Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER, JOIN ME ON A JOURNEY

ACROSS THE GLOBE TO EXPERIENCE THE GREATEST

NATURAL WONDERS OF OUR PLANET.

DYLAN: WE'LL TREAD DEEP INTO THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND OF

MADAGASCAR.

FOLLOW THE GREAT HERDS ACROSS THE WETLANDS OF

SOUTHERN AFRICA.

MEET THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE SHADOW OF MT.

EVEREST.

FLOAT DOWN THE MIGHTY AMAZON RIVER.

AND WE'LL VENTURE AS FAR NORTH AS WE CAN TO THE

VAST FROZEN WILDERNESS OF GREENLAND.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: OUR WORLD IS FULL OF AMAZING AND DIVERSE

ECOSYSTEMS FROM THE FROZEN ARCTIC

TUNDRA TO THE AMAZING FORESTS OF MADAGASCAR.

THESE ENVIRONMENTS NEEDED A LONG TIME TO EVOLVE INTO

WHAT WE SEE TODAY.

TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THESE UNIQUE PLACES CAME

TO BE WE NEED TO TAKE A TRIP THROUGH TIME.

BUT DON'T WORRY, WE'RE ONLY GOING BACK A FEW

BILLION YEARS.

DYLAN: THIS IS OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

IT FORMED 5 BILLION YEARS AGO WHEN ROCKS, GASSES AND

DUST COLLECTED INTO PLANETS THAT ORBIT AROUND

OUR SUN.

AND THIS IS OUR HOME, EARTH.

MORE THAN 200 MILLION YEARS AGO THE EARTH HAD

ONE GIANT SUPERCONTINENT CALLED PANGEA.

SLOWLY THAT SUPERCONTINENT BEGAN TO SEPARATE.

NEW COASTLINES, CONTINENTS, ISLANDS AND

MOUNTAIN RANGES WERE FORMED IN MASSIVE

UPHEAVAL.

OVER TIME THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT TODAY VIOLENTLY

BEGAN TAKING SHAPE.

DYLAN: THE ISLAND WE KNOW AS GREENLAND BROKE AWAY FROM

THE NEWLY-FORMED NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT.

AFRICA ALSO BECAME A SEPARATE CONTINENT AND

HOME TO THE OKAVANGO DELTA AND THE NAMIB DESERT.

SEVERED FROM AFRICA, SOUTH AMERICA WAS CARVED IN PART

BY THE RIVERS AMAZON AND IGUAZU.

INDIA COLLIDED WITH ASIA, UPLIFTING THE GREAT

PLATEAU OF TIBET.

BUT OUR JOURNEY BEGINS ON THE MASSIVE ISLAND OF

MADAGASCAR THAT BROKE AWAY FROM AFRICA MILLIONS OF

YEARS AGO.

DYLAN: EONS OF RAIN AND WIND HAVE EXPOSED LIMESTONE

PINNACLES, SILENT REMINDERS OF THE FORCES

THAT SHAPED MADAGASCAR FROM THE TIME IT WAS TORN

FROM THE BEDROCK OF AFRICA.

THINK OF MADAGASCAR AS A TIME CAPSULE.

THE PLANTS AND CREATURES THAT LIVE HERE EVOLVED IN

ISOLATION AND ARE FOUND NOWHERE ELSE ON EARTH.

LIKE THE ICONIC UPSIDE DOWN TREE CALLED BAOBAB.

THIS GIANT TREE STORES MORE THAN 25,000 GALLONS

OF WATER IN ITS TRUNK TO ENDURE HARSH DROUGHTS THAT

ALLOW A SINGLE TREE TO SURVIVE FOR A THOUSAND

YEARS.

DYLAN: OF ALL THE WORLD'S ISLAND MADAGASCAR HAS THE MOST

NATIVE SPECIES INCLUDING NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF THE

WORLD'S CHAMELEONS, A CREATURE WHOSE TONGUE IS

AS LONG AS ITS BODY.

BUT OF ALL THE UNIQUE ANIMALS THAT LIVE HERE

NONE ARE AS CHARISMATIC AS THE LEMUR.

