All language subtitles for What.on.Earth.S03E03.1080p.DSCP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN_track3_[eng]

narrator: they're watching you.

more than 4,000 satellites
circle the earth.

every day they uncover new,
mysterious phenomenon.

some defy explanation.

porges: that's crazy.

What is going on here?

Kourounis: whatever it is,
It can't be good.

narrator: I weird pink mass
threatens a beach in india.

Rob: it looks like some sort
Of swarm.

narrator: unidentified shapes
disturb the antarctic seas.

Robertshaw: whatever's causes
Those ripples must be enormous.

narrator: radar detects a
strange pulsing mass

in the skies over texas.

Steven: is this something that
We need to worry about?

narrator: baffling phenomena,
mysteries from space.

what on earth are they?

[ dramatic music ]

* *

the geoeye-1 satellite
captures a disturbing image

in the sands of egypt,

hundreds of black holes amongst
an ancient city of the dead.

hanson: this is very clearly an
archaeological site.

And these holes are everywhere.

Marchetti: I see something
That's digging deep

Within the earth's surface.

Altaweel: this is not the kind
Of thing we notice

Typically in egypt.

Disturbing is the way I would
Call it.

Marchetti: and you see little
Divots

Littering the area of the image,

And so the question is,

What is causing that divot,

And why is it so dark?

narrator: the image was taken
over dahshur

20 miles south of cairo.

this area is a vast necropolis
comprising some of egypt's

most ancient tombs,

including the legendary black
pyramid.

dodson: dahshur is a huge
cemetery site

And was one of the number of
Cemeteries which serviced

The ancient capsule of memphis

and features a number of
pyramids, pharaohs,

along with tombs of their
families and their officials.

narrator: the ancient tombs
were packed with treasures

the kings and priests would
take with them

into the afterlife,
from jewelry and gold

to furniture and chariots.

as long ago as 2600 b.C.,

the riches made the tombs a
prime target for grave robbers.

could the holes visible in the
satellite image

be the work of ancient thieves?

narrator: ancient thieves
carried out their crimes

ignoring hieroglyphics that
warned of vengeance

from beyond the grave.

grave sites were often robbed
by opportunist thieves,

including embalmers, guards,
even priests.

most tombs were stripped of
their treasures

and even the mummified body,

some within months of burial
thousands of years ago.

but these holes do not appear
to be ancient.

satellite analyst amanda
marchetti examines the image

to assess when and why the
holes were created.

marchetti: when I look at these
features,

I see that they are very dark.

When things are very dark, that
Means holes that are so deep

And so cavernous, the light
Doesn't reflect.

It doesn't bounce off the bottom
Of the cavern

And come back up to our
Satellite.

narrator: egypt is a desert
nation.

holes in the sand like the ones
seen in the image

can sometimes be evidence of
attempts to dig down to water.

marchetti: when things are very
dark, it could be

A deep well of water

That's just absorbing all the
Light.

narrator: some ancient
civilizations dug large numbers

of holes as part of a desert
water storage system

called qanats.

altaweel: ancient qanats are
underground water features.

they essentially are canals
that are built underground

to bring water.

think of aqueducts but running
underground.

hanson: historically, qanats
are in the middle east.

They're used often during the
Islamic period

As a way to transport water
Without having it evaporate,

because you have it covered,
and it's underground.

altaweel: what we see are
access holes

That allowed people to go
Underground to excavate

These tunnels and also perhaps
To maintain them.

narrator: archaeologists
compare the image

of the strange holes at dahshur

with known qanats
irrigation systems

from across the middle east.

but they don't match.

Altaweel: the pattern tends to
Be much more systematic

When you're looking at qanats,
One hole follows another,

Where in this case, we see a
Large aggregation of holes

In one area but other areas no
Holes.

hanson: the nile is only four
miles away.

You don't have to do anything
Elaborate to get water here.

[ light electronic music ]

narrator: marchetti considers
if a clue may lie

in the sheer number of the
holes.

Marchetti: the irregular pattern
Is not consistent

To somebody that's drilling for
Oil

Or somebody that's even looking
For water.

This is somebody that has found
Something of immense value,

And they are going back time and
Time again to pull more

Of whatever this is out of the
Earth.

[ mysterious music ]

narrator: experts look for
clues

in older satellite imagery
to help crack the mystery.

they reveal virtually no holes
at all.

analysis of images going back
more than a decade

shows that the appearance of
the holes coincides directly

with a significant event in
recent egyptian history.

