All language subtitles for What.on.Earth.S06E09.1080p.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 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.

**