Original subtitles

Narrator: THEY'RE WATCHING YOU.

MORE THAN 4,000 SATELLITES CIRCLE THE EARTH.

EVERY DAY, THEY UNCOVER NEW, MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA

THAT DEFY EXPLANATION.

**

A BIZARRE FORMATION IN THE URALS

AND THE CRADLE OF THE ARYAN NATION.

IF NAZI ARCHAEOLOGICAL TEAMS HAD MANAGED TO FIND THIS SITE,

GERMANY WOULD HAVE LOOKED TO THIS AS PROOF

THAT WHITE ARYANS HAD AT ONE TIME RULED THE EARTH.

Narrator: A FOREST BACK FROM THE DEAD

AND THE TSUNAMI THREAT TO THE WEST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES.

IT'S ALMOST LIKE A ZOMBIE FOREST EMERGING FROM THE WAVES.

Narrator: AND THE RETURN OF THE GREEK HEROES.

HOW AMAZING WOULD IT BE IF THIS MYTHOLOGICAL LAKE

THAT WAS VISITED BY JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS

HAPPENED TO BE REAL?

Narrator: BAFFLING PHENOMENA.

MYSTERIES FROM SPACE.

WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY?

-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

**

SEPTEMBER 1971.

A U.S. CORONA SPY SATELLITE PASSES OVER THE REMOTE MOUNTAINS

OF THE SOUTHERN URALS OF RUSSIA.

THE URALS IS A VAST AND EMPTY PLACE.

IT'S FULL OF SECRETS.

Narrator: AS IT CROSSES A RIVER VALLEY NEAR THE BORDER WITH KAZAKHSTAN,

THE SATELLITE PHOTOGRAPHS A COMPLEX CIRCULAR PATTERN.

ALMOST LIKE A NAUTILUS SHELL

THAT HAS BEEN IMPRESSED INTO THE LANDSCAPE.

Gough: YOU CAN SEE THE INTRICATE DESIGN

AND PLANNING THAT WENT INTO THIS SITE.

THIS IS NO RANDOM COLLECTION OF GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES.

THIS IS MANMADE.

Narrator: U.S. MILITARY ANALYSTS CONSIDER

IF IT COULD BE A SOVIET MISSILE SITE.

THE SOVIETS HAD A REPUTATION FOR HIDING MISSILE BASES

IN REMOTE, HARD-TO-REACH LOCATIONS.

[ CROWD CHEERING ]

Narrator: BOTH SUPERPOWERS, IN THE DEPTHS OF THE COLD WAR,

STOCKPILE NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND DO WHATEVER IT TAKES

TO FIGURE OUT WHERE EACH OTHER'S MISSILES ARE DEPLOYED.

**

Morgan: CORONA SATELLITES ARE SCANNING THE AREA

BECAUSE THEY'RE LOOKING FOR SOVIET ICBM LAUNCH SITES.

**

NOW, YOU'VE GOT TO IMAGINE SOME CIA ANALYST

HAVING THIS THING LANDING ON HIS DESK,

AND HE'S GONNA LOOK AT IT AND GO,

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY UP TO?"

**

Narrator: YET WHEN MILITARY ANALYSTS RUN A SCALE ANALYSIS,

THEY CALCULATE THE FEATURE IS 500 FEET WIDE.

IT'S QUITE A BIT BIGGER THAN THE TYPICAL LAUNCH SILO IS.

THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH INTERCONTINENTAL

BALLISTIC MISSILES.

THIS IS SOMETHING DATING TO A MUCH EARLIER TIME PERIOD.

IF I WERE GONNA TRY TO CRACK THIS MYSTERY,

I THINK THE FIRST THING TO DO IS GET INTO THIS RIVER VALLEY

AND LOOK AT THE ARCHAEOLOGY.

Narrator: THE MYSTERY REMAINS UNTIL 1987,

WHEN A TEAM OF RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS

GAIN ACCESS TO THE REMOTE SITE.

THEY NAME THE FORMATION ARKAIM,

AFTER THE MOUNTAIN NEARBY.

THROUGH DETAILED EXCAVATION AND DATING OF ARTIFACTS,

THE RESEARCHERS DISCOVER THE SITE IS BRONZE AGE

AND BEGIN TO BUILD UP A PICTURE OF HOW IT ONCE LOOKED.

THE SITE IS TWO CONCENTRIC CIRCLES

MADE OUT OF CLAY AND WOOD.

Narrator: FROM ITS FOOTPRINT, THEY ESTIMATE ARKAIM'S OUTER WALL

IS 16 FEET THICK AND 18 FEET HIGH.

**

PERHAPS IT WAS SOME TYPE OF A FORTIFIED SETTLEMENT.

Narrator: IF SO, THE SIZE OF THE SITE SUGGESTS

IT COULD HOUSE 2,500 PEOPLE.

**

THEN, AMONG THE RUINS, ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVERY

SOMETHING THAT PUTS ARKAIM IN THE SPOTLIGHT.

THEY FOUND POTTERY. NOW, THAT'S NOT UNUSUAL,

BUT THIS POTTERY HAD SWASTIKAS ON IT.

**

Narrator: THE SWASTIKA IS ONE OF THE MOST REVILED SYMBOLS IN HISTORY

BECAUSE OF ITS ASSOCIATION WITH THE NAZIS.

EXPERTS QUESTION IF THIS POT FRAGMENT

COULD BE A RELIC FROM WORLD WAR II.

WHEN YOU THINK OF A SWASTIKA, YOU THINK OF THE NAZIS,

BUT THE GERMANS ONLY ADVANCED TO THE CITY OF STALINGRAD,

WHICH WAS SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES TO THE WEST OF THIS AREA.

SO THEY CERTAINLY DID NOT GET THIS FAR.

Narrator: ANY SUSPICION THAT ARKAIM COULD'VE ONCE BEEN

A SECRET GERMAN BASE IS DISPELLED

WHEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS DATE THE POTTERY FRAGMENT.

THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT BELONGS TO THE PRESENT DAY,

BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT BELONGS TO 3,000 B.C.

3,000 B.C.! I MEAN, THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE.

THAT'S THE SAME AGE AS THE GREAT PYRAMIDS.

NO, IT'S OLDER THAN THE PYRAMIDS.

THIS THING IS ANCIENT.

Narrator: RUSSIAN ARCHAEOLOGISTS DEVELOP AN EXTRAORDINARY THEORY.

THEY CLAIM ARKAIM IS HOME TO AN ANCIENT PEOPLE

KNOWN AS THE ARYANS.