Marchetti: we have a 15-year
Archive,

And as I looked at this spot
Throughout those years,

I can see the holes begin
And then blow up

Right around 2013.

narrator: the dates tie in with
the explosion

of he egyptian revolution
and the arab spring.

the rebellion ousted a
president

but also had repercussions for
the country's ancient sites.

the breakdown in law and order
sparked a plague

of modern-day looting.

Altaweel: authority was unknown
Or unclear at various times.

It still is in some parts of
Egypt.

so we see these desert sites
less protected, perhaps,

less secured, and so looters,
of course,

are targeting these areas.

Dodson: fundamentally, there
Were three reasons why

The looting took place.

First of all, there was a
Desire to get back

at the government, who sort of
effectively owned this stuff.

there was the opportunity,

because the police were being
withdrawn.

And finally, there was the
Age-old lust for treasure.

hanson: it can happen
throughout the world.

In the american southwest, it's
Directly connected

To meth and the drug trade.

In other parts of the world,
It's connected

To organized crime and the
Mafia.

[ dramatic music ]

narrator: the widespread
revival of tomb robbing

in egypt shocked
archaeologists.

Dodson: tomb robbery is always a
Tragedy.

one is just the human feeling
of having a person's body

torn to pieces in search of
treasure,

Often not found at all,
But also for the loss

Of knowledge as well.

narrator: mohamed youssef ali
witnessed firsthand

The surge in this desecration of
Tombs.

Hanson: when looters come in,
They rip that artifact out of

The rest of its story.

that's an object that has been
divorced

from the entire archaeological
record.

narrator: investigators may
have solved the mystery

of the black holes in the
satellite image,

but the promise of easy money
still lures tomb robbers

to defy the curses of the
ancient kings.

and modern egypt pays the
price.

hanson: and these objects are
being purchased

where there isn't enforcement
against the sale

of stolen artifacts, and we see
that in america,

we see that in the u.K.,

And we see that elsewhere in
Europe as well.

Marchetti: I can see the
Immense amount of theft

That's occurring on an
Industrial scale

To culture heritage

That we might never be able to
See again.

But then I also get really
Excited,

Because what I'm seeing is
Evidence of something

That satellite imagery can be
Used to help stop.

[ dramatic music ]

* *

narrator: a weather radar in
texas lights up with a strange,

unidentified pulsing object

moving ominously across its
skies.

Rob: if this is a cloud,
Then why is it pulsing

And rippling?

[ dramatic music ]

Capps: it looks like a--a brain
Mri, not a weather pattern.

Steven: is this something
Man-made?

Is this something that we need
To worry about?

narrator: texas meteorologists
spot a strange pulsing object

moving across their radar
screens.

and the object isn't just
moving.

it's getting bigger.

Schuld: within about an hour,
You go from nothing to this

Huge, fanned-out look on your
Radar.

narrator: the chilling image is
captured in the skies

above san antonio, texas.

Capps: it looks like a--a brain
Mri, not a weather pattern.

narrator: paul yura from the
national weather service

office near san antonio is on
the case.

Yura: we started seeing these
Plumes right after sunset.

there's got to be something
going on out there.

Capps: logically I'd start
Looking to see,

What else shares this air space?

narrator: just 25 miles from
where the radar detected

the anomaly is lackland air
force base.

could a military training
exercise offer an explanation?

Capps: it's got an f-16
Detachment.

And it also has the special
Forces pararescue group.

[ dramatic music ]

these are the pjs, they're
called.

they are the baddest of the
bad.

Because they have to be able to
Do every job

A special forces team can do.

they're the ones who you want
parachuting in to save you.

combat air drops happen under
the cover of darkness,

and so training exercises do as
well.

radar bounces off of just about
anything,

Not just boats and planes,
Bounce off clouds,

Which is why we have weather
Radar stations,

And also human parachutists.

narrator: a large-scale
parachute exercise

could explain what appeared on
the radar.

but some elements of the
military theory don't fit.

Capps: the problem with the
Theory of this being

A special forces parachute
Exercise is,

They don't actually jump there.

they go to fort bragg to jump.

They go out to the yuma proving
Grounds to do high-altitude,

Low-opening drops.

