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.

[ BEEPING, DISTORTED MUSIC ]

FROM SPACE, HUNTING FOR DINOSAURS.

WITHIN HOURS, WE WERE SEEING HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS OF THEM.

Narrator: THE APOCALYPSE VILLAGE.

EVERYONE WAS DOING FINE,

THEN THE PEOPLE JUST DISAPPEARED.

Narrator: AND THE 2,000-YEAR-OLD CODE CARVED IN THE DESERT.

IF IT CAN BE PROVEN, THAT WOULD JUST BLOW HISTORY AWAY.

**

Narrator: BAFFLING PHENOMENA.

MYSTERIES FROM SPACE.

WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY?

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

[ BEEPING ] [ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

**

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES, WHIRRING ]

FEBRUARY 18, 2019, NEW MEXICO.

**

SCOTT NOWICKI IS HEADING OUT INTO THE DESERT

TO SEARCH FOR DINOSAURS.

BUT HE'S A DIFFERENT KIND OF DINO HUNTER.

HE'S GOING TO SEARCH FOR THEM FROM SPACE.

WE ARE DRIVING OUT TO THE DESERT OUTSIDE OF ALBUQUERQUE

TO TEST OUR DINOSAUR-DETECTING TECHNOLOGY.

**

Narrator: THE EARTH'S SURFACE CONCEALS

COUNTLESS UNDISCOVERED DINOSAUR GRAVEYARDS.

**

THE MONSTER-SIZED MYSTERY IS WHERE TO FIND THEM.

**

IT'S LIKE FINDING A NEEDLE IN A PLANET-SIZED HAYSTACK.

LOOKING FOR FOSSILS JUST WITH THE NAKED EYE FROM THE GROUND

IS REALLY JUST A GAME OF CHANCE.

Dennie: YOU CAN'T COVER IT ALL ON FOOT,

SO YOU NEED A LITTLE BIT OF HELP FROM ABOVE.

**

Nowicki: SO, THE IDEA IS IF WE USE AERIAL DATA

TO BUILD A MODEL FOR WHERE YOU CAN LOOK FOR FOSSILS

THAT NO ONE'S ACTUALLY EXPLORED BEFORE.

Narrator: NOWICKI HOPES THE LATEST AERIAL TECHNOLOGY

CAN GUIDE HIM TO SEAMS OF ROCK

THAT ARE RICH IN DINOSAUR REMAINS.

IN GENERAL, WE'RE LOOKING FOR

WHAT WE CALL SEDIMENTARY ROCKS --

ROCKS THAT HAVE BEEN DEPOSITED

AS A RESULT OF RIVER AND STREAM ACTIVITY.

SEDIMENTARY ROCK IS IDEAL FOR FINDING FOSSILS

BECAUSE YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT HAS DIED

AND THEN, OVER TIME, SLOWLY SEDIMENT LAYERS

GET LAYERED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER.

Narrator: IN THERMAL SATELLITE IMAGES,

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS APPEAR LIGHTER

BECAUSE THEY RETAIN MORE HEAT THAN THE SURROUNDING SAND.

THEY HELP IDENTIFY POSSIBLE REGIONS THAT MAY HOLD FOSSILS.

BUT NOWICKI THINKS HIS TECH CAN GO ONE STEP FURTHER.

IN ORDER TO GET IT AT A FINE ENOUGH SCALE

THAT A PALEONTOLOGIST CAN ACTUALLY USE IT ON THE SURFACE,

WE NEED THE DRONE.

[ DRONE WHIRRING ]

Narrator: NOWICKI'S CAMERAS USE MULTISPECTRAL TECHNOLOGY

DEVELOPED FOR NASA'S MARS MISSIONS

TO ZERO IN ON POTENTIAL DINO CEMETERIES.

Nowicki: THESE RED LAYERS THAT I'M FLYING OVER RIGHT NOW

ARE SPECIFICALLY THE KINDS OF ENVIRONMENTS WHERE FOSSIL,

DINOSAUR BONES, ARE NOW BEING EXPOSED TO THE SURFACE.

Narrator: THAT, AT LEAST, IS THE THEORY.

**

NOW NOWICKI IS JOINING A TEAM OF PALEONTOLOGISTS

AS THEY JOURNEY INTO THE GOBI DESERT IN MONGOLIA.

**

IT'S PERHAPS NO SURPRISE THAT IN THE LOCAL LANGUAGE,

"GOBI" MEANS "WATERLESS PLACE."

Dennie: THE GOBI DESERT IS EXTREMELY ARID.

IT'S IN THE RAIN SHADOW FROM THE HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS.

IT'S A VERY UNFORGIVING PLACE.

**

Narrator: YET FOR PALEONTOLOGISTS,

THIS DESERT IS DINO CENTRAL.

**

THE GOBI IS THE LARGEST FOSSIL RESERVOIR IN THE WORLD,

AND A FIFTH OF ALL KNOWN SPECIES OF DINOSAUR ARE FOUND HERE.

**

THE GOBI DESERT IS BASICALLY A PALEONTOLOGICAL TREASURE TROVE

BECAUSE IT'S SO ARID AND THINGS ARE PRESERVED SO WELL.

**

Narrator: LAST YEAR, THE 42-INCH-WIDE FOOTPRINT

OF A MYSTERY MONSTER WAS DISCOVERED IN THESE SANDS,

THE LARGEST EVER DISCOVERED.

**

ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THIS DESERT IS SO RICH IN FOSSILS

IS THAT IT HASN'T ALWAYS LOOKED LIKE THIS.

Lester: 80 MILLION YEARS AGO,

TOWARDS THE END OF DINOSAUR TIME,

WHAT WE CALL THE CRETACEOUS,

THE GOBI DESERT WAS A VASTLY DIFFERENT PLACE.

**

Dennie: WHAT YOU'D FIND IS NOT A DESERT BUT WETLANDS,

AND THERE WAS LIFE ALL AROUND US.

[ PTEROSAURS SCREECHING ]

Narrator: DURING THE CRETACEOUS,

GIANT FLYING REPTILES, THE PTEROSAURS, RULE THE SKIES.

THE LAND IS THE DOMAIN OF MEAT-EATERS,

THE VELOCIRAPTOR AND THE T. REX, THE NINE-TON MONSTER

WITH THE STRONGEST BITE OF ANY LAND ANIMAL IN HISTORY.