THIS LEGENDARY GROUP BECOMES THE BASIS OF A CRACKPOT NAZI THEORY

OF A RACE OF SUPERHUMANS.

THE ARYANS WERE OFTEN SEEN TO BE A KIND OF A MASTER RACE

THAT CAME OUT OF INDIA, SPREAD ACROSS EUROPE,

AND VENTURED INTO GERMANY.

Narrator: THE NAZIS BELIEVED THE GERMANIC RACE WAS DESCENDED

FROM THESE POWERFUL, BLOND-HAIRED, BLUE-EYED PEOPLE.

AND THEY APPROPRIATED THE SWASTIKA,

A SYMBOL ASSOCIATED WITH THE ARYANS, AS THEIR OWN.

**

YET THE NAZIS HAD NO PROOF THE FABLED ARYAN CIVILIZATION

EVER EXISTED.

THERE WAS A LOT OF EFFORT MADE BY THE NAZIS

AND BY HIMMLER IN PARTICULAR TO FIND THE SOURCE OF ARYANISM.

IN FACT, WHAT HE WANTED TO DO WAS TO FIND THE ARYAN HOMELAND.

THEY THOUGHT THAT THE SECOND WORLD WAR

WAS ESSENTIALLY A RACIAL WAR.

SO IF THEY COULD FIND THE SUPPOSED CRADLE

OF THEIR SUPPOSED CIVILIZATION,

THEN IT WOULD'VE GIVEN THEIR WAR A LOT MORE LEGITIMACY.

Narrator: IN 1935, THE HEAD OF THE S.S., HEINRICH HIMMLER,

ESTABLISHES THE AHNENERBE,

AN ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO PROVING

THAT ARYANS ONCE RULED THE EARTH.

**

THREE YEARS LATER, HE SENDS A TEAM OF NAZI EXPLORERS TO ASIA.

**

Krueger: THEY SENT EXPEDITIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

THEY WERE DETERMINED TO MAKE THIS LINK.

Narrator: BUT THE NAZIS FIND NOTHING,

AND HIMMLER'S QUEST FOR THE ARYAN HOMELAND IS DERAILED

WHEN THE MAN LEADING THE SEARCH IS REVEALED

TO BE LITERALLY CRAZY.

IF AHNENERBE ARCHAEOLOGICAL TEAMS

HAD MANAGED TO FIND THIS SITE,

GERMANY WOULD'VE LOOKED TO THIS SITE

AS PROVIDING ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROOF

THAT WHITE ARYANS HAD AT ONE TIME RULED THE EARTH

AND WERE, THEREFORE, DESTINED TO RULE OVER IT ONCE AGAIN.

Narrator: IF ARKAIM IS THE HOMELAND OF THE ANCIENT ARYANS,

THEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE UNCOVERED

SOMETHING FASCINATING ABOUT THEIR CULTURE.

BECAUSE WHEN RESEARCHERS CONSIDER ARKAIM'S ALIGNMENT,

THEY DISCOVER IT SHARES VIRTUALLY THE SAME LATITUDE

AS STONEHENGE.

AND ITS WALLS LINE UP

WITH MULTIPLE ASTRONOMICAL FORMATIONS.

ARKAIM TRANSLATES AS "SKY AND EARTH,"

AND THAT TELLS ME THIS WAS MUCH MORE THAN JUST A SETTLEMENT.

THIS TELLS ME THIS SITE WAS AN ANCIENT OBSERVATORY

WHERE MAN COMMUNICATED WITH THEIR GODS.

THIS IS THE RUSSIAN STONEHENGE.

Krueger: SO IF THE ARKAIM PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO TRACK THE HEAVENS

WITH A GREAT DEAL OF ACCURACY,

WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE THEY COULD'VE BEEN CAPABLE OF?

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS AT ARKAIM INCLUDE METAL TOOLS

AND ANCIENT TOMBS,

BUT THE MOST INTRIGUING DISCOVERIES ARE HUMAN REMAINS.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS NEARBY THE SITE

EXCAVATED THIS RITUAL HUMAN BURIAL

WHERE THEY UNCOVERED A SKULL

WHO HAD HIS HEAD ELONGATED.

Narrator: HISTORIANS IDENTIFY THIS PHENOMENON

AS "DELIBERATE ARTIFICIAL CRANIAL DEFORMATION."

TO THEM, IT PROBABLY OFFERED SOME SORT OF A STATUS RISE.

BUT TO US HERE IN THE 21st CENTURY,

IT JUST LOOKS LIKE ALIENS.

**

Narrator: ELONGATED HEADS MAY ALSO HAVE HAD A RELIGIOUS PURPOSE.

THEY WANT TO BE CLOSE TO THEIR GOD,

MUTILATING THEIR BODIES IN HIS IMAGE.

Narrator: BUT WHAT LONG-HEADED GODS

WERE THE MYSTERIOUS ARYANS OF ARKAIM IN AWE OF?

IT'S ALMOST AS IF THIS WAS KIND OF A PLACE

WHERE THE DIVINE MET THE HUMAN,

A PLACE OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE FOR MANY GENERATIONS.

Narrator: SO FAR, ARKAIM HAS SHED LIGHT

ON THE MOTHERLAND OF THE MYSTERIOUS ARYAN RACE

AND REVEALED THE ASTRONOMICAL SOPHISTICATION OF THE ANCIENTS.

**

WITH PLENTY MORE TO EXCAVATE,

NO ONE KNOWS WHAT ELSE THEY MAY FIND.

**

COMING UP...

HAWAII'S AREA 51.

"Q" FROM "JAMES BOND," EAT YOUR HEART OUT,

BECAUSE THEY CAN COVER NOT ONLY EVERYTHING FROM SPACE

TO DOWN IN THE WATER.

Narrator: AND A TSUNAMI WARNING FROM ABOVE

FOR THE U.S. WEST COAST.

GEOLOGISTS KNOW THIS IS GONNA HAPPEN AGAIN.

THEY JUST DON'T KNOW WHEN.

Narrator: THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS IN THE CENTRAL PACIFIC.

IN 1977, A U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PLANE

PHOTOGRAPHS A STRANGE GRID-LIKE PATTERN

IMPRINTED ON THE SIDE OF MOUNT KILAUEA.

THESE LINES GO ON FOREVER, FORMING THESE PERFECT RECTANGLES

ON THE SIDE OF THIS MOUNTAIN. IF IT IS MANMADE,

IT'S GOT TO BE A HUGE FEAT OF ENGINEERING.

Narrator: AT FIRST GLANCE, THE GRID LINES LOOK LIKE A SETTLEMENT.