They train all over the world,

But they're doing paperwork in
Lackland.

narrator: meteorologists come
up with a new theory

for the strange radar image,

a rare and devastating natural
phenomenon.

Cerveny: it's relatively new in
Meteorology.

We call it a microburst,
Nature's own air bomb.

it's a sudden downdraft of air
that smashes into the ground,

And it spreads out in a
Bomb-like dispersal pattern.

schuld: they can be very
strong,

Up to 100 miles per hour.

And they can cause a lot of
Damage.

narrator: if the microburst
theory is right,

it could spell disaster.

Cerveny: the person that
Discovered it, dr. Ted fujita,

Likened them to atomic bomb
Blasts,

Like in hiroshima and nagasaki.

[ loud explosion ]

when this massive, very
powerful cooled air sinks down

and smashes into the ground,

It spreads out in a bomb-like
Blast pattern

That actually is very equivalent
To the kind of destruction

That we would see with something
Like an atomic bomb.

narrator: microbursts don't
just cause devastation

at ground level.

they're also potentially deadly
for aircraft.

Steven: microbursts can really
Affect the airflow

Around an aircraft.

Aircraft need to be very wary of
Microbursts

So that they can land safely.

narrator: but further analysis
of weather data reveals

that at the time of the
anomaly's appearance,

conditions were not right for
microbursts.

cerveny: there are
thunderstorms in the area

to the far northeast,

But right actually where this
Event is taking place,

There's no storms.

And one of the critical things
To have a microburst is,

you have to have a severe storm
present.

and so if this circular
formation isn't a microburst,

There is a really interesting
Question as to what it

Could possibly be.

narrator: scientists consider
that the source of the circular

mass might lie directly
beneath it at ground level.

Schuld: for most weather people,
You're gonna take a look at

The spatial area.

what is around that land?

narrator: they discover that
the anomaly's point of origin

appears to be a weird hole in
the earth.

Rob: if you line up this
Radar image with a map,

It turns out it's really close
To a cave,

And we all know what lives in
Caves.

[ dramatic music ]

narrator: the occupants of the
cave are historically

one of nature's most feared and
misunderstood creatures.

Hutchins: bracken cave is the
Home to the largest colony

Of bats in the world.

There are 20 million mexican
Free-tailed bats

living in the cave now.

[ eerie music ]

These bats migrate into central
Texas in march and here

All summer long to have and
Raise their young.

* *

So that's really why this place
Is so special.

* *

narrator: when dusk falls, the
ravenous bats swarm out

in search of their prey.

* *

Rob: when you see 20 million
Bats emerging from a cave,

It's like scene from a batman
Movie.

* *

Hutchins: you're literally gonna
See a vortex,

A tornado of bats in front of
You

As they spiral out of the cave

Up to 8,000,
10,000 feet to feed.

narrator: the truth behind the
strange anomaly is a wonder

of the natural world.

Yura: the weather radar is
Picking up

These very small bats.

hutchins: what looks like a
rain cloud is actually

A cloud of bats.

* *

narrator: a satellite orbiting
the south atlantic ocean

captures an image of two vast,
ghostly objects

that appear to be hurtling
through the water.

art: they kind of look like
ships,

But when you start looking at
The scale of them,

You realize they're really much
Larger than ships.

muller-karger: they also seem
to have a wake of darker water.

I have no idea what we're
Looking at.

narrator: nasa's terra
satellite captures

two unidentified ghostly
objects.

the white shapes leave a trail
of huge ripples,

suggesting that whatever they
are,

they're moving at great speed.

Steven: what are those two
Structures in the water?

narrator: the image showing the
objects was taken above

the south atlantic ocean 800
miles north of antarctica.

nasa officials at the goddard
space flight center in maryland

contact glaciologist kelly
brunt.

Brunt: nasa earth observatory
Saw this image,

And they got really excited
About the ripple pattern

In the image, and they asked me
To investigate it.

narrator: the white shapes
strongly resemble icebergs,

but icebergs don't move fast
enough to leave visible wakes

in the water.

the image presents
investigators with a puzzle.

Cerveny: when I'm looking at
This, the question that comes

To mind is,

What else is causing these
Strange ripple marks?

narrator: if these objects
aren't icebergs,

then what are they?

a chilling possibility emerges.

the huge unidentified bodies
are moving through the most

fiercely disputed territory in
the south atlantic ocean.

could the ripples be evidence
of covert military activity

in waters with a history of
violent conflict?

