0: - [Narrator] The calm waters of the Excelsior Crater

2: seem to invite the unwary for a swim.

6: But don't be fooled, that beautiful blue color

10: means the water is so hot

13: not even the hardiest bacteria can survive.

17: This same deadly blue lies at the center

20: of what is, without doubt, one of nature's most

23: amazing sites.

27: A place that alone lures thousands of people

30: from around the world to Yellowstone.

35: It's known as the Grand Prismatic Spring.

39: (light dramatic music)

43: At the center of this state is an unusual gathering place

46: in the foothills of the Ochoco Mountains.

49: One that seems to breathe the air

50: of Oregon's pioneering spirit.

54: The appropriately named Crooked River twists and turns

57: through steep slopes to the towering spires of Smith Rock.

64: This castle of craggy peaks dates back

66: to a catastrophic eruption nearly 20 million years ago.

71: Hot ash, lava, and chunks of rock surged

74: like an ancient oil gusher, eventually cooling in place

78: and over time weathering into great stone pinnacles.

84: In some cultures, places like this attract mystics.

88: In Oregon, it's a haven for adventurers.

92: Welcome to one of the hottest spots for sport climbing

95: in North America, challenging the best in the world

98: to find new routes up its most demanding surfaces.

103: The toughest one of all is a 300 foot high pillar

106: that looms above the valley.

108: It's called Monkey Face.

112: For these hardcore sport climbers,

114: it isn't just about reaching the top,

117: it's about finding the toughest possible route up

119: and down the peak.

122: Scaling near vertical walls,

126: suspending from a single rope and repelling into the abyss.

132: The ultimate achievement: to be the first to take on a newer

136: harder route and earn the privilege of naming it.

141: In 1992, Monkey Face became an international icon

146: when French climber Jean-Baptiste Tribout made

148: the first ascent up the overhanging east wall.

152: It instantly eclipsed even the toughest climbs

154: in North America.

156: He named the route Just Do It.

161: Once climbers reach the top of Smith Rock,

164: many take a moment to savor the view of one

167: of America's most remarkable landscapes.

176: During America's Gilded Age,

178: Asheville was also a popular getaway spot

180: for America's richest industrialists,

182: including the Edisons, Rockefellers and Vanderbilts.

186: Some of whom built country homes here.

190: One of them is the largest private house

193: in the United States.

198: The Biltmore Estate was constructed in the 1890s

200: by 26 year old George Washington Vanderbilt,

203: grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt,

205: the famous New York railroad tycoon.

211: With virtually unlimited resources at his disposal,

214: Vanderbilt's French renaissance style estate

216: took more than six years to build

220: and was such a massive undertaking

222: it required its own brick making factory

225: and a private railway for delivering materials.

228: The finished 250 room mansion has 34 bedrooms

233: and 43 bathrooms.

236: When it came to designing the Biltmore's grounds,

239: George Vanderbilt hired the best of the best:

242: Frederick Olmsted.

243: The landscape architect who created New York's Central Park.

248: Olmsted designed formal gardens close to the house,

253: but he also regenerated forest areas around the estate

256: by transplanting trees and encouraging new growth.

260: It was one of the country's very first

262: forest conservation projects.

269: During the Great Depression Asheville's tourist

271: trade was in decline,

273: so the Vanderbilt family agreed to open the Biltmore

276: for public tours.

278: Today, the estate is visited by more than a million

281: people a year.

287: (light music)

291: While the Biltmore was under construction,

294: George Vanderbilt began acquiring acreage around

296: the property to use as a private hunting retreat.

300: This is just one of the parcels he bought; Mount Pisgah.

313: Logging here had cut wide gashes into the landscape,

317: but Vanderbilt hired foresters to manage the land

320: and bring this forest back to life.

325: One of these, German born Carl Schenck,

327: went on to establish the Biltmore Forest School,

331: the first of its kind in the United States.

347: In 1914, the U.S. government bought 87,000 acres of

351: this land from his estate and turned it into

354: the Pisgah National Forest.

358: It's best known as the home to Cold Mountain,

361: the title of the best selling Civil War novel

363: written by Asheville native Charles Frazier

366: and later adapted into a film by Anthony Minghella.

376: In these high altitude plains,

378: building materials can be hard to come by.

382: And with temperatures that range from minus 50

384: to 122 degrees fahrenheit, building the right kind

388: of house can be a matter of life and death.

393: Now, an eco-visionary named Michael Reynolds

396: thinks he's figured out the best way to do it.