YET FOR NOWICKI AND THE TEAM, THE MYSTERY ISN'T

WHERE THESE MONSTERS LIVED BUT WHERE THEY DIED.

FOSSILIZATION ONLY TAKES PLACE WHEN THERE'S RAPID BURIAL

AND THE RIGHT KINDS OF CHEMICAL CONDITIONS

IN THOSE ROCKS TO PRESERVE BONES.

99.9% OF ALL THE THINGS THAT HAVE LIVED

HAVE NOT BECOME FOSSILS.

**

Narrator: THE TEAM HAS JOURNEYED INTO THE NEMEGT BASIN

IN THE WEST OF THE GOBI.

**

ONE OF THE EARLIEST TYPES OF FOSSILS FOUND IN THIS REGION

WERE DINOSAUR EGGS STILL BASICALLY IN THE NEST.

AND THEY CALLED THE NEMEGT BASIN THE VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS.

**

Narrator: THE SATELLITE IMAGES LEAD THE TEAM

TO A SEDIMENTARY AREA ON THE WESTERN SIDE

OF THE VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS.

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATION ]

WE LOOKED AT THE SATELLITE IMAGERY

AND STARTED TO IDENTIFY THESE DIFFERENT-COLOR BLOBS

THAT OCCURRED WITHIN MULTIPLE NEW LOCATIONS.

[ DRONE WHIRRING ]

**

Narrator: NOWICKI NOW USES THE DRONE'S MULTISPECTRAL CAMERAS

TO MAP THE LANDSCAPE TO A RESOLUTION OF 1/2 INCH.

**

COMBINING SATELLITE AND DRONE DATA,

HE CREATES A 3-D MAP OF POSSIBLE DINOSAUR GRAVES.

WE'RE USING THOSE TO KIND OF FOLD IN

OUR OBSERVATIONS ON THE GROUND WITH OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SKY

IN ORDER TO BUILD WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.

**

Narrator: USING NOWICKI'S AERIAL 3-D MODEL TO GUIDE THEM,

PALEONTOLOGISTS START DIGGING.

**

WHAT THEY FIND STUNS THEM.

**

Nowicki: WE HIT THE GROUND RUNNING.

WITHIN HOURS, WE WERE SEEING THINGS

THAT WE THOUGHT WOULD TAKE DAYS, WEEKS, MONTHS

TO ACTUALLY GET TO.

Narrator: OVER THE COURSE OF 20 DAYS,

THE TEAM IDENTIFIES 250 PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN

DINOSAUR GRAVEYARDS AND THREE NEW SPECIES.

Nowicki: WHAT LOOKS LIKE A DESERT LANDSCAPE

TURNED OUT TO BE LITTERED WITH FOSSILS COVERING THE SURFACE.

WE WOULD WALK INTO A NEW LOCATION

AND JUST SEE FOSSILS EVERYWHERE --

HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS OF THEM.

**

Narrator: STUDIES SUGGEST MANY OF THESE DINOSAURS

WERE KILLED BY A MUDSLIDE SOME 70 MILLION YEARS AGO.

**

BUT THE TEAM DISCOVERS

OTHERS SUFFERED AN EVEN MORE VIOLENT END.

ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING FINDS WAS A TARBOSAUR.

WE FOUND TEETH AT ONE LOCATION AND PART OF A SKULL AT ANOTHER.

Narrator: THE TARBOSAURUS IS THE T. REX'S MONGOLIAN COUSIN.

TARBOSAURUS' NAME MEANS "ALARMING DINOSAUR."

I MEAN, THAT IN ITSELF SHOULD TELL YOU SOMETHING.

**

Narrator: THE 5-INCH-LONG TOOTH SUGGESTS THIS TARBOSAURUS

WAS AROUND 40 FEET LONG

AND WEIGHED TWICE AS MUCH AS A PICKUP TRUCK.

THE THING THAT IS MOST EXCITING

IS THAT WE BOTH FOUND INCREDIBLE FOSSILS

BUT ALSO BUILT THIS NEW WAY OF LOOKING FOR FOSSILS

IN THE FUTURE.

**

Narrator: TO DATE, NOWICKI HAS ONLY SCANNED

A FRACTION OF THE GOBI DESERT.

WHAT ELSE LURKS BENEATH ITS ANCIENT SANDS

REMAINS TO BE DISCOVERED.

CURRENT CALCULATIONS SHOW

THAT THERE ARE ABOUT 2,000 DINOSAUR GROUPS,

AND SO FAR, WE'VE ONLY UNCOVERED ABOUT 30% OF THOSE.

WITH THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY,

WE ARE NOW ENTERING A NEW GOLDEN AGE OF PALEONTOLOGY.

**

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: COMING UP, THE ATOMIC TOWER OF DOOM...

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT TRANSCENDS NOT JUST U.S. HISTORY

BUT WORLD HISTORY.

Narrator: ...AND THE ISLAND-MUNCHING MONSTERS.

Nelson: IMAGINE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF THEM

COMING THROUGH AN AREA.

DEVASTATION.

[ WHIRRING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: FEBRUARY 2, 2005 --

THE QuickBird II SATELLITE PASSES OVER NEVADA.

A SERIES OF IMAGES REVEAL SOMETHING STRANGE

IN THE REMOTE DESERT SANDS.

**

THIS LOOKS VERY INTERESTING

BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE THIS LONG LINE.

AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE DAY, WE SEE THIS BLACK LINE MOVE,

WHICH INDICATES THAT IT'S SOME KIND OF A SHADOW.

Morgan: IT'S A VERY, VERY LONG SHADOW

THAT IS OBVIOUSLY BEING CAST BY A TOWER,

BUT IT'S NO ORDINARY TOWER,

BUT ONE THAT IS EXCEPTIONALLY TALL.

Narrator: THE NEEDLE-THIN TOWER

HAS NO SUPPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE,

AND IT SITS IN TOTAL ISOLATION.

IT'S KIND OF LOCATED IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.

MAYBE THIS COULD BE A CELL TOWER?

THE THING IS, ALL CELLPHONE TOWERS IN THE UNITED STATES

NEED TO BE REGISTERED.

THIS ONE'S NOT.

SO IF THIS IS A CELLPHONE TOWER, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE ILLEGAL.