[ loud explosion ]

more than 30 years ago,
argentinean troops

invaded the falkland, sandwich,
and south georgia islands.

the falklands war erupted.

Robertshaw: the area we're
Talking about is the very sense

of that conflict between
argentina and the u.K.

It's still very, very hotly
Disputed

And very important to both
Countries.

narrator: after a 74-day
battle,

the invading forces surrender.

but to this day, relations
between britain and argentina

remain tense.

Robertshaw: even though we're
1,000 miles from land,

There's still submarines,
There's still patrol vessels,

Both sides actually pursuing
Their claims

For actually dominance of the
Area.

narrator: the huge wakes
trailing the objects in the

image are compared to those of
a nuclear-class submarine.

there's just one problem.

they're too big.

robertshaw: if a submarine's
deer under water,

You won't see a trace.

If it comes onto the surface,
You might,

but those ripples seem
much bigger than those

made by a submarine.

Whatever's causing those ripples
In the ocean

Must be enormous.

narrator: perhaps the strangest
explanation put forward

for the large unidentified
forms

is that they could be ships
made from ice.

this insane idea has its
origins in world war ii.

Robertshaw: during the second
World war,

The british had an idea about
Building aircraft carriers

out of ice.

basically, you've got to think
of an iceberg with an engine.

narrator: the ice ship is not
just some weird experiment

that never left the laboratory.

this bizarre piece of naval
technology actually got built.

Robertshaw: ice ships were very
Much supported by the

Prime minister winston
Churchill.

The idea was to build out of ice
And hemp

floating ships, aircraft
carriers even.

these ice ships would have been
deployed in polar regions,

And even though they move
Slowly,

They would leave a clear wake.

narrator: a prototype was
launched in 1943.

but the concept never went into
full-scale production.

the top secret ice ship project
was scrapped.

Robertshaw: the reason for the
Original iceberg ship

Was a mid-atlantic stopping
Point,

Refueling point for aircraft.

Modern aircraft don't need to do
That.

They can make it from continent
To continent without refueling.

It's very unlikely we're looking
At a new version

Of the ice ship of the second
World war.

narrator: no man-made vessel is
responsible for the strange

ripples trailing the bodies.

something else must have
created them.

closer image analysis offers up
a new clue.

Muller-karger: not instantly
Clear whether these wakes

Or waves are in the water.

It's almost as if these wakes
Are in the clouds.

narrator: what appears to be
ripples in the water

may actually be evidence of one
of our planet's

weirdest natural phenomena,
cloud wakes.

[ dramatic music ]

* *

brunt: a cloud wake is where
clouds are moving

Relatively unobstructed, and
Then they encounter

Some sort of obstruction.

and the clouds have to flow
around that obstruction.

This is very similar to water

Moving around a rock in a
Stream.

narrator: strange though it may
seem, it's physically possible

for a large enough object to
create a wake in the sky.

art: if the iceberg is big
enough, it could basically

Block winds that leads to this
Rippling effect in the clouds

That we see in this satellite
Image.

narrator: detailed analysis
confirms the unidentified

white objects are two of the
largest icebergs ever seen

at this latitude.

their huge size makes them
easily large enough

to create ripples in clouds.

Brunt: the icebergs in this
Image are very big.

They're about 10 miles long and
About 1,000 feet thick.

Steven: it's sort of like a
Miniature island in itself.

if you imagine an iceberg maybe
30, 40 meters high

in a very low-level flow,
well, what's going to happen?

it can either go around the
iceberg,

or it might need to be forced
above the iceberg.

And if it does get forced above
The iceberg,

Then all of a sudden, now we're
Into this pattern

Of a wave train behind the
Iceberg.

narrator: what looked like
waves in the water

was in optical illusion created
by highly unusual weather

conditions caught on camera.

cerveny: the reason that we are
seeing this ripples is that

These are almost fog-like cloud
Formations

As opposed to a very high
Cirrus.

and so they're able to give
that impression of being

Very close to the ocean, because
Really they are

Very close to the ocean.

narrator: a satellite captures
bizarre circular shapes

carved into a remote
mountainside in south america.

someone or something has
transformed this landscape.

Horton: this is really weird,
Isn't it?

It's just extraordinary.

porges: these rings just kind
of rise from the ground.

it's incredible.