NUMEROUS SPECIES OF LEMUR EXIST.

SOME ARE JET-BLACK, OTHERS ARE RUSTY BROWN.

SOME ARE VERY SOCIAL AND HAVE RINGS ON THEIR TAILS.

THE WHITE LEMUR IS CALLED THE SIFAKA, OR THE GHOSTS

OF THE FOREST.

THESE LEMURS ARE AMONG THE FEW THAT SOMETIMES COME

DOWN FROM THE TREES.

DYLAN: THE KEY TO MADAGASCAR'S UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM IS ITS

ISOLATION.

WITH FEW NATURAL PREDATORS THE ANIMALS THAT LIVE HERE

HAVE ENJOYED RELATIVE SAFETY FROM LARGE

CARNIVORES.

300 MILES WEST ACROSS THE OCEAN THINGS ARE MUCH

DIFFERENT.

JDD: IN AFRICA EVERYTHING IS HUGE.

IN THE COUNTRY OF BOTSWANA LIES THE MIGHTY OKAVANGO

DELTA, AN OASIS OF LIFE LOCATED IN THE HEART OF

SOUTHERN AFRICA.

DYLAN: FLOWING FROM THE NORTH, THE OKAVANGO RIVER CARRIES

NEARLY 3 TRILLION GALLONS OF WATER INTO THIS REGION

EVERY YEAR TO CREATE ONE OF THE LARGEST INLAND

RIVER DELTAS IN THE WORLD.

DYLAN: ANIMALS OF EVERY SHAPE AND SIZE ARE DRAWN

HERE FROM ALL ACROSS LOWER AFRICA INCLUDING

THE BIGGEST LAND MAMMALS ON EARTH.

ELEPHANTS ARE EXCEPTIONAL PARENTS TO THEIR YOUNG AND

EXCELLENT SWIMMERS AS WELL.

THIS ELEPHANT CALF LOVES TO PLAY IN THE MUD WHILE

HER PARENTS LOOK ON.

AN ADULT CAN CONSUME 500 POUNDS OF PLANT MATTER

EVERY DAY AND MIGRATE GREAT DISTANCES TO FIND

ENOUGH FOOD FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY.

MANY DIFFERENT SPECIES IN THE OKAVANGO MUST WORK

TOGETHER TO SURVIVE.

THE ENDANGERED WILD DOGS OF OKAVANGO ARE LINKED

TOGETHER FROM BIRTH.

THESE ARE HIGHLY SOCIAL ANIMALS THAT RELY ON EACH

OTHER FOR FOOD AND PROTECTION.

ONLY A SINGLE MALE AND A SINGLE FEMALE WILL MATE

AND PRODUCE A LITTER OF PUPS THAT THE ENTIRE PACK

WILL RAISE.

DYLAN: THE UNITED NATIONS HAS DESIGNATED THE OKAVANGO

DELTA IN AFRICA AND IMPORTANT NATURE RESERVES

IN MADAGASCAR AS WORLD HERITAGE SITES.

A WORLD HERITAGE SITE MEANS THESE ECOSYSTEMS ARE

PART OF OUR GLOBAL LEGACY.

THEY ARE THE MOST PRIZED NATURAL WONDERS THAT WILL

BE PASSED ON TO FUTURE GENERATIONS AND IT'S NOT

VERY HARD TO SEE WHY.

COMING UP NEXT, WE'RE HEADING WEST ACROSS THE

ATLANTIC OCEAN TO THE MIGHTY AMAZON RIVER IN

SOUTH AMERICA.

AND LATER, WE'LL TRAVEL TO THE ROOFTOP OF THE WORLD

WHERE THE HIGHEST MOUNTAINS TOUCH THE SKY.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES NEXT.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO JOURNEY.

OVER 200 MILLION YEARS AGO ALL LAND ON EARTH WAS

COMBINED INTO A MASSIVE SUPERCONTINENT CALLED

PANGEA.

