415 00:34:05,140 --> 00:34:09,524 The boat hit near Kansas City a tree that was half submerged... 416 00:34:09,555 --> 00:34:11,688 causing the hull to be torn open. 417 00:34:11,721 --> 00:34:14,814 The Arabia sank and all passengers survived... 418 00:34:14,845 --> 00:34:18,554 only 200 tons of cargo went down with the ship. 419 00:34:20,011 --> 00:34:24,844 It was a century later the flow of the river changes... 420 00:34:24,884 --> 00:34:28,095 through fast periods of flooding and erosion. 421 00:34:28,133 --> 00:34:30,266 The river changed so much... 422 00:34:30,299 --> 00:34:34,256 that the Arabia almost a kilometer fell from the shore... 423 00:34:34,298 --> 00:34:38,220 forgotten and buried under a field. 424 00:34:38,839 --> 00:34:44,431 In the late 80's led treasure hunter David Hawley, a team of researchers... 425 00:34:44,462 --> 00:34:46,050 to salvage the Arabia. 426 00:34:46,836 --> 00:34:49,218 They made an astonishing find. 427 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:53,799 A portal to a perfect preserved life... 428 00:34:53,834 --> 00:34:56,927 from around 1856. 429 00:34:56,958 --> 00:35:01,176 When we did it in the autumn of 1988 discovered... 430 00:35:01,208 --> 00:35:05,082 we found a large barrel which was still full of butter... 431 00:35:05,123 --> 00:35:07,753 and barrels of molasses which was still sweet. 432 00:35:07,788 --> 00:35:10,999 Crates full were transported pickles to the west... 433 00:35:11,038 --> 00:35:16,205 and they were beautifully green. You could still eat them. 434 00:35:16,661 --> 00:35:20,749 Pie filling was still edible. 435 00:35:20,785 --> 00:35:25,454 Even the iron. You could use pocket knives open just fine... 436 00:35:25,493 --> 00:35:29,580 and open locks, even after all those years underwater. 437 00:35:30,116 --> 00:35:33,042 These and many other items... 438 00:35:33,073 --> 00:35:36,166 had three secrets to survive. 439 00:35:36,198 --> 00:35:38,366 No exposure to sunlight... 440 00:35:38,405 --> 00:35:40,822 a constant temperature... 441 00:35:40,863 --> 00:35:43,197 and a lack of oxygen. 442 00:35:43,237 --> 00:35:46,163 It's all coming due to the lack of air. 443 00:35:46,195 --> 00:35:48,956 At that depth there is no oxygen. 444 00:35:48,986 --> 00:35:52,244 If you have such an object would lay on top of the ground... 445 00:35:52,276 --> 00:35:54,954 it would after a few years have rusted away. 446 00:35:54,984 --> 00:35:58,859 The mud and the water kept many things intact... 447 00:35:58,900 --> 00:36:01,116 but also destroyed objects. 448 00:36:01,149 --> 00:36:04,657 Not everything on the Arabia has been preserved. 449 00:36:04,690 --> 00:36:07,367 For some objects the water was deadly. 450 00:36:07,397 --> 00:36:09,530 Cotton, for example, dissolved... 451 00:36:09,563 --> 00:36:11,731 but don't want to. 452 00:36:11,771 --> 00:36:14,485 Cotton was plant-based... 453 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:19,319 while wool and silk come from animals arrived and therefore remained intact. 454 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:25,774 For the things that were saved it was a race against time. 455 00:36:26,725 --> 00:36:31,524 The Arabia was dug up in winter, and that lasted four months. 456 00:36:31,557 --> 00:36:35,349 In that short time 200 tons were produced of material salvaged. 457 00:36:35,389 --> 00:36:38,434 Some wondered why it had to be done so quickly. 458 00:36:38,472 --> 00:36:42,180 If you like the collection exposed to oxygen... 459 00:36:42,220 --> 00:36:44,224 it rots away quickly. 460 00:36:44,262 --> 00:36:49,096 It's a race against time for it from the ground and air... 461 00:36:49,136 --> 00:36:51,055 and into a stable environment. 462 00:36:52,343 --> 00:36:54,973 For certain objects to stabilize... 463 00:36:55,009 --> 00:36:58,102 they had to be frozen. 464 00:36:58,133 --> 00:37:00,764 One day we found a lot of rolling pins. 465 00:37:00,799 --> 00:37:05,183 We cleaned them and froze them, as always. 466 00:37:05,214 --> 00:37:08,887 One had rolled away unnoticed. 467 00:37:08,921 --> 00:37:11,504 We found it three days later. 468 00:37:11,546 --> 00:37:15,682 That roller first was round and completely intact... 469 00:37:15,712 --> 00:37:21,755 had become twice as flat, with long cracks in it. 470 00:37:21,793 --> 00:37:24,969 At that point it was damaged beyond repair. 471 00:37:28,499 --> 00:37:33,215 The Arabia has never reaches her destination... 472 00:37:33,248 --> 00:37:38,461 only 200 tons of history from the depths of the river... 473 00:37:38,496 --> 00:37:42,087 now offers us a glimpse into what awaits our objects... 474 00:37:42,121 --> 00:37:44,881 in a life after man. 475 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:50,504 Meanwhile, millions are trying prairie dogs underground... 476 00:37:50,535 --> 00:37:53,497 their original to regain habitat. 477 00:37:53,534 --> 00:37:56,248 But a new predator has emerged. 478 00:37:56,284 --> 00:37:58,665 Which animal will it save? 479 00:38:06,364 --> 00:38:09,823 175 years after humans. 