What could this be?

narrator: the worldview-2
satellite captures an image

of huge circles cut high in the
mountains of the remote andes.

porges: who could possibly
have carved these

Into the mountainside and why?

narrator: the strange image is
photographed above cuzco region

of peru in south america.

the circles appear to be
man-made

and date back hundreds of
years.

they've baffled experts since
their discovery in 1931.

Porges: this is no accident.

Somebody put a lot of effort

Into building these concentric
Circles.

Horton: why are they so
Elaborate?

Why are they clearly laid out in
These two valleys

where considerable engineering
has been undertaken?

narrator: archaeologists call
this strange structure

the moray complex.

it sits at the epicenter of the
feared incan empire.

Porges: the incas made some
Interesting structures

All over the place, and many of
Them

We still haven't figured out.

[ dramatic music ]

narrator: the inca were
notorious for gruesome

public rituals.

catastrophes such as
earthquakes were seen as

the wrath of the gods, and
humans were sacrificed

to appease them.

in extreme cases, they would
even resort to child sacrifice

called capcocha.

thousands of children were
strangled or buried alive.

is it possible moray is a
killing field

for ritual murder,
an arena of death?

porges: the round-shaped and
tiered sides.

What comes to mind is an ancient
Greco-roman amphitheater.

you can just imagine some sort
of gladiatorial game

being played to the cheers of
bloodthirsty crowds.

narrator: murderous sport was
also a reality further north

in central american
civilizations.

stone carvings depict the
aztecs and maya playing grisly

ball games that ended in adult
human sacrifice.

but archaeological evidence
suggests the grim tradition

never made it as far south as
peru.

urton: of course, anything is
possible, but we have no

Notice in spanish chronicles

That the incas had spectator
Sports.

narrator: further image
analysis leads some experts

to believe the complex could be
some sort of elaborate

fertility symbol.

giljseghem: some people have
seen in the physical layout

of the site of moray

A form of phallic symbol
Associated with fertility.

horton: as we look it from the
air,

it looks just like a male penis
and a couple of testicles,

You know, so, you know, well, it
Could be.

narrator: in ancient societies,
fertility was a matter

of life and death, and it
depended on the good will

of the gods.

horton: we do know that the
incas--actually,

they keyed on fertility and
fertility deities.

Their most famous, of course,
Was pachamama,

and they certainly viewed
worshipping fertility gods

As an important part of their
General cosmological activity.

narrator: archaeologist carmen
arrospide has been

investigating this site for
years.

Arrospide:
[speaking spanish ]

narrator: but some
archaeologists aren't buying

the fertility theory.

Giljseghem: I'm really not sure
That this is going on

In this case.

Urton: I don't think that the
Shape of it had anything to do

With genitalia.

narrator: experts look for
further clues in the shape

and structure of the complex.

ground-level exploration of
moray

reveals a set of terraces,

each cut into the mountainside
at regular intervals

six feet in height.

Giljseghem: they look like
Agricultural terraces,

but agricultural terraces
usually aren't built like that

Using concentric circles, so
This is kind of an oddity.

horton: it suggests that they
might actually have had

A rather special purpose.

narrator: the stepped terraces
could be evidence

that this ancient civilization
practiced advanced

experimental science previously
thought to be

far beyond human capabilities
at this time.

Giljseghem: there's the
Hypothesis of it being

A agricultural laboratory
That I kind of like.

narrator: archaeologists have
put forward the theory

that the incas were
experimenting with growing

crops at different
microclimates.

horton: the temperature
difference between the top

And the bottom is around 15
Degrees.

narrator: growing plants on
different levels would have

allowed the incas to experiment
and grow food

most suited to specific
environmental conditions.

Porges: now, if you've got an
Empire that spans hundreds

Of miles of mountain ranges,
Knowing what you could grow

At different altitude in
Different conditions

Kind of useful.

horton: what's remarkable about
this is,

It shows that the incas
Were scientists.

narrator: archaeologists are
only now beginning to unravel

the secrets of moray.

how the inca came to learn
their strange science

is a mystery yet to be solved.

the ikonos observation
satellite

orbits above india.

tracking along a river, it
reveals a disturbing image.

Rob: there's something
Strange going on here.

It looks like some sort of
Swarm.

Marchetti: what are earth is
Going on

In this region right here?

narrator: the ikonos satellite
captures an

extraordinary image over india,

a huge red mass clinging to a
riverbank.

