Watch The World's Greatest Geological Wonders: 36 Spectacular Sites Online

The World's Greatest Geological Wonders: 36 Spectacular Sites

Where to Watch The World's Greatest Geological Wonders: 36 Spectacular Sites

36
Planetary Wonders--Out of This World
2013-07-26
Tour some of the amazing geological features beyond Earth, among them planet-circling lava flows on Venus and the solar system's largest volcano and canyon on Mars. Close with the hydrocarbon lakes on Saturn's moon Titan, proving that there is no end to geological wonders throughout the cosmos.

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35
A Montage of Geologic Mini-Wonders
2013-07-26
In an entertaining change of pace, watch a countdown of 10 geological wonders that are hard to classify, from number 10--the White Cliffs of Dover--to number 1--a geological mystery in Death Valley that would seem like a hoax if it weren't true.

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34
Arizona Meteor Crater--Visitors from Outer Space
2013-07-26
Meteor Crater in Arizona is the best preserved of Earth's few remaining impact craters. Why does the moon have more than 500,000 craters at least as large?

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33
Auroras--Light Shows on the Edge of Space
2013-07-26
Investigate a stunning atmospheric phenomenon caused by events both inside Earth and in outer space. The shimmering colors of auroras result when particles from the solar wind are accelerated in Earth's magnetic field, which is generated by Earth's churning iron core.

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32
Siwa Oasis--Paradise amidst Desolation
2013-07-26
Located in the eastern Sahara Desert, Siwa is an island of water in a giant sea of sand. Investigate how an oasis with 1,000 springs can exist in one of the driest places on Earth.

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31
Namib/Kalahari Deserts--Sand Mountains
2013-07-26
Contrast two of the world's most fascinating deserts, the Namib and Kalahari deserts in southern Africa. The Atlantic shoreline of the Namib Desert has been aptly named the Skeleton Coast.

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30
Salar de Uyuni--Flattest Place on Earth
2013-07-26
Travel to the world's largest salt flat, Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. Almost the size of Connecticut, Uyuni is the flattest place on the planet.

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29
The Dead Sea--Sinking and Salinity
2013-07-26
Begin a series of lectures on desert regions by exploring the Dead Sea. Learn why this body of water on the border between Israel and Jordan is almost nine times saltier than the ocean and has the lowest elevation of any place on Earth.

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28
The Maldives--Geologic Paradox
2013-07-26
Home to some of the world's most beautiful beaches, the Maldives in the Indian Ocean show the tranquil end-stage of ocean islands built on hotspots. The volcanoes beneath this coral reef archipelago are long since dormant, and the islands themselves barely rise above sea level.

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27
Iceland--Where Fire Meets Ice
2013-07-26
Visit Iceland, a geologist's paradise where you can walk along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland is a hotspot that sits atop the plate boundary that divides North and South America from Europe and Africa.

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26
Kawah Ijen--World's Most Acid Lake
2013-07-26
Imagine a place where steam is so acidic that it burns your lungs, where flaming, liquid sulfur condenses from that steam, and a turquoise-colored lake is filled with the equivalent of battery acid. This hellish place is the crater lake of Kawah Ijen on the island of Java in Indonesia.

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25
Yellowstone--Geysers and Hot Springs
2013-07-26
What happens when a hotspot is beneath a continent? The answer is Yellowstone National Park, a wonderland of geysers and hot springs nestled in the gigantic caldera of a supervolcano.

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24
Hawaii--Volcanic Island Beauty
2013-07-26
The Hawaiian Islands are part of the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain, which stretches 3,600 miles across the western Pacific Ocean. This feature is mostly straight, except for a curious sharp bend.

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23
Bay of Fundy--Inexorable Cycle of Tides
2013-07-23
Why are the tides in Canada's Bay of Fundy exceptionally high? Probe the principles of tides--what causes them, why the times of high and low tide vary from day to day, and the peculiar geometry between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick that results in an extraordinary tidal range.

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22
Rock of Gibraltar--Catastrophic Floods
2013-07-26
The Rock of Gibraltar marks the gateway from the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean--a connection that has been closed on and off through recent geologic time. Explore the currents, catastrophic floods, and drastic sea-level changes that have occurred at the strait of Gibraltar and throughout the Mediterranean basin.

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21
Fiordland National Park--Majestic Fjords
2013-07-26
Visit the stunning fjords of Fiordland National Park in New Zealand, focusing on the most famous of these flooded glacial valleys, Milford Sound. The drama of the landscape is matched by tumultuous tectonic forces that are slowly ripping New Zealand apart.

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20
Columbia Glacier--Unusual Glacier Cycles
2013-07-26
Witness the power of glaciers, which carry a continuous stream of ice and rock from the tops of mountain ranges down to the base--often to the sea, such as at Columbia Glacier in Alaska. Chart the rapid retreat of Columbia Glacier since 1980, which has been triggered by climate change.