480 00:38:13,154 --> 00:38:19,244 The office is in the heart of Hollywood from Capitol Records turned green. 481 00:38:20,485 --> 00:38:26,528 The echo chambers are underground a sonic time capsule. 482 00:38:28,150 --> 00:38:34,867 Throughout Los Angeles one thing is certain. 483 00:38:34,898 --> 00:38:40,987 Those echo chambers will be one of the longest surviving objects are... 484 00:38:41,021 --> 00:38:43,402 that are left behind by humans. 485 00:38:43,437 --> 00:38:49,148 They might be after it 5,000 or 10,000 more years. 486 00:38:50,894 --> 00:38:55,857 For a consistent and easy to edit sound... 487 00:38:55,892 --> 00:38:58,736 the rooms were made of concrete. 488 00:38:59,474 --> 00:39:02,684 Unlike the modern one concrete buildings... 489 00:39:02,723 --> 00:39:07,060 they were left without reinforcement built. 490 00:39:07,555 --> 00:39:09,972 Like the Romans... 491 00:39:10,013 --> 00:39:12,560 who used no reinforcement... 492 00:39:12,596 --> 00:39:17,181 it was concrete in the echo chambers not reinforced and actually pure concrete. 493 00:39:20,260 --> 00:39:24,098 Even if the building itself collapses... 494 00:39:24,134 --> 00:39:29,513 this sound temple will be without it a rusting steel frame... 495 00:39:29,549 --> 00:39:34,182 remain standing for a very long time. 496 00:39:40,088 --> 00:39:43,050 500 years after humans. 497 00:39:46,336 --> 00:39:50,211 The Texas landscape is on the move... 498 00:39:50,252 --> 00:39:52,834 thanks to the prairie dog. 499 00:39:53,542 --> 00:39:57,962 Now their greatest enemy, man, has disappeared... 500 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:00,795 is the prairie dog back from being away. 501 00:40:00,832 --> 00:40:06,424 Their numbers are so high again as at the end of the 18th century. 502 00:40:07,455 --> 00:40:13,829 A colony in Texas is almost 400 kilometers long... 503 00:40:13,870 --> 00:40:20,125 and in that one colony they live according to it biologists estimate about 400 million prairie dogs. 504 00:40:20,577 --> 00:40:22,377 There are a lot of them. 505 00:40:25,033 --> 00:40:27,913 The barking sounds of the prairie dog... 506 00:40:27,949 --> 00:40:31,705 and the sounds as a greeting or in combat... 507 00:40:31,740 --> 00:40:35,034 break the silence in the Texas countryside. 508 00:40:35,905 --> 00:40:38,620 But an old sound has returned. 509 00:40:38,655 --> 00:40:41,581 Bark with a serious warning. 510 00:40:41,612 --> 00:40:45,747 Because there is a new predator has emerged. 511 00:40:47,986 --> 00:40:52,405 The enormously increased number prairie dogs is good news... 512 00:40:52,443 --> 00:40:57,076 for one of the rarest mammals in North America... 513 00:40:57,899 --> 00:41:00,151 the black-footed ferret. 514 00:41:03,523 --> 00:41:08,026 The black-footed ferret mainly hunts prairie dogs. 515 00:41:08,063 --> 00:41:11,025 One hundred a year to feed an adult male... 516 00:41:11,062 --> 00:41:14,404 and 250 per year for a family of four. 517 00:41:15,186 --> 00:41:21,857 In human times this became related of the weasel is threatened with extinction. 518 00:41:21,892 --> 00:41:23,860 Now that humans are gone... 519 00:41:23,892 --> 00:41:30,349 this polecat is at the front at the prairie dog buffet. 520 00:41:36,513 --> 00:41:39,227 A thousand years after humans. 521 00:41:40,512 --> 00:41:43,474 They were once images... 522 00:41:45,469 --> 00:41:47,934 but not anymore. 523 00:41:48,677 --> 00:41:52,019 They are completely covered with sea plants... 524 00:41:52,050 --> 00:41:55,640 and are almost no longer distinguishable... 525 00:41:56,633 --> 00:42:00,140 of the lively and colorful coral reef. 526 00:42:01,382 --> 00:42:05,469 Fish and other sea creatures swimming in and around the new reef. 527 00:42:07,088 --> 00:42:11,508 The greatest proof that this was once a work of art... 528 00:42:11,546 --> 00:42:13,926 is lost forever. 529 00:42:14,628 --> 00:42:17,969 Just like the artist it meant. 530 00:42:22,834 --> 00:42:26,009 2000 years after humans. 531 00:42:28,790 --> 00:42:34,087 NORAD's military buildings at Cheyenne Mountain... 532 00:42:34,123 --> 00:42:36,539 are still standing. 533 00:42:37,830 --> 00:42:41,787 The buildings will have been eaten quite severely. 534 00:42:41,829 --> 00:42:49,661 The skeleton of the desks, the monitors and the computers... 535 00:42:49,702 --> 00:42:53,919 will be covered with powder and are rusting. 536 00:42:53,950 --> 00:42:56,367 But it is still recognizable. 537 00:42:56,408 --> 00:43:03,624 It is a living tomb of human technology and knowledge. 538 00:43:03,656 --> 00:43:07,079 The complex could withstand a nuclear attack... 539 00:43:07,113 --> 00:43:14,578 but even survives now that it is an eternal tomb. 540 00:43:16,443 --> 00:43:18,861 Art comes to life. 541 00:43:19,526 --> 00:43:21,824 Animals are free again. 542 00:43:22,484 --> 00:43:26,406 Explosive forces from the depths of the earth... 543 00:43:26,441 --> 00:43:28,609 break the silence in the upper world. 544 00:43:29,274 --> 00:43:33,859 In life after man It's only a matter of time... 545 00:43:33,897 --> 00:43:40,070 before the underground world reaches new depths of destruction.