FROM THIS IMAGE, ALL WE CAN SEE IS WHAT MIGHT BE ROADS.

Narrator: BUT EXPERTS ARGUE THIS LOCATION IS TOO DANGEROUS

FOR A HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.

THIS SEEMINGLY PERFECT GRID

IS RIGHT NEAR ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE VOLCANOES IN THE WORLD.

SO WHAT IS IT DOING THERE?

Narrator: THE MYSTERY DEEPENS WHEN A SATELLITE CAPTURES

THE SAME AREA 40 YEARS LATER

AND REVEALS THAT THE GRID LINES HAVE VANISHED.

WHERE DID EVERYTHING GO? WHY DID IT DISAPPEAR?

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS CONSIDER WHETHER THE GRID'S LAYOUT

PROVIDES A CLUE.

Moran: WHAT'S WEIRD ABOUT IT IS

IT'S JUST A VERY REGIMENTED GRID,

IMMEDIATELY SUGGESTING TO ME

SOME KIND OF MILITARY PURPOSE.

Narrator: THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS ARE HOME

TO 11 KNOWN U.S. MILITARY BASES,

INCLUDING ONE OF THE MOST HIGHLY CLASSIFIED --

BARKING SANDS.

ESTABLISHED IN THE 1950s, BARKING SANDS

HOUSES THE PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY.

IT IS HAWAII'S AREA 51.

THEY TEST ALMOST EVERY RANGE OF EQUIPMENT THERE.

THEY HAVE SHIPS. THEY HAVE SPACE EQUIPMENT.

AND THEY TEST AIRCRAFT THERE.

"Q" FROM "JAMES BOND," EAT YOUR HEART OUT,

BECAUSE THEY CAN COVER NOT ONLY EVERYTHING FROM SPACE

TO DOWN IN THE WATER.

Narrator: AND LIKE AREA 51, MUCH OF WHAT HAPPENS HERE

IS A CLOSELY GUARDED SECRET.

BARKING SANDS IS PROBABLY

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MILITARY INSTALLATIONS

ON THE PLANET THAT NOBODY EVER HEARS ABOUT.

NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON HERE,

BECAUSE ACCESS IS COMPLETELY RESTRICTED.

AT THE SAME TIME THAT PEOPLE ARE RELAXING ON THE BEACH

OR ENJOYING HAPPY HOUR ON HOLIDAY,

JUST AROUND THE CORNER,

SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST DEADLY WEAPONS ARE BEING TESTED.

Narrator: BUT IF THIS STRANGE GRID PATTERN

ON THE SIDE OF MOUNT KILAUEA

IS LINKED TO A SECRET MILITARY BASE,

SOMETHING DOESN'T ADD UP.

ANALYSTS CAN FIND NO SIGN

OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE THEY'D EXPECT TO SEE.

THERE ARE NO DEFENSIVE POSITIONS.

THERE ARE NO GUARD TOWERS.

IT'S JUST A COMPLETELY FLAT, TICK-TACK-TOE GRID

THAT GOES ON FOR ACRES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACIFIC.

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS RECONSIDER THE SATELLITE IMAGE.

IT REMINDS SOME ANALYSTS OF THE GRIDS

CREATED BY PROSPECTORS SURVEYING FOR OIL.

HAWAII IS AN ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

THAT NEEDS ACCESS TO SOME SORT OF ENERGY SOURCE.

GEOLOGISTS RUN SEISMIC PROFILES

TO ANALYZE THE EARTH'S SUBSURFACE

PARTICULARLY TO LOOK FOR OIL AND GAS RESOURCES

WITHOUT HAVING TO DIG DOWN INTO THE EARTH.

Narrator: PROSPECTORS USE 30-TON THUMPER TRUCKS TO CONDUCT THESE SURVEYS.

EACH CARRIES A HYDRAULIC SEISMIC VIBRATOR

TO SEND SHOCK WAVES DEEP INTO THE GROUND.

WHEN THE WAVES BOUNCE BACK AND ARE ANALYZED,

SURVEYORS CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT LIES BENEATH THE SURFACE.

YOU CREATE A GRID WHERE THE LINES ARE PERPENDICULAR

TO EACH OTHER AND THEN CROSSING,

AND YOU DRIVE ALONG THOSE TRACKS TO CREATE THE SEISMIC SURVEY.

Lester: ANY LARGE THUMPER TRUCK IS GONNA LEAVE A PATH BEHIND IT,

WHICH COULD BE SEEN IN SOME KIND OF A SATELLITE IMAGE.

Narrator: BUT THERE'S A FLAW IN THE OIL-PROSPECTING THEORY.

WE KNOW THAT HAWAII WAS RECENTLY FORMED BY VOLCANOES,

AND IT TAKES MILLIONS OF YEARS TO FORM OIL.

Mosher: SO EVEN THOUGH THIS GRID LOOKS SIMILAR TO A SEISMIC OIL SURVEY,

IT WOULD BE A FOOL'S ERRAND TO DO THIS IN THIS REGION.

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS RETURN TO LOCAL REAL-ESTATE RECORDS

TO EXAMINE A POSSIBILITY THEY'D ONCE RULED OUT.

REMARKABLY, THE GRID PHOTOGRAPHED IN 1977

ON THE SIDE OF MOUNT KILAUEA

IS A HOUSING DEVELOPMENT KNOWN AS ROYAL GARDENS.

**

IT PROMISES SEA VIEWS AND CLEAN MOUNTAIN AIR.

THIS WOULD BE A GREAT PLACE TO PERHAPS BUILD HOUSES...

IF YOU WEREN'T AWARE OF THE LAVA FLOWS.

Carter: MOST OF THE PEOPLE THAT PURCHASED PROPERTY THERE

WERE ON THE U.S. MAINLAND.

WHAT THEY DIDN'T KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY,

IS THAT THE DEVELOPER BUILT THE PROPERTY

ON ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE VOLCANOES IN HAWAII.

Narrator: BY LATE 1982, MOST OF THE 1,500 LOTS ARE SOLD,

WITH 75 HOMES ALREADY BUILT.

THEN, IN JANUARY 1983,

MOUNT KILAUEA ERUPTS.

A FOUNTAIN OF RED-HOT LAVA SURGES 650 FEET INTO THE AIR,

THEN SEARS A PATH TOWARDS ROYAL GARDENS.

THESE LAVA FLOWS ARE RELATIVELY SLOW MOVING,

BUT THEY CHARGE KIND OF INEXORABLY ON.

THEY'RE HARD TO STOP.