**

Narrator: IF THIS IS AN ILLEGAL CELL TOWER,

IT'S ONE OF A GROWING NUMBER IN THE U.S.

CRIMINALS USE THEM TO INTERCEPT PHONE TRAFFIC

AND SEND SPAM ADS AND PHISHING TEXTS.

THESE ILLEGAL TOWERS ARE WHAT ARE CALLED

INTERNATIONAL MOBILE SUBSCRIBER IDENTITY CATCHERS,

AND ESSENTIALLY, WHAT THEY DO IS MIMIC CELLPHONE TOWERS

AND ENTRAP YOUR CELLPHONE

SO THAT THEY CAN MONITOR YOUR DATA,

YOUR PHONE CALLS, YOUR TEXTS.

Narrator: RECENT ANALYSIS SUGGESTS THIS ILLEGITIMATE TECH

MAY HAVE AN EVEN MORE SINISTER APPLICATION.

Moran: THESE SORT OF MASTS HAVE BEEN USED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT

AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, WHICH IN OF ITSELF IS UPSETTING

AND ALARMING TO A LOT OF AMERICANS,

BUT IT'S NOW SUSPECTED THAT SOME OF THESE MASTS

HAVE BEEN SET UP BY FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS

IN ORDER TO SPY ON US.

Narrator: HOWEVER, INVESTIGATORS DISCOVER

THAT THESE ILLEGAL CELL TOWERS ARE DESIGNED TO BE MOBILE.

THEY'RE GOING TO TRY TO BE AS DISCREET AS POSSIBLE.

THIS THING IS NOT AN ATTEMPT TO BE DISCREET.

**

Narrator: MILITARY EXPERTS THINK THE TOWER'S LOCATION

PROVIDES A CLUE.

Munoz: IT'S NEAR THE NEVADA TEST SITE,

WHICH IS WHERE THE UNITED STATES CONDUCTED

ITS EARLIEST EXPERIMENTATIONS WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

IT KINDS OF REMINDS ME OF A DRILLING RIG,

SO IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS COULD BE A TOWER

THAT'S PART OF SOME SORT OF UNDERGROUND TEST SITE

FOR A NUCLEAR WEAPON.

[ EXPLOSION ]

Narrator: IN 1963,

THE INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY

ABOLISHES ATMOSPHERIC TESTS,

FORCING EXPLOSIVE ATOMIC EXPERIMENTS UNDERGROUND.

THE WAY YOU WOULD PREPARE A TEST SITE

IS BY DRILLING DOWN INTO THE GROUND,

CREATING A PLACE TO PUT THE NUCLEAR WEAPON.

IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THIS TOWER IS PART OF A DRILLING OPERATION

FOR DOING AN UNDERGROUND TEST.

**

Narrator: YET ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE'S SHADOW SUGGESTS

IT IS 1,500 FEET TALL.

**

THAT MAKES IT TALLER THAN THE EIFFEL TOWER,

TALLER THAN THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING.

WAY TOO TALL TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH A DRILL RIG.

I MEAN, THIS THING IS GIANT.

**

Narrator: FOR HISTORIANS,

THE TOWER'S HEIGHT IS HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT.

Albertson: THE HEIGHT OF THE TOWER IS ACTUALLY THE SAME

AS THE LITTLE BOY BOMB OVER HIROSHIMA IN AUGUST OF 1945.

MANY PEOPLE MIGHT BELIEVE THAT THE HIROSHIMA WEAPON

DETONATED UPON IMPACT WITH THE GROUND,

WHICH IS NOT WHAT IT DID.

IT DETONATED AT AN ALTITUDE OF 1,500 FEET.

Narrator: THE BOMB, DUBBED LITTLE BOY,

CONTAINS 141 POUNDS OF URANIUM,

ALMOST ALL THE PROCESSED ELEMENT IN EXISTENCE.

**

ITS SHOCKWAVE OF DESTRUCTION LAUNCHES INHABITANTS

THROUGH THE AIR AT UP TO 1,000 MILES PER HOUR

AND FLATTENS THE CITY.

**

80,000 PEOPLE INSTANTLY PERISH.

**

WHEN THE WAR ENDS, A TEAM OF AMERICAN SCIENTISTS

VISIT THE CITY TO EVALUATE OTHER EFFECTS

OF THE CATACLYSMIC BLAST.

THEY FOUND THAT BY THE TIME THEY GOT THERE,

THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO ASSESS CERTAIN ASPECTS

OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EXPLOSION.

**

Narrator: DECLASSIFIED FILES REVEAL

THAT THIS IS THE GENESIS OF THE GIANT TOWER IN THE IMAGE.

U.S. MILITARY LEADERS DECIDED TO TRY AND REPLICATE THAT BOMBING,

SO WHAT THEY DID WAS CONSTRUCT THE TOWER

THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE.

Narrator: THE FILES CONFIRM THAT THE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION

BUILDS THE TOWER IN THE DESERT IN 1962.

**

IT'S CALLED BREN -- THE BARE REACTOR EXPERIMENT, NEVADA.

THE TOWER WAS BUILT IN SUCH A WAY THAT AN UNSHIELDED REACTOR

COULD BE ADJUSTED UP AND DOWN THE LENGTH OF IT.

**

Narrator: BY PLACING THE REACTOR

AT THE SAME ALTITUDE AS THE HIROSHIMA BLAST,

SCIENTISTS TRY TO MEASURE THE RADIATION DOSES RECEIVED

BY SURVIVORS OF THIS AND THE NAGASAKI EXPLOSIONS.

Munoz: TO KIND OF ENHANCE THOSE RESULTS,

MILITARY OFFICIALS ACTUALLY SET UP FAKE HOUSES.

SO ONCE THE DEVICE WAS DETONATED,

YOU COULD REALLY SEE WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED.

[ EXPLOSION ]

Morgan: IT'S A LITTLE BIT CREEPY TO THINK ABOUT IT,

BUT THIS BECAME THE MOST RELIABLE METHOD

FOR ASSESSING THE DIFFUSION OF RADIATION

FROM A BLAST POINT ABOVE THE GROUND.

**

Narrator: IN 1966, THE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION

MOVES THE BREN TOWER 23 MILES SOUTHWEST

TO THE SITE IN THE IMAGE.