400: Outside Taos, Reynolds is pioneering the development

403: of entire subdivisions of eco-friendly homes

406: he calls earth ships.

409: He's doing a lot of it with stuff he's scavenged.

416: The load-bearing walls of these houses

419: are built out of old tires packed with dirt,

422: and spaces between the tires are filled

424: in with recycled bottles and cans.

426: Then the walls are plastered and finished.

432: To keep the houses as green as he can,

434: Reynolds carefully situates them

435: to allow passive solar heating

438: and burrows them into the ground to keep them cool

441: in the desert heat.

445: Buyers can either choose a stock blueprint or work

448: with Reynolds to create their own dream home.

451: But no matter how whimsical the design

454: they are all eminently practical.

457: According to Reynolds,

459: his earth ships cost no more than an ordinary house,

463: making it possible for anyone to live well

466: while leaving a light footprint on the desert land.

469: (light music)

474: 80 million years ago, these rugged badlands

477: in western Kansas were under a vast inland sea.

483: Billions of creatures lived and died here,

485: then left their bodies on the ocean floor

488: in ancient layers of chalk.

491: With the sea's retreat, erosion washed most

494: of the chalk away, leaving beautiful

496: and evocative towers behind.

500: This group is known as Monument Rocks.

504: Though too soft and unstable to attract climbers,

507: these impressive monoliths tower

509: over the plains as seemingly eternal reminders

513: of the state's vast geological past.

517: But they aren't as timeless as they seem.

521: (light dramatic music)

528: This lonely out cropping was named Castle Rock

531: in 1865 by frontier scout Julian Fitch.

536: For over 150 years, stage drivers, pioneers

539: and hikers used its towers to guide their path.

543: Today, they might have trouble finding their way.

546: Castle Rock and the rest of Kansas' chalk towers

549: and canyons are slowly crumbling in the wind and rain.

554: It's just a matter of time

556: until flat Kansas prairie is all that's left here.

559: A prairie made of chalk.

564: This is the W. M. Keck Observatory

566: on the summit of Maunakea.

568: A dormant volcano so remote it's one

571: of the best places on earth to study outer space.

578: 11 nations have telescopes here where

580: they've made key discoveries about the formation

583: of stars and the origin of black holes.

588: The volcano sits near the center of the Big Island,

591: and on its southern end is the most active volcano

594: in the world; Kilauea,

597: part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

606: It's been emitting steam and lava

607: since 1983 in what are called quiet eruptions,

612: meaning gases escape slowly instead

614: of in one violent burst.

616: (light dramatic music)

624: The natural forces at work here help scientists

626: study how land masses may have been formed millions

629: of years ago.

633: And are still being formed today

635: as cooling lava expands Hawaii's coastline bit by bit.

641: (light music)

643: Hawaii itself was born around 40 million years ago

648: from sea volcanoes and the shifting earth,

651: which helped mold this spectacular scenery

653: on the Maui coast.

658: The eight islands were annexed by the United States

661: after decades of fighting between native Hawaiians

663: and American businessmen over who should govern them.

668: The last monarch of the islands was overthrown in 1893,

672: but many in congress opposed annexation

675: until the Spanish American War in 1898,

679: when the strategic importance of Pearl Harbor became clear.

683: Two years later, Hawaii became a U.S. territory,

687: and in 1959, it became a state.

692: Over the years, its unique location thousands of miles

695: from any continent has helped protect the diverse

698: and stunning landscape.

703: (light music)

706: It's hard to find the words to describe the forms

709: that lie across this landscape;

713: forests of stone, amphitheaters of rock.

720: It's as if drip castles made of sand

722: and water were dolloped here by giant children.

726: But these red and pink spires do have a name;

730: they're called hoodoos,

732: which seems like the perfect word given

733: that they could easily be at home in the movie

735: "Return of the Jedi."

741: Years of rain and water lashed this landscape

744: of limestone rocks, leaving these other worldly shapes.

758: Imagine trying to raise animals here.

761: That's what a Mormon pioneer named Ebenezer Bryce did.

764: He was the first to settle in this area in 1875.

769: Bryce tried to rear cattle among the hoodoos,

773: and reportedly said that this canyon was one hell

776: of a place to lose a cow.

782: Now the cattle are gone

784: and the thrilling canyon bears his name.

792: But despite its dry desert landscapes

796: Utah is a land of endless surprises,

799: and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

802: is one of them.

804: Rivaling Arizona's Grand Canyon for sheer majesty,

808: Utah's Glen Canyon leaves those who see it

810: similarly speechless.

813: Images of this landscape can look

815: like those that rovers might send back to earth

817: from distant planets.

821: Except here there's lots of water,

825: including these turquoise ribbons

826: in a place called Moqui Canyon.

832: One of the most beautiful places in the entire state.

840: Mount Rushmore.

843: Today, thousands of bikers roar right through

846: South Dakota's Black Hills

848: during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

850: But in the early 20th century, there were very

853: few good roads, which meant it was hard to get here at all.

859: That's why South Dakota state historian

861: Dwayne Robinson wanted to build a monument

864: that could lure tourists to this wondrous landscape.

869: When he saw this group of now famous granite spires,

872: known as the Needles,

873: he imagined using them to carve giant portraits of heroes

876: of the American west, heroes like Lewis and Clark,

880: Buffalo Bill Cody, and the great Sioux chief Red Cloud,

883: who had fought and died to keep the Black Hills

885: off limits to miners, settlers,

888: and even the kind of tourists Robinson hoped to attract.

892: But when Danish American sculptor Gutzon Borglum

894: saw the Needles, he wasn't convinced they would be suitable

897: for large scale carvings and told Robinson

900: he feared they would end up looking

901: like misplaced totem poles.

904: But he soon found another location

906: just a few miles away that he thought would be perfect.

910: A giant wall of solid granite

913: big enough for multiple carved portraits

916: each up to six stories tall.

918: There was, he declared, no piece

920: of granite comparable to it in the United States.

924: He also thought that a national tribute

925: to U.S. presidents would be more appealing

927: than heroes of the west.

929: "I want to create a monument so inspiring

932: that people from all over America will be drawn to come

935: and look and go home better citizens," he said.

939: Soon, President Calvin Coolidge and others

941: were helping secure federal funding.

943: It took more than 14 years for Borglum,

946: and 400 workers to blast and chisel this world famous

949: quartet of former presidents.

953: George Washington came first, his familiar profile emerging

956: from the mountain in less than three years.

959: In time for an especially patriotic dedication

961: on July 4th, 1930.

965: Thomas Jefferson followed in a spot to Washington's right

969: but unstable stone there forced Borglum

971: to dynamite his original Jefferson

973: and moved the third president to Washington's left.

976: Jefferson's revised image received its dedication in 1936.

982: Lincoln came next in a spot originally intended

985: for a giant tablet inscribed with an inspirational text.

990: Then all hands turned to adding Teddy Roosevelt

992: to the group.

993: After Borglum died, his son Lincoln oversaw the carving

997: of the final details.

999: On October 31st, 1941, just 14 years after work began,

1004: the monument was declared complete.

1007: Today, evidence of the enormous effort it took

1009: to do the job can still be seen here.

1012: When all was said and done, 800 million pounds

1015: of rock had been removed from the fine chisel marks

1019: on the president's faces to the orderly lines of scars left

1022: on the surrounding stone by dynamite and drills

1025: to the enormous piles of rubble below.

1028: In 1959, the monument provided the setting for two

1031: of Hollywood's most infamous moments in Alfred Hitchcock's

1035: classic thriller "North by Northwest".

1038: In one key scene, Hitch has icy blonde Eva Marie Saint

1041: pretend to shoot leading man

1043: Cary Grant in the visitor center.

1045: Then he sends Grant, Saint and villain Martin Landau

1049: on a deadly chase across the president's faces.

1053: Hitchcock was planning to shoot the second scene

1055: on the monument itself, but a journalist spilled news

1059: of the planned chase and the national park service

1062: shut Hitchcock down, which is why the final scene

1065: was filmed on a Hollywood sound stage instead.

1071: Yellowstone has half of all the known geysers

1075: in the world, around 300 in all.

1079: Here, at the Clepsydra Geyser, cold water flows

1082: into tight crevices in Yellowstone's molten core

1086: and explodes into steam.

1090: Clepsydra has been erupting almost continuously since 1959.

1096: Its plumes of water can reach up to 40 feet, making it one

1100: of Yellowstone's most reliable and photographed sites.

1104: But the meeting of water and hot stone here

1107: doesn't always bring such explosive results.

1110: (light dramatic music)

1111: Nearby, the calm waters of the Excelsior Crater

1115: seem to invite the unwary for a swim.

1119: But don't be fooled,

1121: that beautiful blue color means the water is so hot

1125: not even the hardiest bacteria can survive.

1129: This same deadly blue lies at the center of what is,

1133: without doubt, one of nature's most amazing sites.