YOU CAN WALK AWAY FROM THEM, BUT YOU CAN'T STOP THEM.

AS SOON AS IT HITS,

THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE IS ENGULFED IN FLAMES.

THE LAVA IS FREEZING AROUND IT AND TURNING INTO ROCK.

IT'S COMPLETE DESTRUCTION.

YOU BUY THIS HOUSE

SMACK-DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF A BRAND-NEW COMMUNITY,

LOW PRICE, BUT GORGEOUS BEACH VIEWS,

ONLY TO FIND, WHEN YOU'VE MOVED IN,

THIS LAVA FLOW COMING DOWN.

THAT'S WHEN YOU REALIZE YOU'VE PAID TOO MUCH.

Narrator: AFTER THREE DECADES, MOST OF ROYAL GARDENS

IS SWALLOWED BY A SHEET OF LAVA.

**

BUT ONE DIEHARD RESIDENT MAKES A STAND.

**

IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT ONE MAN REFUSED TO GO.

JACK THOMPSON STAYED IN HIS RESIDENCE UNTIL 2012,

UNTIL LAVA WAS PRACTICALLY LAPPING AT HIS DOOR.

**

Narrator: THOMPSON ESCAPES BY HELICOPTER

JUST HOURS BEFORE HIS HOME IS CONSUMED BY THE VOLCANO.

THAT'S A PERSON WHO'S DEDICATED, RIGHT,

A PERSON WHO'S GONNA STAY TILL THE VERY LAST SECOND

AS LAVA AND MAGMA JUST COMES ROLLING UP TO YOUR FRONT DOOR.

I HOPE JACK THOMPSON MADE A GREAT, NEW START,

'CAUSE, BACK IN THE '70s, THIS LOOKED LIKE A HOT PROPERTY.

AND AS IT TURNS OUT, ROYAL GARDENS REALLY WAS.

**

Narrator: COMING UP...

DEATH COMES TO AN OREGON BEACH.

IT'S ALMOST LIKE A ZOMBIE FOREST EMERGING FROM THE WAVES.

Narrator: AND A MIRACLE LAKE GLOWS VIVID GREEN.

PEOPLE COULD POTENTIALLY GET SICK AND DIE.

WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S IN THIS WATER.

Narrator: OREGON, THE NORTHWEST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES.

RESEARCHERS ARE USING SATELLITE IMAGES TO SOLVE A MYSTERY --

A GHOSTLY FOREST THAT RISES FROM THE WAVES

AND A MEGA TSUNAMI

THAT ONCE AGAIN THREATENS THE WESTERN SEABOARD.

WHAT HAPPENED HERE WAS A CATASTROPHE

OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS.

GEOLOGISTS KNOW THIS IS GONNA HAPPEN AGAIN,

THOUGH THEY DON'T KNOW WHEN.

Narrator: THE STORY STARTS AT LOW TIDE ON NESKOWIN BEACH,

WHEN A SURREAL SIGHT EMERGES FROM THE WAVES.

THERE'S A FOREST IN THE OCEAN. IT'S NOT JUST A FEW STUMPS.

IT'S A WHOLE FOREST OF TREE STUMPS

THAT GO ON FOR HALF A MILE.

**

Narrator: ITS ORIGIN BAFFLES SCIENTISTS.

THIS IS A GRAVEYARD OF A FOREST.

SOMETHING VERY BAD HAPPENED HERE.

THE QUESTION IS, WHAT DID IT?

Narrator: EXPERTS BEGIN THEIR INVESTIGATION

WITH RADIOCARBON DATING.

THEY DISCOVER THAT SOME OF THE STUMPS ARE 2,000 YEARS OLD.

BY DATING THEIR OUTER RINGS,

THEY'RE ABLE TO DETERMINE THE MOMENT WHEN THE TREES DIED.

THE RADIOCARBON AGES BEGAN TO NARROW THAT TIMELINE DOWN

TO THE LATE 1600s

OR THE EARLY 1700s.

Narrator: HISTORIANS REVEAL THAT, IN 1700, THIS ANCIENT NESKOWIN FOREST

WAS HOME TO THE TILLAMOOK PEOPLE.

THEY LEAVE NO WRITTEN RECORDS, BUT THEIR RICH ORAL HISTORY

OFFERS A POSSIBLE CLUE TO WHAT HAPPENED HERE.

SOME OF THE TRIBES TALK ABOUT A STRUGGLE

BETWEEN KILLER WHALE AND THUNDER-BIRD.

THE THUNDER-BIRD IS THIS HUGE, HUGE BIRD, BIGGER THAN AN EAGLE.

AND THIS STRUGGLE LED

TO THE OCEANS RISING AND FALLING.

Narrator: THE TILLAMOOK MYTH,

WITH ITS SUGGESTION OF A CALAMITOUS MARINE EVENT,

MAY EXPLAIN WHY THE FOREST DIES.

**

BUT IT OFFERS NO CLUES AS TO WHAT TRIGGERED THAT EVENT.

**

THE INVESTIGATION TAKES A DRAMATIC TURN

WHEN, 8,000 MILES AWAY,

A TEAM OF JAPANESE GEOLOGISTS

LEARNS OF THE MYSTERIOUS NESKOWIN GHOST FOREST.

THEY CONSULT HISTORICAL RECORDS AND UNCOVER DETAILS

OF A SEISMIC EVENT WITH DATES THAT LINE UP.

IN JAPAN, JANUARY 27, 1700,

THERE WERE A SERIES OF WAVES THAT PUMMELED THE COAST.

HOUSES WERE DISRUPTED.

BOATS WERE THROWN AGAINST THE SHORE.

Narrator: JAPANESE RESEARCHERS BELIEVE THESE MEGA WAVES

WERE A TSUNAMI --

ONE SO BIG IT COULD ALSO HAVE HIT OREGON,

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PACIFIC, THE SAME DAY.

A TSUNAMI WOULD ACCOUNT FOR BOTH THE DESTRUCTION IN JAPAN

AND THE NATIVE AMERICAN FOLK TALES

OF A CATASTROPHIC MARINE EVENT.

BUT SOME EXPERTS DOUBT A GIANT WAVE ALONE

CAN EXPLAIN WHY THE NESKOWIN FOREST

WAS ENTIRELY SUBMERGED FOR 30 YEARS.

IT CAN'T CHANGE THE LEVEL OF THE LAND.

THE WATER WILL DRAIN AWAY

AND LEAVE THINGS MORE OR LESS AS THEY WERE.

**

Narrator: COMBINING DATA FROM SATELLITE IMAGES OF THE AREA

WITH DEPTH READINGS GATHERED BY SHIP,

RESEARCHERS MAKE A BREAKTHROUGH.

**

THEY IDENTIFY A VAST SUBMERGED GEOLOGICAL FEATURE

JUST 50 MILES FROM THE NESKOWIN GHOST FOREST --

THE CASCADIA SUBDUCTION ZONE.

Goldfinger: IT'S THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN NORTH AMERICA

AND THE JUAN DE FUCA PLATE.

AND, ESSENTIALLY, IF THIS WERE NORTH AMERICAN

AND THIS WERE THE JUAN DE FUCA PLATE,

THE JUAN DE FUCA PLATE IS BEING SHOVED UNDERNEATH NORTH AMERICA,

AND THAT SHARP LINE IS THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE TWO.

Nordrum: THIS THING IS HUGE. IT'S 600 MILES LONG,

AND THE FORCE BUILDING UP WITHIN IT IS ABSOLUTELY COLOSSAL.

AND WHEN THIS FAULT SLIPS,

IT WILL RELEASE A DEVASTATING AMOUNT OF POWER,

EQUIVALENT TO POTENTIALLY HUNDREDS OF ATOMIC BOMBS.

Narrator: RESEARCHERS NOW BELIEVE THAT THE CASCADIA FAULT LINE

IS THE EPICENTER OF A 700-MILE-LONG MEGA-QUAKE.

IT'S A MAGNITUDE-9 EARTHQUAKE,

THE BIGGEST EARTHQUAKE THAT CAN BE PRODUCED.

SOME PEOPLE CALL IT A "FULL-RIP 9."

Narrator: IT CAUSES THE NESKOWIN FOREST TO PLUNGE BELOW SEA LEVEL.

Goldfinger: THE SCALE OF IT IS JUST HARD TO IMAGINE,

AND THE WHOLE THING, ALL THE COAST,

GOING DOWN 3 OR 4 FEET ALL AT ONCE,

TAKING THE FOREST WITH IT, TAKING ALL THE BAYS WITH IT --

EVERYTHING ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

Narrator: THE DROP IN THE LAND LEVEL SPAWNS A MASSIVE TSUNAMI,

ESTIMATED TO BE AS POWERFUL AS THE 2004 INDONESIAN TSUNAMI.

**

IT WOULD COME IN AT 25 TO 30 MILES AN HOUR,

MUCH FASTER THAN YOU COULD RUN.

-WHOA! -GET IN, GET IN, GET IN!

THE WAVE WOULD BE SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

OF 20 TO 40 FEET HIGH.

A WAVE THAT BIG WOULD SWEEP AWAY THE NATIVE VILLAGES.

IMAGINE WALKING ALONG A BEACH,

DOING WHAT YOU NORMALLY WOULD DO.

AND THEN, ALL OF A SUDDEN,

THERE'S THIS WALL OF WATER COMING AT YOU.

Narrator: AND WHEN RESEARCHERS DELVE DEEPER

INTO THE HISTORY OF THE REGION,

THEY DISCOVER THE MEGA-QUAKE AND TSUNAMI OF 1700

ARE NOT FREAK EVENTS.

Brand: SCIENTISTS WHO STUDY THE SEDIMENTS

OFF THE COAST OF WASHINGTON AND OREGON

SEE EVIDENCE OF NOT ONLY EARTHQUAKES

BUT MASSIVE TSUNAMIS THAT HAVE INUNDATED THIS COAST

MANY, MANY TIMES IN OUR GEOLOGIC PAST.

Narrator: PALEOSEISMOLOGIST CHRIS GOLDFINGER

IS EXAMINING CORE SAMPLES FROM THESE SEDIMENT DEPOSITS

TO TRY TO PREDICT WHEN THE NEXT POTENTIALLY DEADLY MEGA-QUAKE

WILL STRIKE.

HIS ANALYSIS IS TERRIFYING.

THESE EARTHQUAKE DEPOSITS ARE STACKED UP,

AND THEY HAVE A REPEAT TIME OF ROUGHLY 300 TO 500 YEARS.

AND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT THING, BECAUSE IT'S BEEN 300 OR SO

SINCE THE LAST ONE.

**

Narrator: IF ANOTHER CALAMITOUS TSUNAMI HITS THE OREGON COAST,

ITS IMPACT COULD BE COLOSSAL.

THERE ARE MANY, MANY MORE PEOPLE LIVING ALONG THOSE COASTS,

SO YOU COULD POTENTIALLY SEE EVEN GREATER DEVASTATION

THAN WHAT THEY SAW BACK IN 1700.

Narrator: TODAY, SATELLITE EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS

MONITOR THE PACIFIC SEABED.

THEY'RE DESIGNED TO GIVE SCIENTISTS AND RESIDENTS

THE HEADS-UP ON INCOMING TSUNAMIS.

YET THESE DEADLY WAVES TRAVEL UP TO 500 MILES AN HOUR,

AND THERE MAY BE LITTLE TIME TO ESCAPE.

**

COMING UP...

MIRACLES, MINES,

AND MYTHICAL HEROES IN THE DESERTS OF TUNISIA.

HOW AMAZING WOULD IT BE IF THIS MYTHOLOGICAL LAKE

HAPPENED TO BE REAL?

Narrator: AND A GEOLOGIST EXPLORES A LEGENDARY AUSTRALIAN MOUNTAIN

THAT EATS EXPLORERS ALIVE.

SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE CLIMBED INTO THE MOUNTAIN AND NEVER COME OUT.

IT'S LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF "THE TWILIGHT ZONE."

Narrator: SEPTEMBER 2017,

EASTERN AUSTRALIA.

SATELLITES SPOT A GIGANTIC BLACK MASS

IN THE EUCALYPTUS FORESTS OF NORTHERN QUEENSLAND.

IT STANDS OUT FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES.

WHAT'S THIS BLACK, ALIEN THING DOING HERE?

IT LOOKS LIKE HUGE SWATHES

OF AUSTRALIA'S BEAUTIFUL GREEN FOREST

HAVE BEEN TURNED TO ASH.

Narrator: BUSH FIRES ARE COMMONPLACE IN THE TINDER-DRY OUTBACK.

BUT THIS IS NOT THE RESULT OF ANY WILDFIRE.

Sanford: THERE ARE NO BURNED TREES.

IF THIS HAD BEEN A FOREST FIRE,

THERE WOULD BE LOTS OF EVIDENCE OF BURNED TREE TRUNKS,

AND THERE'S NONE OF THAT.

Narrator: THE SATELLITE IMAGE COMES TO THE ATTENTION OF KHORY HANCOCK.