EVENTUALLY PANGEA STARTED TO SEPARATE, FORMING THE

CONTINENTS WE KNOW TODAY.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY STILL SEE WHERE ONE OF THE GREATEST

SPLITS OCCURRED; THE COASTLINES OF SOUTH

AMERICA AND AFRICA FIT TOGETHER LIKE TWO PUZZLE

PIECES.

THEY HAVE SINCE EVOLVED VERY DIFFERENTLY.

DYLAN: AFRICA IS HOME TO THE LARGEST LAND ANIMALS ON

THE PLANET.

IN THE OKAVANGO THE PROCESSION OF LIFE IS A

REFLECTION OF THE LANDSCAPE.

LIFE STREAMS ACROSS THIS ANCIENT LAND AS IF IT WERE

SUSPENDED IN TIME.

HERE THE GREAT HERDS RUN FREE ACROSS A LANDSCAPE AS

MASSIVE AS IT IS BREATHTAKING.

4,000 MILES TO THE WEST LIES THE SISTER CONTINENT

TO AFRICA, SOUTH AMERICA.

HOME TO THE TOWERING ANDES MOUNTAINS, THE LARGEST

RAINFORESTS ON EARTH, AND THE GREATEST RIVER OF ALL,

THE AMAZON.

THIS IMMENSE BODY OF WATER CROSSES MORE THAN

TWO-THIRDS OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN CONTINENT AND IS

JOINED BY 1,000 OTHER RIVERS BEFORE REACHING THE

ATLANTIC OCEAN.

IT'S OVER 4 TIMES BIGGER THAN THE NEXT LARGEST

RIVER ON EARTH.

IT SUSTAINS THE GREATEST DIVERSITY OF WILDLIFE ON

THE PLANET, AND IT'S HOME TO COUNTLESS NATIVE

PEOPLES WHO HAVE LIVED ALONG THE SHORE FOR

THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

FOR THE GREAT CITIES AND SMALL VILLAGES SCATTERED

THROUGHOUT THE AMAZON THE RIVER BRINGS FOOD, WATER,

CROPS AND EASY TRANSPORTATION.

AND A COOL SWIM ON A HOT DAY.

DYLAN: IN THE AMAZON PEOPLE ARE ONLY ONE

OF MILLIONS OF SPECIES LINKED TO

THE GREATEST WATERSHED ON EARTH.

THERE ARE MANY WONDERS HERE.

BEETLES THE SIZE OF A PERSON'S FIST.

MINIATURE GECKOS.

VENOMOUS CATERPILLARS.

AND SPIDERS THAT WALK ON WATER.

LOCATED WITHIN A FEW DEGREES LATITUDE OF THE

EQUATOR THE AMAZON BASIN RECEIVES NEARLY DIRECT SUN

ALL YEAR.

DYLAN: HEAT FROM THE MORNING SUN EVAPORATES MOISTURE AND

CAUSES HUMID AIR TO RISE.

DYLAN: BY LATE MORNING IT CONDENSES INTO CLOUDS.

CLOUD DROPLETS GATHER MASS AND THEN FALL AS RAIN.

DYLAN: THE DAILY RHYTHM OF THE RAIN REPLENISHES

THE RIVER AND SUSTAINS ENDLESS PLANT SPECIES.

DYLAN: MOVING WITH THE CURRENTS ARE FLOATING MEADOWS, A

SEASONAL MASS OF PLANTS AND DEBRIS, ISLANDS OF

LIKE.

SOME MEADOWS SUPPORT THE MOST COLORFUL LIFE IN THIS

LUSH ENVIRONMENT, THE SCARLET MACAW.

DYLAN: WHERE THE POWERFUL RIVER EXPOSES CLAY BANKS,

GREEN MACAWS AND OTHER PARROTS FLY IN FOR A MEAL.

THEY ACTUALLY EAT THE CLAY AS AN ANECDOTE TO TOXIC

SEEDS IN THEIR DIET AND FOR ITS LIFE-SUSTAINING

MINERALS.

COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL TRAVEL UNDER THE SHADOWS

OF THE WORLD'S TALLEST MOUNTAIN AND MEET THE

BRAVE PEOPLE WHO CALL THIS WILD PLACE HOME.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: WHEN THE ANCIENT

SUPERCONTINENT PANGEA BROKE APART 200 MILLION

YEARS AGO SOME OF THE PIECES EVENTUALLY COLLIDED

BACK TOGETHER AGAIN.

THE LAND MASS OF INDIA TRAVELED NORTH AND SMASHED

INTO ASIA CREATING THE WORLD'S TALLEST MOUNTAINS;

THE HIMALAYAS.

DYLAN: THIS IS THE LAND OF TIBET, HOME TO MOUNT

EVEREST AND THE HIGHEST PLATEAU IN THE WORLD.

THE PEOPLE LIVING IN ITS SHADOWS CALL IT CHONG

TONG, THE LONELY PLACE.

THE BUDDHISTS OF TIBET BELIEVE IN THE SACRED

CONNECTION BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THE WILDERNESS LONG

VANISHED ELSEWHERE.

PRAYERS ARE WRITTEN ON FLAGS TO BE CARRIED BY THE

MOUNTAIN WIND.

THESE PRAYERS ARE FOR PEACE, COMPASSION AND

WISDOM.

[HORNS BLOWING]

DYLAN: FOR TIBETANS DANCING IS A WAY OF LIFE.

THIS IS AN ANCIENT RELIGIOUS DANCE WHERE

BUDDHIST PRAYERS ARE SET TO MUSIC TO CELEBRATE THE

CYCLES OF LIFE AND WARD OFF EVIL SPIRITS.

FESTIVALS LIKE THIS ONE HAVE BEEN PERFORMED IN

THIS LAND SINCE BEFORE THE DAWN OF HISTORY.

DYLAN: LIVING AS NOMADS, PEOPLE CONSERVE THE

GRASSLAND BY CONSTANTLY MOVING TO FEED THEIR

YAKS, SHEEP AND GOATS.

THEIR VERY SURVIVAL IS CLOSELY BOUND TO THEIR

ANIMALS.

BUT THEIR LIVES ARE SUSTAINED BY THE YAK.

THE YAK CARRIES ALL THEIR BELONGINGS AND GIVES MILK,

BUTTER AND MEAT; ALMOST EVERYTHING THEY NEED TO

SURVIVE.

IN THE LAND WHERE TEMPERATURES CAN DROP 80

DEGREES FAHRENHEIT IN ONE DAY, YAK HIDES ALSO

PROVIDE THE MAIN SOURCE OF WOOL FOR CLOTHING AND

SHELTER.

THEIR SHELTER MEANS SURVIVAL AND HOME.

AN ENTIRE FAMILY LIVES IN THIS SMALL TENT.

IT'S COZY AND WARM.

AND FRESH TEA IS READY ON COLD AUTUMN DAYS.

FAMILY SPEAKING IN BACKGROUND]

DYLAN: PRAYERS ARE ALSO WRITTEN INSIDE PRAYER WHEELS TO SPIN TO

THE HEAVENS.

THE SPINNING WHEEL REPRESENTS THE SPINNING

CYCLES OF LIFE AND CONNECTS TIBETANS TO THEIR

RELIGION, THEIR LAND AND THEMSELVES.

AS PART OF THAT CONNECTION PILGRIMS TRAVEL HUNDREDS

OF MILES IN WALKING MEDITATION TO MONASTERIES

AND HOLY SITES.

DYLAN: EVEN SOME LAKES IN TIBET ARE CONSIDERED HOLY.

THESE ARE THE MAIN HEADWATERS TO ASIA.

THEY IRRIGATE LAND AND FEED A QUARTER OF

HUMANITY.

MANY PILGRIMAGES END AT GREAT MONASTERIES, CENTERS

OF LEARNING, CULTURE AND HERITAGE.

AS AN ACT OF DEVOTION TIBETANS WALK AROUND HOLY

SITES AS FAITHFULLY AS THE EARTH MOVES AROUND THE

SUN.

DYLAN: A WORLD OF EXTREMES; THIS IS THE LAND OF TIBET.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL EXPLORE SOME OF THE MOST

EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS ON EARTH FROM THE DESERT TO

THE TUNDRA, AND THE GREATEST WATERFALL ON THE

PLANET.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO JOURNEY.

THE EARTH IS OLD; VERY, VERY OLD.

IT'S FULL OF VASTLY DIFFERENT ECOSYSTEMS THAT

TOOK BILLIONS OF YEARS TO EVOLVE.

AND WHEN YOU SEE A FEW OF THEM BACK-TO-BACK YOU

START TO GET A SENSE FOR JUST HOW INCREDIBLE THAT

EVOLUTION MUST HAVE BEEN.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: IN SOUTH AMERICA WHERE PARAGUAY AND

BRAZIL MEET ARGENTINA LIES THE WORLD'S GREATEST

WATERFALL; IGUAZU, FOUR TIMES WIDER THAN NIAGARA

FALLS AND CONSISTING OF MORE THAN 200 INDIVIDUAL

WATERFALLS.

IGUAZU WAS CARVED OVER 100 MILLION YEARS AGO BY A

MASSIVE VOLCANIC ERUPTION.

INSTEAD OF WATER, LIQUID LAVA USED TO FLOW OVER

THESE FALLS.

DYLAN: ALONG THE SOUTHWEST COAST OF AFRICA THE

NAMIB DESERT IS ONE OF THE DRIEST PLACES ON EARTH.

HERE YOU'LL FIND THE TALLEST SAND DUNES ON THE

PLANET; OVER 1,000 FEET HIGH.

THESE MOUNTAINS ARE SLOWLY MOVING ACROSS THE DESERT

ONE GRAIN OF SAND AT A TIME.

OUT OF ALL THE DESERTS ON EARTH THE NAMIB CONTAINS

THE GREATEST VARIETY OF LIFE.

BEETLES THAT COLLECT MOISTURE ON THEIR BACKS AT

THE TOP OF THE DUNES, SIDEWAYS SNAKES THAT STORE

WATER BETWEEN THEIR SCALES, EVEN VENOMOUS

SCORPIONS.

THE NAMIB DESERT IS ONE OF THE FEW THAT STRETCHES TO

A COLD SEA.

CURRENTS FROM ANTARCTICA MIX WITH THE WARMER

ATLANTIC OCEAN TO CREATE A FERTILE SEA OF ABUNDANT

LIFE.

AT THIS OCEAN OASIS FUR SEALS FEED ALL YEAR AND

WARM THEMSELVES FROM THE FRIGID WATER AT THE EDGE

OF THE HOT DESERT.

GREENLAND IS FAR NORTH IN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE BUT

LITTLE OF IT IS ACTUALLY GREEN.

IT'S THE LARGEST ISLAND IN THE WORLD AND COVERED BY A

PERMANENT LANDSCAPE OF ICE.

AT THE SEA ANCIENT GLACIERS BREAK AWAY INTO

ICEBERGS.

THESE FLOATING MOUNTAINS OF ICE ARE FIVE TIMES MORE

MASSIVE UNDER WATER THAN ABOVE.

ONLY THE NARROW ICE-FREE COAST SUPPORTS LIFE.

HERE THE MUSKOX IS CLOAKED IN ONE OF NATURE'S WARMEST

COATS, EVEN IN SUMMER'S BLOOM.

GREENLAND STORY TELLER, THE DRUM DANCER,

CELEBRATES THE THOUSANDS OF YEARS PEOPLE HAVE

SURVIVED AT THIS ICY EDGE.

EVEN AT 40 DEGREES BELOW ZERO PEOPLE HAVE

SUCCESSFULLY ADAPTED.

THE WORLD WE RECOGNIZE TODAY IS BILLIONS OF YEARS

IN THE MAKING.

I FOR ONE THINK THE RESULTS ARE PRETTY

SPECTACULAR.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR JOURNEY TO SOME OF THOSE

GREATEST, MOST EXTREME PLACES IN THE WORLD.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ MUSIC ♪

♪ MUSIC ♪