**

FURTHER IMAGES REVEAL THAT IN 2012,

THIS BIZARRE RELIC OF PERHAPS THE MOST INFAMOUS MOMENT

IN WARTIME HISTORY IS DEMOLISHED.

THIS IS REALLY AN AMAZING THING TO SEE FROM A SATELLITE

BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT TRANSCENDS

NOT JUST U.S. HISTORY BUT WORLD HISTORY.

**

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: COMING UP, THE VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED...

THE DEAD ARE LITERALLY UNEARTHED FROM CEMETERIES AND CONSUMED.

Narrator: ...AND HIGH ON A MOUNTAINSIDE...

PRIESTS GO INTO ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

AND THEREFORE COMMUNICATE WITH GODS.

[ WHIRRING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: SEPTEMBER 2012.

SOUTHWEST POLAND.

AERIAL ARCHAEOLOGISTS TAKE TO THE SKIES

OVER DENSE FOREST NEAR STRZELIN.

**

ONBOARD LIDAR TECHNOLOGY FIRES BURSTS OF LASER LIGHT

TOWARDS THE GROUND...

EFFECTIVELY STRIPPING THE FOREST TO SCAN WHAT'S HIDDEN BELOW.

THE SATELLITE IS A REALLY FAR-AWAY PICTURE

OF WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE GROUND,

WHEREAS LIDAR SEES THROUGH THE VEGETATION AND THE TREES

AND ACTUALLY SEES THE LANDSCAPE.

Narrator: WHAT THE LIDAR DATA REVEALS

ASTONISHES ARCHAEOLOGISTS.

[ BEEPING ]

French: THIS IS REALLY EXCITING

BECAUSE IT REALLY DOES LOOK LIKE THE LAYOUT OF A TOWN.

Bellinger: THIS IMAGE SHOWS THE CLEAR OUTLINES

OF AN ABANDONED HUMAN SETTLEMENT,

AND A LONG-AGO ABANDONED SETTLEMENT.

**

Narrator: HISTORICAL LAND RECORDS OFFER A CLUE.

**

Hunt: THERE IS ONE VILLAGE THAT APPEARS FOR A BRIEF TIME --

A COUPLE OF GENERATIONS, AND THEN IT'S GONE.

**

THAT VILLAGE WAS RECORDED AS GOSCHWITZ.

French: IT WAS A NEW VILLAGE.

EVERYONE WAS DOING FINE.

**

THEN THEY WEREN'T.

PEOPLE JUST DISAPPEARED.

**

Narrator: AT SOME POINT DURING THE 14th CENTURY,

AN UNKNOWN FORCE APPEARS TO HAVE WIPED OUT GOSCHWITZ

FROM THE MAP.

**

SOME ANALYSTS THINK THE DATE OF THE VILLAGE'S DISAPPEARANCE

IS SIGNIFICANT.

Paul: THE BLACK DEATH WAS ALSO KNOWN AS THE GREAT PLAGUE,

AND IT WAS POSSIBLY ONE OF THE MOST DEVASTATING INCIDENTS

TO EVER HIT EUROPE, EVEN UP UNTIL WORLD WAR II.

**

Narrator: IN THE SPACE OF JUST FOUR YEARS,

THE BLACK DEATH KILLS AROUND 25 MILLION PEOPLE.

YET FOR REASONS NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD,

IT SKIRTS POLAND AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE CONTINENT.

THE PLAGUE IS SPREAD VIA HUMAN CONTACT.

PERHAPS THE COUNTRY'S HIGH JEWISH POPULATION,

WHOSE RELIGION PROMOTES SANITATION,

HELPS HALT THE SPREAD OF THE DISEASE.

POLAND TURNS OUT TO HAVE BEEN SPARED

THE BRUNT OF THE BLACK DEATH HORROR,

SO IT'S UNLIKELY THAT THE BLACK DEATH

IS TO BLAME FOR THE ABANDONMENT OF GOSCHWITZ.

**

Narrator: MARK HORTON IDENTIFIES ANOTHER EXPLANATION.

ONE POSSIBLE REASON WHY THIS VILLAGE DISAPPEARED

WAS BECAUSE OF CLIMACTIC CHANGES IN THE 14th CENTURY.

WHILST THESE JUST SWEPT ACROSS EUROPE,

THERE'S SOME EVIDENCE

THAT THEY WERE PARTICULARLY DRAMATIC IN POLAND.

[ WIND WHISTLING ]

Narrator: BETWEEN 1315 AND 1317,

AN UNPRECEDENTED RUN OF SEVERE RAIN HITS EUROPE.

[ THUNDER RUMBLING ]

FOOD ROTS IN THE GROUND, HARVESTS FAIL,

AND LIVESTOCK STARVE.

French: THERE ARE A LOT OF MOUTHS TO FEED.

PEOPLE ARE POOR.

THEY CAN'T GROW AS MUCH FOOD AS THEY NEED,

AND PEOPLE ARE IN DIRE STRAITS.

**

Narrator: THE SO-CALLED "GREAT FAMINE" KILLS MILLIONS.

MANY SURVIVORS RESORT TO THE UNTHINKABLE.

**

Hunt: WE KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE,

THAT CORPSES ARE CUT DOWN FROM GALLOWS

WHEN THERE'S NO FOOD TO EAT...

**

...THAT THE DEAD ARE LITERALLY UNEARTHED FROM CEMETERIES

AND CONSUMED.

**

Narrator: THE UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS OF THE GREAT FAMINE

ARE THE HISTORICAL INSPIRATION

FOR THE HANSEL AND GRETEL FAIRY TALE.

[ WITCH CACKLES ]

IT'S KNOWN THAT THE GREAT FAMINE DID AFFECT POLAND

AROUND THE TIME THE VILLAGE DISAPPEARS.

**

YET POLISH MILITARY RECORDS SUGGEST A DIFFERENT EVENT

FORCES THE VILLAGERS FROM THEIR HOMES.

LOOKING AGAIN AT THE DATA, TRYING TO EXPLAIN

HOW THE VILLAGE OF GOSCHWITZ DISAPPEARS,

WAR IS ANOTHER HUGE POSSIBLE FACTOR.

**

Narrator: THE VILLAGE'S DISAPPEARANCE CORRESPONDS WITH

A VICIOUS RELIGIOUS UPRISING IN EASTERN EUROPE,

THE HUSSITE WARS.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

WE HAVE, AT THE END OF THE 14th CENTURY,

A SORT OF PRE-PROTESTANT REFORMER NAMED JAN HUS,

AND HE REBELLED AGAINST THE AUTHORITY

OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.