WHEN HE HEARS REPORTS OF LOCALS VANISHING FROM THE AREA

WITHOUT A TRACE,

HE TRAVELS 1,200 MILES TO INVESTIGATE.

THE JET-BLACK MASS IS ESTIMATED TO COVER 900 ACRES,

AND HANCOCK SUSPECTS THERE MAY BE A GEOLOGICAL EXPLANATION

FOR ITS FEARSOME REPUTATION.

I'VE HEARD RUMORS OF THIS STRANGE GEOLOGICAL FEATURE

IN NORTHERN QUEENSLAND.

EXACTLY WHAT IT IS AND HOW IT WAS FORMED,

I DON'T KNOW.

**

ALL RIGHT. NOW WE MUST BE GETTING PRETTY CLOSE HERE.

**

Narrator: FROM THE GROUND AND UP CLOSE,

THE BLACK MASS IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT.

**

Hancock: WOW!

THIS IS IT.

THIS THING IS HUGE!

IT STRETCHES FOR MILES.

IT SEEMS TO BE MADE UP OF THOUSANDS OF THESE BOULDERS,

AND THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE.

**

Narrator: BEFORE SETTING FOOT ON THE MOUNTAIN,

HANCOCK HAS ARRANGED TO MEET CAROL,

AN ABORIGINAL ELDER,

TO SEE IF SHE CAN SHED LIGHT

ON ANY OF THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCES.

**

LOCAL ABORIGINALS ARE FEARFUL OF BLACK MOUNTAIN

BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY BELIEVE LURKS WITHIN.

**

YET TO INVESTIGATE ITS GEOLOGY,

HANCOCK MUST GET UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH THE MOUNTAIN,

SO CAROL PERFORMS A PROTECTIVE ABORIGINAL RITUAL.

**

HANCOCK LEARNS THIS SMOKE CEREMONY

DATES BACK THOUSANDS OF YEARS

AND ISN'T JUST SYMBOLIC.

JUJUBALA LEAVES COME FROM THE DESERT IRONWOOD TREE,

USED IN BUSH MEDICINE BECAUSE OF ITS HEALING PROPERTIES.

**

YEAH.

**

HANCOCK HEADS FOR THE BASE OF BLACK MOUNTAIN.

**

AFTER CAROL'S WARNINGS,

THE GIGANTIC JUMBLE OF MASSIVE BLACK ROCKS

SEEMS ALL THE MORE FORBIDDING.

**

Hancock: STRAIGHT AWAY, I CAN FEEL THIS EERIE FEELING IN MY GUT.

**

Narrator: HANCOCK BELIEVES CLUES TO THE SINISTER HAPPENINGS

ON THE MOUNTAINSIDE MAY LIE IN ITS STRUCTURE.

Hancock: WHEN YOU LOOK ON THE SATELLITE IMAGE,

THESE ROCKS ARE JET-BLACK.

BUT WHEN YOU GET UP CLOSE ON THE GROUND...

**

...THEY'RE ACTUALLY GRAY.

THAT SCREAMS "GRANITE" TO ME.

**

Narrator: THE GEOLOGY SUGGESTS THAT BLACK MOUNTAIN FORMS

AROUND 260 MILLION YEARS AGO

FROM AN ENORMOUS MASS OF SUPERHEATED MAGMA.

IT ROSE UP TO A POINT AND THEN GOT STUCK

AND SOLIDIFIED INTO A BIG, SOLID BODY OF ROCK.

Narrator: THAT SOLID MASS OF GRANITE IS ERODED BY WIND AND RAIN.

ITS OUTER LAYER PEELS OFF,

EXPOSING THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF GRANITE BOULDERS.

TROPICAL RAINS ACTUALLY ALLOWED A BLUE-GREEN ALGAE

TO GROW ON THE SURFACE OF THE ROCKS.

THAT'S WHAT MAKES THEM HAVE THAT BLACK COLOR ON THE OUTSIDE

BUT NOT ON THE INSIDE.

Narrator: BUT AS HANCOCK EXPLORES FURTHER,

HE REALIZES THE COLOR ISN'T THE WEIRDEST THING

ABOUT THESE MYSTERIOUS ROCKS.

**

COMING UP, A MIRACLE LAKE IN THE DESERTS OF TUNISIA.

Hunt: THE SIZE OF THE LAKE, IT'S 100,000 SQUARE FEET.

YOU LOOK DOWN FROM ABOVE, YOU SAY, "WHAT ON EARTH?

WHERE'D THIS COME FROM?"

Narrator: AND BLACK MOUNTAIN HIDES ITS SECRETS WELL.

Hancock: IT'S LIKE A LABYRINTH OF CHASMS AND TUNNELS

GOING DEEPER AND DEEPER INTO THE EARTH.

Narrator: AUSTRALIAN EXPLORER KHORY HANCOCK IS IN QUEENSLAND,

INVESTIGATING BLACK MOUNTAIN, A MYSTERIOUS ROCK FORMATION.

**

19th-CENTURY RECORDS REVEAL SCORES OF PEOPLE

DISAPPEAR FROM THE MOUNTAINSIDE --

AMONG THEM, THE NOTORIOUS CRIMINAL "SUGARFOOT" JACK,

OAKLEY CREEK RAILROAD MAN HARRY OWENS,

AND LOCAL POLICEMAN CONSTABLE RYAN,

WHO CHASES A FUGITIVE FELON INTO THE HEART OF BLACK MOUNTAIN.

CONSTABLE RYAN FOLLOWED HIM IN.

HIS TEAM STAYED OUTSIDE AND WAITED FOR HIM.

THEY WAITED ONE DAY.

THEY WAITED ANOTHER.

NEITHER CONSTABLE RYAN OR THE FUGITIVE EVER RETURNED.

**

Narrator: BUT HANCOCK DISCOVERS THESE STORIES ARE NOT

THE ONLY STRANGE THING ABOUT THE FORMATION.

I'VE NOTICED THAT, WHEN YOU BUMP THESE ROCKS TOGETHER,

THEY GIVE OFF A CURIOUS METALLIC RING.

[ CLINKING ]

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I'VE NEVER SEEN IN AUSTRALIA BEFORE.

Narrator: GEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND RINGING ROCKS ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD.

THEY BELIEVE VOLCANIC ROCKS CAN RING

BECAUSE THEY CRACK AS THEY COOL

TO CREATE AN INTERNAL ECHO CHAMBER.

BUT THE BLACK MOUNTAIN ROCKS APPEAR UNIQUE.