1140: A place that alone lures thousands

1142: of people from around the world to Yellowstone.

1148: It's known as the Grand Prismatic Spring.

1156: (light dramatic music)

1157: This is the largest hot spring

1158: in the U.S. and the third largest in the world.

1162: Its blue core may be deadly,

1164: but the colorful cooler bands at its edges are evidence

1168: the Grand Prismatic is also home to plenty of life.

1171: Each band supports a unique bacteria

1174: or algae that creates a color of its own.

1178: When visitors on the boardwalk

1179: of the Grand Prismatic cross patterns that look

1181: like giant flames, they are stepping over descendants

1185: of some of the earliest forms of life on earth.

1189: These microbes, called thermophiles,

1191: or heat lovers thrive in extreme environments

1195: like the waters of Grand Prismatic Spring.

1198: There are literally billions of these tiny orange

1201: colored microbes here,

1203: so many they create dramatic flame like patterns that look

1206: like a work of art that was painted

1208: by mother nature herself.

1211: Getting a chance to experience this colorful,

1213: steaming cauldron is why many come to Yellowstone

1217: in the first place.

1219: But there's nothing like seeing it all from the air.

1230: The Bagley Icefield,

1233: it's the largest non-polar ice field in North America.

1238: The Bagley is essentially a giant bathtub of solid ice.

1243: It's 120 miles long, six miles wide,

1246: and in some places a half a mile thick.

1250: Ice fields are created

1251: at high elevations where it's too cold to rain.

1255: But as snowfall accumulates over time

1257: it gets compacted under new layers

1259: of snow and gradually turns to solid ice.

1264: Ice that will eventually be the source of glaciers.

1268: It can be hard to see from above,

1270: but the ice in this giant bowl is actually flowing out

1274: into valleys between the surrounding mountains as glaciers.

1280: The Bagley is a giant in the world of ice,

1283: so it's not surprising that the glaciers

1285: it spawns are giants too.

1288: One of them is the largest and longest glacier in the world.

1293: The Bering.

1295: At its mouth, this one glacier is 10 miles wide.

1300: Every year it releases six and a half trillion gallons

1303: of water into the Gulf of Alaska.

1309: There are few natural environments as forbidding to humans

1312: as the treacherous surface of giant glaciers.

1317: Flying across the Bering is the only way to peer

1319: down into the thousands of deep

1321: and shifting crevaces that make up this glacier.

1326: Just one of these could easily swallow people

1328: and even aircraft whole.

1331: At its highest reaches, there are pools of meltwater

1334: and deceptive narrow cracks into which even the most

1337: experienced adventurers could disappear without a trace.

1344: The reason Las Vegas is able to be so lush

1346: and green today is because

1348: of what happened here in the 1930s

1351: when thousands of workers from across America

1354: flocked to southern Nevada to build this; The Hoover Dam.

1363: It lies just 25 miles east of the strip.

1368: If you were to peer down

1369: on this stretch of the Colorado River in the 1930s,

1372: you would've seen an army of workers below.

1377: They drilled holes for more than eight million pounds

1380: of dynamite, carved eight miles of tunnels

1383: through the canyon's walls and poured more concrete

1387: than had ever been poured on a single construction project

1390: anywhere in the world.

1394: Close to 100 men died building the Hoover Dam,

1398: but it's still considered one

1399: of America's greatest engineering achievements.

1405: The mission of the dam was to generate hydroelectric power,

1409: control flooding in the Colorado River,

1411: and to provide water for irrigation.

1416: Once it was completed, the valley started filling

1418: up with the water that is now known as Lake Mead.

1423: Today it's a popular recreation area for residents

1426: of Las Vegas, a welcome watery oasis in a desert land.

1432: But this lake is also what enables Las Vegas to survive.

1437: In the 1950s, pipelines started carrying water

1440: from Lake Mead into the Las Vegas valley,

1444: and with a plentiful and new source of water

1446: the valley's population could continue to grow.

1450: Today, there are two million residents in Clark County,

1454: seven times the number that lived here in 1970,

1457: and 90% of the water they use comes from Lake Mead.

1462: After water gets sucked out of the lake

1464: it's disinfected here before being pumped into the valley,

1471: But much of the water that's consumed inside homes

1474: and businesses in Las Vegas gets directed back

1477: to water treatment plants and is then used again.

1482: This stream is actually waste water from across the valley.

1486: It's making its journey back to Lake Mead.

1490: As it does, millions of gallons of water

1492: are being pumped back out of the lake 24/7

1495: to keep Las Vegas alive for another day.