**

Bellinger: HUS FELT THAT THE CHURCH WAS

TERRIBLY UNETHICAL IN ITS TREATMENT OF THE POOR,

PARTICULARLY IN REQUIRING THEM

TO GIVE EVERY LAST PENNY THEY HAD

TO PAY FOR PRAYERS TO BE SAID ON THEIR BEHALF.

[ FLAMES CRACKLING ]

Narrator: CHARGED WITH HERESY,

ON JULY 6, 1415, JAN HUS IS BURNED AT THE STAKE.

[ SWORDS CLANGING ]

HIS OUTRAGED FOLLOWERS,

LED BY THE FEARED ONE-EYED JAN ZIZKA,

REVOLT, ATTACKING CATHOLIC STRONGHOLDS ACROSS THE REGION.

HE BASICALLY WAS ONE OF THE FIRST USERS OF PISTOLS.

HE TRAINED WHOLE PEASANT ARMIES

AND MADE THESE ARTILLERY WAGONS OF WOOD

THAT LOOKED SURPRISINGLY LIKE THE FORERUNNER OF MODERN TANKS.

THIS WAS ONE OF THE FIRST MOBILIZATIONS

OF ALMOST MODERN WARFARE.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING, HORSE WHINNIES ]

Narrator: ZIZKA HIMSELF REQUESTS

THAT A DRUM BE MADE FROM HIS SKIN

FOR HIS SOLDIERS TO BEAT AS THEY MARCH INTO BATTLE.

Hunt: WHEN THOSE ARMIES COME RAVAGING THROUGH THE TERRAIN,

YOU WILL GO HIDE IN THE FOREST.

SO WHOLE VILLAGES JUST GOT UP AND LEFT

BECAUSE OF THOSE RELIGIOUS WARS.

**

Narrator: CENSUS DATA FROM GOSCHWITZ

INDICATES ITS 100 INHABITANTS WERE CATHOLIC...

A PRIME TARGET FOR ZIZKA AND HIS BLOODTHIRSTY SOLDIERS.

Paul: A SMALL VILLAGE LIKE THE ONE WE SEE IN THIS LIDAR IMAGE

DOES NOT HAVE ANY DEFENSIVE WALLS BUILT UP AROUND IT.

THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN ESSENTIALLY DEFENSELESS

IF THEY WERE RUN OVER BY AN ARMY OF RELIGIOUS ZEALOTS.

**

Narrator: FOR NOW, WE CAN'T BE SURE

WHICH OF THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE --

DISEASE, FAMINE, WAR, AND DEATH --

ERASED THE GHOST VILLAGE FROM HISTORY.

**

Bellinger: IT'S LIKE A POLISH POMPEII.

IT'S A SNAPSHOT IN TIME.

ALL WE NEED TO DO IS GO AND EXAMINE ON THE GROUND.

**

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: COMING UP, CODE OF THE CONE HEADS...

I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING SHAPED LIKE IT BEFORE.

Narrator: ...AND THE ISLAND THAT DISAPPEARED.

THIS IS THE NATURAL EQUIVALENT

OF A MILITARY SCORCHED-EARTH POLICY.

[ WIND WHISTLING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: MAY 2, 2018 --

A SATELLITE OVER THE COAST OF PERU CAPTURES SOMETHING UNUSUAL.

Merritt: THIS IMAGE IS REALLY STRANGE.

I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING SHAPED LIKE IT BEFORE.

**

Janulis: IT'S GOT A VERY DISTINCT,

SORT OF TRIDENT-LIKE CHARACTER TO IT,

AND IT LOOKS VERY BIG.

IT COVERS ABOUT HALF THE MOUNTAIN SIDE.

[ BEEPING ]

Narrator: ANALYSIS REVEALS THE MYSTERY STRUCTURE IS 500 FEET LONG,

AND CARBON DATING OF NEARBY ARTIFACTS SUGGESTS

IT WAS CARVED INTO THE HILLSIDE OVER 2,000 YEARS AGO.

KNOWING THIS IS IN PERU, I MEAN,

THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND IS THE NAZCA LINES.

**

Narrator: DATING FROM AROUND THE SAME TIME,

THE ORIGIN AND PURPOSE

OF THESE GROUPS OF ANIMAL, HUMAN, AND ABSTRACT DESIGNS

CONTINUE TO BAFFLE EXPERTS.

**

HOWEVER, THE MYSTERY SHAPE IN THE IMAGE

SITS IN ISOLATION 100 MILES FROM THESE INFAMOUS PATTERNS.

**

Horton: THIS IS FURTHER NORTH IN PERU

AND IS SIMILAR TO THE NAZCA GEOGLYPHS

BUT CLEARLY MADE BY A DIFFERENT CULTURE ALTOGETHER.

Narrator: HISTORICAL RECORDS IDENTIFY A POSSIBLE SUSPECT.

WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SOCIETIES THAT LIVED IN THIS AREA,

GOING BACK TO AT LEAST 200 B.C.,

THE ONE SOCIETY THAT STANDS OUT ARE THE PARACAS PEOPLE.

**

Narrator: TEXTS CONFIRM THE PARACAS CIVILIZATION

RULES THESE LANDS BETWEEN 800 AND 100 B.C.

**

MUMMIFIED CORPSES REVEAL

ITS PEOPLE UNDERGO A STRANGE FORM OF BODY MODIFICATION.

**

THE WAY THEY WOULD MODIFY THE SHAPES OF THEIR HEADS

IS BY TAKING A YOUNG BABY,

AND THEY WOULD BAND MATERIAL AROUND THE SKULL

SO THAT INSTEAD OF GROWING OUTWARD,

THE WAY MOST PEOPLE'S DO, THEY WOULD GROW UPWARD,

CREATING A DISTINCT CONICAL SHAPE TO THE SKULLS.

**

Narrator: STUDIES SUGGEST THE PARACAS BEGIN

BINDING THE HEADS OF THEIR INFANTS

AROUND 3,000 YEARS AGO.

ITS EXACT PURPOSE IS A MYSTERY.