WHAT'S EVEN MORE WEIRD IS THAT THESE ROCKS

MAINLY RING WITH A "B"-FLAT.

AND NASA HAS JUST DISCOVERED THAT THE CLOSEST BLACK HOLE

ALSO EMITS A TONE OF B-FLAT.

Narrator: BLACK HOLES ARE ONE OF THE ODDEST

AND SCARIEST PHENOMENA IN THE UNIVERSE --

BIZARRE GRAVITATIONAL VORTICES

FROM WHICH NOT EVEN LIGHT CAN ESCAPE.

**

EARTH'S NEAREST BLACK HOLE IS IN THE PERSEUS CLUSTER,

250 MILLION LIGHT YEARS AWAY.

**

IN 2002, SCIENTISTS DETECT A SOUND

EMANATING FROM ITS CORE.

THIS BLACK HOLE IS RINGING IN THE NOTE OF "B"-FLAT,

THE SAME TONE AS THE MYSTERIOUS BLACK ROCKS,

EXCEPT 54 OCTAVES BELOW THE LOWEST NOTE ON A PIANO.

THAT'S JUST WEIRD. BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT,

NO OTHER NATURAL THING GIVES OFF THIS NOTE OF "B"-FLAT.

MAKES YOU WONDER WHAT COULD TIE THESE TWO TOGETHER.

Narrator: THERE'S NO ACCEPTED GEOLOGICAL EXPLANATION

FOR WHY THE ROCKS ON BLACK MOUNTAIN

SHOULD EMIT THE SAME NOTE AS A BLACK HOLE.

BUT AS HANCOCK DISCOVERS,

MUCH OF THE MOUNTAIN IS UNEXPLORED.

I CAN SEE HOW PEOPLE GET LOST OUT HERE.

IT'S LIKE A LABYRINTH OF CHASMS AND TUNNELS

GOING DEEPER AND DEEPER INTO THE EARTH.

**

Narrator: HE BELIEVES IT'S THIS UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY

THAT HOLDS THE KEY TO UNCOVERING WHY PEOPLE VANISH HERE

WITHOUT A TRACE.

BIOLOGISTS HAVE IDENTIFIED COUNTLESS SPECIES

OF VENOMOUS SNAKES LIVING AMONG THE ROCKS.

ABORIGINAL ELDERS TELL OF LEGENDARY BEASTS

LIKE THE QUEENSLAND TIGER LURKING HERE.

NEVER FULLY SURVEYED, MANY BELIEVE THE MOUNTAIN

COULD HIDE A LOST WORLD OF NEW AND DEADLY SPECIES.

Sanford: ANYTHING COULD BE HIDING INSIDE THOSE CAVES.

THERE COULD BE ANIMALS WE'VE NEVER FOUND BEFORE.

Narrator: YET HANCOCK'S EXPLORATION LEADS HIM TO BELIEVE

SOMETHING EVEN MORE SINISTER AND UNPREDICTABLE MAY BE AT WORK.

Hancock: GOES DOWN A LONG WAY HERE.

WE'LL GO DOWN A BIT DEEPER.

Narrator: HANCOCK BELIEVES THE ROCKS ARE MOVING,

AS IF THE MOUNTAIN IS ALIVE.

AS THESE BIG, BLACK ROCKS HEAT UP IN THE AUSTRALIAN SUN,

THEY CAN SHIFT AROUND,

AND THIS CAN ACTUALLY CAUSE BIG PROBLEMS

FOR ANYONE WHO'S UNDERNEATH WHEN THEY SHIFT,

'CAUSE THEY MIGHT HAVE THEIR EXIT CUT OFF.

Narrator: IF THE VAST BOULDERS SLAM SHUT BEHIND HIM,

HANCOCK WOULD BE HOPELESSLY TRAPPED.

**

Hancock: NOT THAT KEEN TO GO ANY FURTHER, TO BE HONEST...

ESPECIALLY AFTER HEARING THOSE STORIES

ABOUT THE ANCESTORS.

I THINK I MIGHT GET OUT OF HERE.

Narrator: HANCOCK IS FORCED TO RETREAT, FOR TODAY, AT LEAST.

THE RINGING BLACK MOUNTAIN IS NO PLACE FOR A SOLITARY EXPLORER,

AND IT CONTINUES TO GUARD ITS SECRETS WELL.

[ PINGING ]

**

Narrator: COMING UP, MIRACLES, MINES,

AND MYTHICAL HEROES IN THE DESERTS OF TUNISIA.

HOW AMAZING WOULD IT BE IF THIS MYTHOLOGICAL LAKE

HAPPENED TO BE REAL?

Narrator: GAFSA, TUNISIA -- 2013.

A SATELLITE PASSES OVER THE DESERT BARREN LANDSCAPE.

WHEN IT RETURNS A YEAR LATER, INSTEAD OF SCORCHING SANDS,

IT FINDS A VAST, GLISTENING TURQUOISE LAKE.

YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT,

AND A LAKE THAT WAS NOT THERE BEFORE

IS ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE.

Hunt: THE SIZE OF THE LAKE -- IT'S 100,000 SQUARE FEET,

PURE WATER, CRYSTAL CLEAR

LIKE A SWIMMING POOL.

WHEN YOU LOOK DOWN ON IT FROM ABOVE, YOU SAY,

"WHAT ON EARTH? WHERE'D THIS COME FROM?"

Narrator: HUNDREDS OF LOCALS FLOCK

TO WHAT THEY CALL "MIRACLE LAKE."

FOR DESERT DWELLERS,

THE PRESENCE OF SUCH A LARGE BODY OF WATER SO QUICKLY

AND SO PURE MUST BE DIVINE.

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS LOOK TO THE SKIES TO EXPLAIN

WHAT'S BEHIND THIS MODERN-DAY MIRACLE.

METEOROLOGIST RANDY CERVENY CONSIDERS IF THE LAKE

COULD BE THE RESULT OF A RARE STORM KNOWN AS A MICROBURST.

A MICROBURST IS AN INTENSE THUNDERSTORM

WITH AN OUTFLOW THAT COMES DOWN

ALMOST LIKE A BOMB BLAST.

AS IT DOES SO, IT CAN ALSO DROP ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF RAIN

IN A VERY LIMITED PERIOD OF TIME.

Narrator: YET SATELLITE-IMAGE ANALYST AMANDA MARCHETTI IS SKEPTICAL.

A MICROBURST CAN PRODUCE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF RAIN,

BUT NOT THE STEADY PATTERN OF RAIN

THAT ONE WOULD NEED TO FILL A LAKE.

IF IT'S NOT COMING FROM ABOVE,

MAYBE THE WATER IS COMING FROM BELOW.

Narrator: SCIENTISTS LOOK FOR CLUES IN THE GEOLOGY OF THE AREA.

Cerveny: ONE THINKS OF DESERTS AS BEING PERSISTENTLY DRY,

BUT, ACTUALLY, IN MANY DESERT LOCATIONS, THERE ARE AQUIFERS.

THERE ARE UNDERGROUND DEPOSITS OF WATER

THAT CAN BE TAPPED AND USED FOR AGRICULTURE.

IN NORTHERN AFRICA, THERE'S 100 MORE TIMES WATER

UNDERGROUND THAN THERE IS ON THE LAND.

SEISMIC ACTIVITY CAN SOMETIMES SHAKE THINGS UP

AND ALLOW WATER FROM BELOW, FROM AN UNDERGROUND AQUIFER,

TO COME UP.

Narrator: ANALYSTS SEARCH SEISMIC RECORDS

FOR EVIDENCE OF EARTHQUAKES NEARBY,

BUT THEY FIND NOTHING

THAT EXPLAINS THE SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF THE DESERT LAKE.

THE IMAGE COMES TO THE ATTENTION OF HISTORIAN PATRICK HUNT.

HE CHECKS THE COORDINATES OF THE SATELLITE IMAGE

AND CONSIDERS IF THE MYSTERY LAKE COULD BE LINKED

TO AN ANCIENT GREEK LEGEND.

IN THE REGION WHERE THIS SATELLITE IMAGE IS TAKEN,

THERE IS, OF COURSE, AN ANCIENT MYTH --

THE MYTH OF LAKE TRITONIS.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO LEGEND, WHEN JASON AND HIS CREW OF ARGONAUTS

CARRY THE GOLDEN FLEECE THROUGH NORTH AFRICA,

THEY ARE GUIDED ACROSS A TURQUOISE LAKE

BY THE GOD TRITON.

CENTURIES LATER, THE LAKE VANISHES.

THE QUESTION IS, COULD LAKE TRITONIS

MAGICALLY HAVE REAPPEARED?

HOW AMAZING WOULD IT BE IF THIS MYTHOLOGICAL LAKE

THAT WAS VISITED BY JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS

HAPPENED TO BE REAL?

Narrator: THE MYSTERY DEEPENS WHEN SUBSEQUENT SATELLITE IMAGES

REVEAL THE LAKE'S ONCE-CLEAR WATERS

CHANGE DRAMATICALLY.

FIRST, THE LAKE APPEARS OUT OF NOWHERE,

AND THEN IT TURNS GREEN AND SLUDGY.

THIS STORY IS GETTING WEIRDER AND WEIRDER.

IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE NOW THIS MIRACLE LAKE

IS TURNING INTO A CURSE.

Narrator: DESPITE ITS ALARMING COLOR CHANGE,

LOCAL PEOPLE CONTINUE TO SWIM IN THE LAKE'S COOLING WATERS.

**

SCIENTISTS RACE TO DISCOVER

WHAT'S BEHIND THE WATER'S DRAMATIC TRANSFORMATION.

**

KEN JOYCE USES DigitalGlobe's SecureWatch TECHNOLOGY

TO FURTHER SCRUTINIZE THE IMAGE.

USING INFRARED LIGHT, WE CAN MAKE THE VEGETATION

AROUND THE LAKE POP OUT OF THE IMAGE,

AND WE CAN ALSO SEE THAT THERE'S SOMETHING INSIDE OF THE LAKE.

THIS GREEN HUE THAT'S IN THE MIDDLE MIGHT BE ALGAE.

Narrator: GREEN SLIME IS RARELY A GOOD SIGN,

BUT IT COULD PROVIDE INVESTIGATORS WITH VITAL CLUES

TO WHAT'S GOING ON.

CERTAIN KINDS OF ALGAE BLOOMS CAN BE TOXIC,

BUT IT COULD ALSO COME FROM SOME OTHER SOURCE

THAT IS INDUSTRIAL OR TOXIC FROM ANOTHER NATURE,

AND THAT IS EVEN MORE ALARMING.

PEOPLE COULD POTENTIALLY GET SICK AND DIE.

WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S IN THIS WATER.

Narrator: KEN JOYCE RETURNS TO THE SATELLITE IMAGE.

Joyce: AS WE ZOOM OUT A BIT, WHAT WE'LL USE IS THE SHAPE OF THE TERRAIN,

AND THAT'S SHOWN AS CONTOURS ON TOP OF THE IMAGE.

WE SEE THAT THERE'S HIGH GROUNDS TO THE SOUTH OF THE LAKE.

AND WE SEE THAT THERE IS A MINING OPERATION

THAT IS GOING ON TO THE SOUTHWEST OF THE LAKE.

SO A MINING OPERATION TO THE SOUTHWEST OF THE LAKE

MIGHT BE A CLUE AS TO WHAT IS FEEDING BOTH WATER

AND POSSIBLY OTHER THINGS INTO THIS LAKE.

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS VISIT THOSE MINES

AND FIND THEY'RE QUARRYING FOR PHOSPHORUS ORE.

[ FIREWORKS POPPING ]

PHOSPHORUS IS HIGHLY COMBUSTIBLE,

USED IN FIREWORKS AND WEAPONS MANUFACTURE.

BUT MOST PHOSPHATES ARE MADE INTO FERTILIZER.

PHOSPHORUS IS SOMETHING THAT MAY BE FERTILIZING

THE ALGAE BLOOM THAT'S INSIDE OF THE LAKE.

Narrator: IF TOXIC PHOSPHATES FROM LOCAL MINES

ARE LEECHING INTO THE LAKE, IT'S NO PLACE FOR BATHERS.

GOT TO REALIZE THAT PHOSPHATES

COME WITH SOME RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL,

AND SO IT COULD ALSO BE CARCINOGENIC.

Narrator: DESPITE THE DANGERS, GEOLOGISTS HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO CONFIRM

THE SOURCE OF THE MYSTERY LAKE

OR THE PRECISE ORIGIN OF THE PHOSPHATES.

WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO SOLVE THIS MYSTERY BIOLOGICALLY.

NO ONE IS GETTING SICK,

SO MAYBE THERE IS SOMETHING TO THIS MIRACULOUS LAKE

THAT WE'RE NOT SEEING.

Narrator: IN THE MEANTIME, THE CROWDS CONTINUE TO BATHE

IN THE MYSTERIOUS LAKE

LINKED TO THE LEGEND OF GREEK GOD TRITON

AND THE TRIUMPHANT ARGONAUTS.