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19
Antarctica--A World of Ice
2013-07-26
Head south to a pristine, unearthly continent: Antarctica. Explore the varied geology and the complex behavior of the giant ice sheets that flow relentlessly toward the ocean.

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18
Devils Tower--Igneous Enigmas
2013-07-26
Famous as the landing pad for aliens in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Devils Tower in Wyoming is an otherworldly geological formation. Discover how this massive tower of igneous columns developed.

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17
Uluru/Ayers Rock--Sacred Nature of Rocks
2013-07-26
Go to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia to inspect two popular attractions shaped by erosion: Ayres Rock, known locally as Uluru, and the Kata Tjuta rock domes. Trace the history of moving plates, rising and receding seas, and constant weathering that created these impressive structures.

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16
Bryce Canyon--Creative Carvings of Erosion
2013-07-26
Continue your study of erosional features with Utah's Bryce Canyon, the densest display of weathered rock pinnacles, called hoodoos, anywhere in the world. Learn that Bryce Canyon isn't really a canyon because it hasn't been formed by a river.

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15
Ha Long Bay--Dramatic Karst Landscapes
2013-07-26
The picturesque limestone islands in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay are an example of mature karst topography. Discover how the bay's cone-shaped towers are related to the sinkholes in Lecture 14.

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14
Great Blue Hole--Coastal Symmetry in Sinkholes
2013-07-26
Probe the mystery of the Great Blue Hole, an enormous submerged sinkhole ringed by a coral reef off the coast of Belize. Study the processes that create sinkholes, and investigate the nature of karst topography, which is produced by the erosion of limestone.

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13
Cave of Crystals--Exquisite Caves
2013-07-26
Focus on the spectacular shapes, such as stalagmites, stalactites, flowstones, and other cave features formed by minerals slowly precipitating from water. Then visit the recently discovered Cave of Crystals in Mexico, a science-fiction-like world with individual crystals up to 35 feet long.

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12
Mammoth Cave--Worlds Underground
2013-07-26
Water doesn't just flow on the surface; it also flows underground, carving caves in the process. The largest cave system in the world is Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky.

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11
Iguazu Falls--Thundering Waterfalls
2013-07-26
Waterfalls are among nature's most beautiful spectacles, and the most impressive falls form under unusual geological conditions. Along the border of Brazil and Argentina, tour thundering Iguazu Falls, a display of 275 separate falls over a 1.

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10
The Amazon Basin--Lungs of the Planet
2013-07-26
The Amazon River collects rainfall from a huge region, called the Amazon basin. Trace the basin's extensive network of tributaries, which produce 20% of the fresh water that flows into the ocean.

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9
The Ganges Delta--Earth's Fertile Lands
2013-07-26
Much of the rock eroded from the Himalayas ends up in the Ganges River delta, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. Learn how a delta forms and how the Ganges is both life-sustaining and destructive--qualities that give it a religious significance for millions of people.

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8
The Himalayas--Mountains at Earth's Roof
2013-07-26
What makes the highest mountains in the world so high? Follow the events that created Mount Everest and the rest of the Himalayan range on the vast Tibetan Plateau.

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7
The Grand Canyon--Earth's Layers
2013-07-26
Read the incredible story told in the mile-deep layers of the Grand Canyon. Investigate the canyon's formation and its connection to the opening of the Gulf of California and the birth of the San Andreas Fault.

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6
Burgess Shale--Rocks and the Keys to Life
2013-07-26
Chart the evolution of life revealed in the extraordinary fossils of the Burgess Shale in British Columbia. This mountainside quarry records the proliferation of new organisms--both familiar and bizarre--that followed a mass extinction half a billion years ago.

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5
Erta Ale--Compact Fury of Lava Lakes
2013-07-26
Zoom in on a remarkable feature of the African Rift Valley: the lava lake at Erta Ale in Ethiopia. This seething cauldron of molten rock is the oldest of the world's five active lava lakes, and it replicates on a small scale the complex process of plate tectonics.

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4
African Rift Valley--Cracks into the Earth
2013-07-26
Visit the African Rift Valley, a mid-ocean ridge in the making. From the Red Sea to Mount Kilimanjaro, tectonic forces are splitting Africa apart, forming a new ocean in the process.

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3
Galapagos Rift--Wonders of Mid-Ocean Ridges
2013-07-26
Continue your study of phenomena associated with plate tectonics by visiting the Galapagos Islands, made famous by Charles Darwin. This magnificent archipelago is on a volcanic hotspot near a mid-ocean ridge, formed by moving tectonic plates.

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2
Mount Fuji--Sleeping Power
2013-07-26
Turn from eruptions to volcanoes themselves--in particular, Mount Fuji in Japan, a sacred site whose nearly perfect cone shape is a popular subject in Japanese art. Investigate the origin of volcanoes such as Mount Fuji and the special conditions that produce their sturdy symmetrical cones.

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1
Santorini--Impact of Volcanic Eruptions
2013-07-26
Learn Professor Wysession's criteria for choosing more than 200 different geologic wonders in nearly 120 countries. Then explore the first on his list: the beautiful Greek island of Santorini, which is the relic of a volcanic eruption that had a profound effect on the ancient Mediterranean world.

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The World's Greatest Geological Wonders: 36 Spectacular Sites is a breathtakingly engrossing documentary television series of 2013 brought to us by The Great Courses, a leading producer of educational media. This epic adventure spanning 36 episodes is meticulously crafted for viewers with a deep fascination for the natural world and the complex geological processes that shape it.

In the series, we're taken on a global journey from the comfort of our homes, witnessing the grandeur of Mother Nature in all of her glorious splendor. Guided by brilliant educators and geologists, the show focuses on the most awe-inspiring geological wonders cataloguing them across breathtaking sites, each seeped in astounding natural beauty and rich geological history.

From fiery volcanoes and monumental glaciers to enchanting canyons and massive waterfalls, viewers are given a broad panorama of the planet's mind-boggling geological diversity. At every step, each wonder is thoroughly deconstructed with detailed explanations of the geoscience behind its formation, growth, current state, and eventual end.

Effort has been given to include a diverse range of environments in different stages of geological life. This lets the audience gain a comprehensive understanding of not just the individual wonders, but of the broader geological landscape as well—painting a coherent picture of the processes that take place in shaping our world.

The World's Greatest Geological Wonders explores locales ranging from the sun-drenched expanse of the Sahara Desert, where shifting sand dunes narrate tales of changing climates, to the Antarctic Ice Shelves bearing stark testament to Earth's polar extremities. From the awe-inspiring grandeur of Yellowstone National Park, where vibrant geysers and hot springs offer insights into geothermal phenomena, to the eerie beauty of eerie karst landscapes, striking remnants of the forces of erosion and dissolution at work.

The show strikes the perfect balance between the academic and the mesmerizing, making it an engaging watch for professionals, students, and amateurs alike. Each episode is expertly scripted and presented, seamlessly blending educational content with stunning on-site cinematography. The series brings the wonders to life, engulfing you in an immersive experience so compelling, you could almost feel the desert winds on your face or the crisp Antarctic breeze tousling your hair.

Not just a treat for the eyes and the mind, The World's Greatest Geological Wonders also caters to your sense of adventure. Each location introduced comes with its own set of opportunities for exploration and adrenaline pumping activities, some woven into well-beaten tourist paths while others lay hidden as off-the-beaten-track gems that see few but the most intrepid of travelers.

Dr. Michael E. Wysession, the host and the professor of Earth and Planetary Science at Washington University in St. Louis, lends his reputable expertise to each episode. His deep understanding of the subject matter shines through each explanation, making even the more abstract or complex concepts understandable and relatable to the audience. His passion for geology is infectious, and viewers will find themselves developing a newfound interest and admiration for the fascinating field.

In essence, The World's Greatest Geological Wonders: 36 Spectacular Sites serves as both an in-depth educational course and an awe-inspiring travelogue. It’s an exploration of just not the geological wonders, but also the cultures, traditions, and history that have flourished around these iconic landmarks, making the series a celebration of the breathtaking beauty and complexity of our planet.

This emblematic tour-de-force encapsulates the immense power, mysteries, and mesmerising beauty of Earth's geological phenomenon, turning the show into an absolute must-watch for anyone who yearns to decipher the secret language of Earth's ancient stone as it narrates tales from times beyond our memory. The World's Greatest Geological Wonders: 36 Spectacular Sites leaves you with a humbling realization of nature's potency, the transient insignificance of the human timeline, and a marvel for the intricate tapestry of geological phenomena that etch the world around us, captivating your imagination and inspiring your sense of wonder like never before.

In this fascinating exploration of planet Earth's stunning vistas, you’ll taste the thrill of discovery, the grandeur of geology, and a stirring sense of wonder for the world we inhabit. By the end of the series, you'll be left with an enriched appreciation for the extraordinary planet we call home.

So, sit back and let this 2013 masterpiece from The Great Courses take you on a joy ride that transverses space and time, introducing you to the beautiful language of Earth etched in its geology.

The World's Greatest Geological Wonders: 36 Spectacular Sites is a series categorized as a canceled/ended. Spanning 1 seasons with a total of 36 episodes, the show debuted on 2013. The series has earned a no reviews from both critics and viewers. The IMDb score stands at undefined.

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The Great Courses
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