French: ALTERING YOUR BODY IN SOME WAY

AS A SIGN THAT YOU'RE PART OF A PARTICULAR GROUP

IS PRETTY COMMON, FROM FILING YOUR TEETH

TO BRANDING TO TATTOOING TO CHINESE FOOTBINDING.

BUT CHANGING THE SHAPE OF THE SKULL

IS ONE OF THE MORE EXTREME FORMS OF DOING SO.

**

Narrator: A DETAIL IN THE STRUCTURE

COULD EXPLAIN ITS PURPOSE TO THE PARACAS PEOPLE.

Horton: AT EACH END OF THE PRONGS,

WE'VE GOT SORT OF FLOWERY ARRANGEMENTS

THAT LOOK LIKE SOME FORM OF PLANT.

**

Narrator: THE SHAPE IS REMINISCENT

OF THE FLOWER OF THE JIMSON WEED...

**

...A HALLUCINOGENIC PLANT FOUND IN THIS REGION.

HALLUCINOGENIC DRUGS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT

IN THIS PART OF SOUTH AMERICA,

WHERE THERE'S A TRADITION OF PRIESTS

WHO GO INTO ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

AND COMMUNICATE WITH ANCESTRAL SPIRITS OR GODS.

**

Narrator: ALSO KNOWN AS THE DEVIL'S TRUMPET,

INGESTING JIMSON WEED INDUCES ZOMBIE-LIKE TRANCES.

Horton: IT IS PERFECTLY POSSIBLE THAT

THAT'S WHY THIS PARTICULAR PLANT IS BEING SHOWN

BECAUSE IT WAS HELD SACRED TO THE PEOPLE THAT CARVED IT.

**

Narrator: YET FURTHER ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE'S POSITION

SUGGESTS IT COULD HAVE ALSO SERVED ANOTHER PURPOSE.

SO WHEN YOU ZOOM OUT, YOU CAN SEE THAT THIS GEOGLYPH

IS ACTUALLY POSITIONED FACING ROUGHLY NORTH.

IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THIS WAS PUT ON THIS MOUNTAIN

FACING THIS DIRECTION TO BE SEEN FROM THE OCEAN.

**

Narrator: THE STRUCTURE'S SIZE AND HILLSIDE POSITION

MEAN IT IS VISIBLE TO THOSE TRAVELING MANY MILES OUT AT SEA.

**

Janulis: THIS LEADS TO THE QUESTION,

"WAS THIS MEANT TO BE SOME SORT OF NAVIGATIONAL AID?

WAS IT MEANT TO BE SEEN AND USED AS A MARKER

THAT WOULD HELP NAVIGATE THE COASTLINE?"

TRIDENTS ARE OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH WATER AND WITH THE OCEAN.

WE SEE IT WITH THE GREEKS AND ROMANS.

WE SEE IT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

**

Narrator: IF THIS IS A NAVIGATIONAL BEACON,

EXPERTS CONSIDER IF IT COULD HELP EXPLAIN

AN ENDURING MYSTERY ABOUT THE PARACAS.

SAMPLES OF SOME OF THE SKULLS OF THE PARACAS

HAVE SHOWN THAT THEY HAD RED HAIR,

AND THAT JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN IN SOUTH AMERICA.

**

Narrator: RED HAIR IS AN ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY

NORTHERN AND CENTRAL EUROPEAN GENETIC TRAIT.

IT'S EVIDENT THAT THERE WAS SOME SORT OF IMMIGRATION FROM EUROPE.

**

Narrator: ACCORDING TO WRITTEN HISTORY,

EUROPEANS DON'T ARRIVE IN PERU UNTIL 1532.

**

YET THIS 2,000-YEAR-OLD STRUCTURE

RAISES THE INTRIGUING POSSIBILITY

THAT THEY COULD HAVE MADE THE JOURNEY MANY CENTURIES EARLIER.

I LIKE THE IDEA THAT THIS WAS A NAVIGATION AID,

GUIDING THEM IN, SAYING,

"HEY, THIS IS WHERE WE ARE IF YOU WANT TO STOP."

IF IT CAN BE PROVEN THAT THE PARACAS WERE A EUROPEAN CULTURE,

I MEAN, THAT WOULD JUST BLOW HISTORY AWAY.

I MEAN, YOU HAVE IMMIGRATION MUCH EARLIER

THAN WE EVER THOUGHT.

**

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: COMING UP, DEATH IN PARADISE...

Munoz: YOU HAVE EVERYTHING FROM HEAVY WEAPONS

TO WARPLANES DROPPING 500-POUND BOMBS

OUT OF THE SKY.

Narrator: ...AND WHEN EARTH TAKES ITS REVENGE.

WITHOUT SERIOUS INTERVENTION, THE WHOLE CITY COULD COLLAPSE.

[ WHIRRING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: SEPTEMBER 10, 2017 --

TWO IMAGES TAKEN BY NASA'S LANDSAT SATELLITE

OF A LAND MASS IN THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

CAPTURE A DISTURBING SCENE.

[ BEEPING ]

Ellis: IN ONE IMAGE, IT'S GREEN, IT'S LUSH.

AND THEN YOU SWITCH TO THE NEXT IMAGE,

AND IT LOOKS LIKE A DESERT.

IT'S A COMPLETELY BARREN LANDSCAPE.

SOMETHING CATASTROPHIC HAS CLEARLY HAPPENED TO THIS ISLAND.

**

Narrator: BIOLOGIST ROB NELSON CONSIDERS IF A BIBLICAL FORCE

COULD HAVE STRIPPED THE ISLAND BARE.

IT MAKES ME WONDER IF IT COULD HAVE BEEN A PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS.

**

A SINGLE LOCUST CAN EAT ITS BODYWEIGHT IN FOOD

EVERY SINGLE DAY.

NOW IMAGINE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF THEM

COMING THROUGH AN AREA.

DEVASTATION.

[ LOCUST CHIRPING ]

Narrator: SOLITARY FOR MOST OF THEIR LIFE,

STUDIES SUGGEST LOCUST BRAINS FLOOD WITH SEROTONIN

WHEN THEY COME INTO CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER.

THE SAME CHEMICAL THAT MAKES US HAPPY OR SAD

TURNS THEM INTO RAVENOUS SWARMS, COVERING OVER 450 SQUARE MILES.

**

Cerveny: THIS IS THE NATURAL EQUIVALENT

OF A MILITARY SCORCHED-EARTH POLICY

WHERE THE LOCUSTS HAVE DESTROYED SO MUCH CROP

THAT THERE'S SO LITTLE LEFT

THAT A POPULATION WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SURVIVE.

**

Narrator: THE ISLAND IN THE IMAGE

IS OVER 3,000 MILES FROM THE LOCUSTS' NATIVE TERRITORIES.

YET THE INSECT SWARMS CAN COVER THESE DISTANCES.

WE KNOW THAT IN 1988, A WHOLE SWARM OF LOCUSTS

WERE SWEPT UP BY A TROPICAL STORM

AND DUMPED ON THE CARIBBEAN.

**

Narrator: OTHERS AREN'T CONVINCED BY THE SWARM THEORY.

IF WE WERE LOOKING AT THE LAND AFFECTED BY A LOCUST SWARM,

WE WOULD SEE A PATCHWORK KIND OF APPEARANCE

WHERE SOME VEGETATION HAS DISAPPEARED,

BUT OTHER VEGETATION WOULD STILL REMAIN GREEN.

**

Narrator: MILITARY ANALYSTS IDENTIFY ANOTHER EXPLANATION

FOR THIS APOCALYPTIC DESTRUCTION.

LOOKING AT THESE IMAGES, THIS MIGHT BE WEAPONS TESTING.

Munoz: THERE ACTUALLY IS A VERY LONG PRECEDENT

OF THE U.S. MILITARY USING THESE KINDS OF ISLANDS

TO TEST VARIOUS TYPES OF WEAPONS.

**

Narrator: IN 2015, THE PENTAGON ANNOUNCES PLANS

TO USE PAGAN ISLAND IN THE PACIFIC FOR LIVE WAR GAMES.

Munoz: YOU HAVE EVERYTHING FROM HEAVY WEAPONS

SUCH AS ARTILLERY PIECES AND MORTARS

TO WAR PLANES DROPPING 500-POUND BOMBS OUT OF THE SKY.

**

Narrator: BUT CLOSER IMAGE ANALYSIS CASTS DOUBT ON THE IDEA

THAT THIS ISLAND IS THE VICTIM OF A SIMILAR EXERCISE.

Kourounis: THERE ARE NO SCARS OR CRATERS

VISIBLE IN THIS SATELLITE IMAGE ON THIS ISLAND AT ALL,

SO THERE'S NO EVIDENCE THAT THIS WAS FROM A BOMBING CAMPAIGN.

**

Narrator: WHEN CLIMATOLOGIST RANDY CERVENY

STUDIES WIDER SATELLITE IMAGES,

HE SPOTS SOMETHING HE THINKS COULD EXPLAIN THE MYSTERY...

A LOW-PRESSURE WEATHER FRONT

BREWING AT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN,

CAPTURED FROM SPACE SIX DAYS BEFORE THE EVENT.

THE CRITICAL BIT OF INFORMATION IS THE DATE.

WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DATE, WE CAN RELATE IT

TO A SPECIFIC WEATHER EVENT

THAT WAS RIGHT OVER THIS AREA DURING THAT TIME.

Narrator: BETWEEN AUGUST 30th AND SEPTEMBER 5th,

THE STORM FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.

**

Ellis: AS SHE CONTINUES TO TRAVEL ACROSS THE OCEAN,

FROM EAST TO WEST, OVER TOP OF THIS REALLY WARM OCEAN WATER,

HER WINDS GET FASTER AND FASTER.

**

Narrator: OVER THE NEXT FIVE DAYS,

WIND SPEEDS INCREASE TO OVER 150 MILES PER HOUR

AND THE MONSTER STORM CALLED IRMA SETS A COLLISION COURSE

WITH THE CARIBBEAN.

BY THE TIME IT REACHES THE ISLAND IN THE IMAGE

ON SEPTEMBER 6th,

THE CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE IS OVER 400 MILES WIDE.

**

HURRICANES ARE THE BIGGEST AND STRONGEST STORMS ON EARTH.

YOU CAN'T EVEN FLY OVER TOP OF THEM

UNLESS YOU'RE IN THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

**

Narrator: AT 4:30 P.M. ON SEPTEMBER 6th,

IRMA MAKES LANDFALL,

PUMMELING THE ISLAND WITH WINDS IN EXCESS OF 185 MILES PER HOUR.

**

BEING IN A HURRICANE IS AN OVERWHELMING EXPERIENCE.

EVERY RAINDROP FEELS LIKE A NEEDLE HITTING YOU IN THE FACE.

WHOLE COMMUNITIES LOST EVERYTHING.

HOUSES FLATTENED, ROADS WASHED AWAY, POWER LINES DOWN.

UTTER DESTRUCTION.

**

Narrator: IRMA IS THE MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE

EVER RECORDED IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN.

YET THIS CATACLYSMIC DESTRUCTION ALONE CAN'T EXPLAIN THE IMAGES.

Ellis: A NORMAL HURRICANE WILL CAUSE SOME TREES TO TOPPLE,

BUT YOU WOULD NOT SEE A DEVASTATED ISLAND.

IT WOULD STILL LOOK GREEN FROM ABOVE.

Narrator: SCIENTISTS THINK THE UNPRECEDENTED DAMAGE

IS THE RESULT OF A RARE METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENON.

WHAT WE'RE PROBABLY SEEING HERE

IS SOMETHING CALLED SALT SCALDING,

WHICH ESSENTIALLY IS THIS HURRICANE

WHIPPING UP THE WAVES FROM THE OCEAN

AND SPRAYING THAT SALTY WATER ALL OVER THE ISLAND.

IT DRIES OUT THE LEAVES, AND THE ISLAND IS DEAD.

Narrator: THE SALT SCALDING FINISHES THE JOB BEGAN BY IRMA,

RAZING THE ISLAND AND ALL BUT WIPING IT FROM THE MAP.

Cerveny: THE TAKE-HOME MESSAGE THAT WE HAVE FROM HURRICANE IRMA

IS IT CAN CAUSE UTTER DEVASTATION,

BUT THE HOPEFUL THING IS THAT THE ISLAND WILL RECOVER.

IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME.

**

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: COMING UP, DYING FOR A DRINK.

PEOPLE ARE SO DESPERATE FOR WATER

THAT THEY REGULARLY HIJACK THESE WATER TANKERS AT GUNPOINT.

[ WHIRRING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: FALL 2014 --

A SATELLITE COMPLETES A SERIES OF PASSES OVER MEXICO CITY.

USING PULSES OF MICROWAVES,

IT CALCULATES ANY CHANGES IN THE HEIGHT OF THE TERRAIN.

[ BEEPING ]

THE DATA REVEALS SOMETHING ALARMING.

THIS IS REALLY CONCERNING --

THE VAST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE COLORS

SHOWS A CITY THAT'S SINKING RAPIDLY.

Narrator: EACH COLOR DENOTES THE SEVERITY OF SINKING.

RED INDICATES AREAS OF THE CITY

BEING SWALLOWED BY UP TO ONE INCH PER MONTH.

IT'S PLUNGED ALMOST 33 FEET IN THE LAST 100 YEARS.

I MEAN, IN GEOLOGIC TERMS, MEXICO CITY IS IN FREE FALL.

**

Narrator: 21 MILLION PEOPLE LIVE IN MEXICO CITY.

THE SATELLITE DATA SUGGESTS SOME AREAS ARE SINKING

BY THREE FEET A YEAR.

Sanford: THERE ARE CRACKS APPEARING IN BUILDINGS,

CRACKS APPEARING IN THE ROADS.

THERE IS A DANGER THAT THE EARTH COULD OPEN UP UNDER YOUR FEET

AND SWALLOW YOU UP.

**

Narrator: BUILDINGS ARE FALLING INTO SINKHOLES,

AND IN ONE SUBURB, 15 SCHOOLS HAVE COLLAPSED.

**

THIS IS LIKE A SLOW-MOTION CAR CRASH.

THE CITY IS IN A REAL PREDICAMENT.

WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY MORE FEET THE CITY WILL DROP.

**

WE NEED TO BE CHECKING OUT THE GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY

AROUND MEXICO CITY TO FIND OUR ANSWER.

Narrator: GEOLOGICAL DATA REVEALS THE CITY SITS ON

AN ANCIENT LAKE BED.

**

1,000 YEARS AGO, IT IS FULL OF WATER.

**

IN 1325, THE AZTECS ESTABLISH THE CAPITAL

OF THEIR 80,000 SQUARE-MILE EMPIRE THERE

AFTER WITNESSING AN OMEN.

THE AZTECS CHOSE THIS SITE FOR A VERY DELIBERATE REASON.

THEY LOOKED FOR A SIGN, AND WHAT THEY GOT WAS AN EAGLE

CARRYING A SNAKE THAT LANDED ON A CACTUS AT LAKE TEXCOCO,

WHICH LATER BECAME MEXICO CITY.

**

Narrator: THE CITY, CALLED TENOCHTITLAN,

SITS ON AN ISLAND

IN THE MIDDLE OF FIVE INTERCONNECTED LAKES.

**

THE AZTECS WERE FANTASTIC ENGINEERS.

NOT ONLY DID IT HAVE A SERIES OF CANALS,

BUT THEY ACTUALLY BUILT ISLANDS OF FARMING COMMUNITIES

AROUND THE LAKE.

**

Narrator: ANALYSIS SUGGESTS MEXICO CITY'S

MEGA-SIZE SUBSIDENCE PROBLEM BEGINS WITH

THE SPANISH CONQUEST OF THE AZTECS

BY HERNáN CORTéS IN 1521.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING, SWORDS CLANGING ]

AS THE CONQUISTADOR CITY GROWS,

THE SETTLERS SLOWLY DRAIN THE SURROUNDING LAKE.

**

BY THE 1900s, THE WATERS HAVE RUN DRY.

**

THERE ARE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE

LIVING IN THE VALLEY OF MEXICO,

AND THEY ALL WANT ONE THING -- WATER.

**

Narrator: AS WELL AS EMPTYING THE LAKE,

RESIDENTS BEGIN EXTRACTING WATER FROM A GIANT AQUIFER

DEEP BENEATH THE CITY.

**

AS THEY LAY DOWN MORE CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS,

THEY PREVENT RAINWATER FROM PENETRATING THE GROUND

AND RECHARGING IT.

**

THE AQUIFER UNDER MEXICO CITY IS LIKE A SPONGE.

IT HAS HOLES IN IT, AND THE HOLES ARE FULL OF WATER.

AS WE REMOVE WATER FROM THE HOLES

BETWEEN THOSE LITTLE GRAINS OF SAND AND SILT AND MUD,

THE WHOLE THING COLLAPSES AND COMPRESSES DOWN.

**

Narrator: MEXICO CITY'S INHABITANTS

USE 287 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER PER YEAR,

ENOUGH TO FILL 435,000 OLYMPIC SWIMMING POOLS.

**

ODDLY ENOUGH, MEXICO CITY HAS MORE RAINY DAYS

THAN THE FAMOUSLY RAINY LONDON,

SO YOU'D THINK THERE'D BE ENOUGH WATER TO GO AROUND.

BUT THERE'S NOT.

**

Narrator: WITH PIPES RUNNING DRY,

PEOPLE RELY ON PIPAS, TRUCKS DELIVERING WATER,

TO SURVIVE.

Sanford: IN THE POOREST AREAS OF MEXICO CITY,

RUNNING WATER CAN ONLY BE FOUND FOR AN HOUR

EVERY ONE OR TWO DAYS.

**

Narrator: WATER HAS BECOME SUCH A PRECIOUS COMMODITY

THAT NARCO GANGS ARE MUSCLING IN.

PEOPLE ARE SO DESPERATE FOR WATER

THAT THEY REGULARLY HIJACK THESE WATER TANKERS AT GUNPOINT.

BUT YET AT THE FIVE-STAR GOLF COURSES,

THE SPRINKLERS RUN 24/7.

**

Narrator: REPORTS SUGGEST THAT MEXICO CITY IS ON TRACK

TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST CITIES IN THE WORLD TO COMPLETELY RUN DRY.

**

AND THAT MEANS THE UNFOLDING CATASTROPHE CAPTURED FROM SPACE

IS ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE.

**

UNFORTUNATELY, THIS PROBLEM IS NOT GOING AWAY FOR MEXICO CITY.

Nelson: WITHOUT SERIOUS INTERVENTION,

THE WHOLE OF MEXICO CITY COULD COLLAPSE WITHIN 50 YEARS.

**