Porges: what is this?
What could this possibly be?

narrator: the image was taken
over the yamuna river

near the city of allahabad.

at more than 2 million square
feet,

the seething red mass is nearly
40 times bigger

than a football field.

[ dramatic music ]

Marchetti: I see the pattern
Starting here.

It moves along the shoreline,
And it collects.

There's a large mass as it moves
To here.

There would have to be a
Scientific explanation.

narrator: is the blood-colored
earth evidence

of a deadly event?

Rob: what could turn a
Riverbank red?

narrator: investigators
consider that the blood-colored

mass could be a huge group of
living creatures.

Rob: lots of animals gather
Together in large numbers,

Because it helps them to share
Very valuable resources,

Protection from predators.

flamingos, for instance, are
found in the tens of thousands

Gathering together in pink
Masses looking for food.

narrator: vast colonies of up
to a half a million flamingos

have been recorded in india,

more than enough to be captured
by satellite.

Rob: you can see flamingos
When they gather in large

Numbers from space.

narrator: but closer inspection
of the image casts doubt

on the theory.

flamingos only gather in water.

Rob: problem is, most of the
Color is on the land,

Not in the water, so it's not
Gonna be flamingos.

narrator: investigators look to
the surrounding area for clues

to what could be happening in
the image.

the photograph was shot close
to the city of allahabad,

which is one of the most
polluted cities in the world.

the proximity arouses fears
that the red stain could be

a garbage mountain.

rob: one common thing that
we are finding on beaches

around the world right now is
trash.

But if we're finding trash here,
That is a large area.

We're talking about tons and
Tons of trash.

Porges: could we be looking at a
Massive garbage spill?

narrator: discarded trash is a
massive problem

in india's waterways.

more than half of its 445
rivers are reported to be

polluted with litter and other
toxic waste.

Muller-karger: debris can wash
Up on beaches,

And sometimes it can be in such
Concentrations that it can

Cover up the beach itself.

it can be anything from rubber
duckies to tires

to entire refrigerators and
kitchens.

rob: tons of trash and
debris have been known

To wash up on beaches after a
Typhoon or a tsunami.

could this be what we're
looking at?

narrator: japan's notorious
fukushima disaster

provides a grim example of how
the forces of nature

can concentrate human waste.

muller-karger: the 2011
fukushima earthquake

led to a tsunami

That washed trash out into the
Middle of the pacific.

there are rumors of a trash
island in the middle

of the ocean.

narrator: in india, it would be
possible for a storm

to sweep tons of trash along
the yamuna river.

but the geographical location
of the image casts doubt

on this theory.

muller-karger: this image was
taken pretty much

in the middle of india,

so it's not likely that you
have a typhoon.

There's no--no natural event
That has caused a disaster

Of this scale.

narrator: on close examination
of the photograph,

image analyst amanda marchetti
recognizes something

she has seen before but rarely
on this scale.

Marchetti: what I believe I'm
Actually seeing is

A mass of people,

People coming together for some
Reason and gathering

Around the shore.

narrator: marchetti believes
the image shows

an extraordinary swarm of
humanity,

a gathering unseen anywhere on
earth.

the satellite has captured
millions of pilgrims

coming together for a spiritual
event that occurs once

every 12 years in this city.

naidu: this is called a kumbh
mela

from the hindu religion.

It's a massive gathering of
About 75 million or more people

At one time.

what is happening is, it's the
meeting of the two rivers,

the ganges and the yamuna.

And there is another imaginary
River that meets,

Which is named after the goddess
Saraswati.

Saraswati is the goddess of
Learning for hindus.

[ upbeat music ]

narrator: the number of hindu
pilgrims gathering in this

one location is equal to twice
the population

of the entire state of
california.

they bathe in the sacred rivers
to wash away their sins.

Rob: as far as religious
Gatherings go,

This is one of the largest in
The world.

narrator: but one question
about the image still remains,

the strange red color of the
mass on the shoreline.

Porges: it looks like somebody
Spilled red ink onto the beach.

Naidu: so the color red is
Coming from a lot of people

who wear red.
red is considered a color

of energy, shakti, of force.

Marchetti: what fascinates me
About this image

Is that one human standing alone
Can do something.

But when a mass of humans come
In together,

they can do powerful things

that we can see from outer
space.

narrator: high above bolivia, a
satellite reveals a dark streak

slashed across the andean
plateau.

this is one of the most
isolated and dangerous

places on earth.

Mike: my first reaction is, what
Is going on here?

it's really puzzling.

narrator: the unidentified
marking is two miles

from the remote, dusty city
of uyuni, southwest bolivia.

Kourounis: what would create a
Dark streak like that

Out in the desert?

narrator: the geoeye-1
satellite captures a strange

marking across the arid plains
of bolivia.

Kourounis: what would create a
Dark streak like that

Out in the desert?

Mike: there's no way to relate
The darkened-in areas

to any phenomenon that I can
think of.

It's a mystery.

narrator: meteorite hunter
robert ward considers

the possibility that the mark
could be evidence

of something from another
world,

the impact of a meteorite.

Ward: it's a great place to hunt
For meteorites,

So I'm familiar with the
Terrain.

narrator: meteorites are a
known hazard in this region.

on september 15, 2007,

one such meteorite struck the
earth.

[ loud explosion ]

it caused a 40-foot wide impact
crater

and scorched the surrounding
area.

this happened near the village
of carancas in peru.

just 300 miles north of the
black mark.

but the shape of the mark in
the satellite image

doesn't fit the profile for a
meteorite strike.

ward: meteorites typically come
in at a fairly high angle,

And when they hit, they're
Gonna leave a round crater

Most of the time.

They have been known to leave
Oblong craters

If it does come in at a very
Shallow angle,

Though this is rare.

It's not gonna create a skid
Mark like this,

So we know it's not a
Meteorite.

narrator: the vast dark scar
arouses fears

that the satellite has captured
the scene

of a horrific accident.

Marchetti: the worst-case
Scenario when I look at this

Image is that there's been some
Sort of a massive fire,

and so if something were to
have ignited,

my fear is that it burned
in a pattern similar to

A wick down a stick of dynamite.

narrator: a small airport close
to the black streak

offers a potential clue to how
a major fire could start

in a patch of arid desert.

Porges: just two miles away,
There's an airport.

Could this be the site of an
Airplane

That didn't quite make it?

narrator: pilots flying to the
city of uyuni

come in over the salar de uyuni
salt flats.

they face nerve-shredding
atmospheric conditions.

the 4,000-square-mile salt
flats

are the largest on the planet.

the desert winds can whip up
the salt crystals,

which can reduce visibility and
blind incoming aircraft.

[ alarm blaring ]

computerized voice: pull up.

pull up.

narrator: but further analysis
if the satellite image

grounds the air crash theory.

porges: when you look, you
don't see any aircraft

Wreckages, no wings, no wheels,
No nothing.

It has to be something else.

narrator: investigators cast
the net wider.

they believe the answer may lie
in the mining history

of mineral-rich bolivia and
neighboring chile.

mike: the atacama desert is
very dry,

Rocky area, almost no plant
Growth, and very few animals.

there is, however, some
industrial development there

because of the minerals that
exist.

narrator: the region from the
atacama desert to the bolivian

plains was once famous for its
wealth of tin, copper,

silver, and nitrate reserves.

Mike: there is a long history of
Mining in the atacama

Starting with exploitation of
The nitrate deposits

In the early part of the 19th
Century.

[ loud explosion ]

I understand that much of the
gunpowder used by the british

and allied forces
in world war I

Was manufactured with nitrate
From the atacama.

[ horse whinnying ]

narrator: in the late 1800s,
a vast network of railroads

was built to support the
region's

booming mining industry.

[ bell dinging ]

but in the 1930s, disaster
struck as the great depression

wiped out demand.

the trains were left to rot in
the desert.

using image enhancement, the
identity of the dark mark

visible from space is finally
revealed.

Marchetti: what I am seeing is
What I would call

A train graveyard.

It is hundreds of trains that
Are just littering the earth

In this designated cemetery.

Porges: these are the trains
That built

The bolivian wild west.

narrator: the locals also tell
a story that one of these

trains might even have been
robbed by the legendary

outlaws butch cassidy and the
sundance kid.

today the trains stand as a
rusting reminder of bolivia's

very own wild frontier.

Kourounis: as doomed as this
Rail line was,

At least there's a remnant of it
Left behind for us to enjoy.

Porges: ultimately, we're
Dealing with a fantastic

Ghost train.

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications