1: Deep Earth | How Earth Made Us

Duration: 59'24''

Synopsis

Series telling the story of how the development of civilisation was influenced by planetary forces. Professor Iain Stewart explores the role of the Earth's interior.

Further Information

More clips from How Earth Made Us

2: Water | How Earth Made Us

2: Water | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 58'58''

Professor Iain Stewart continues his epic exploration of how the planet has shaped human history. He investigates how water has influenced the r...

3: Wind | How Earth Made Us

3: Wind | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 58'52''

Professor Iain Stewart sets sail on one of the fastest racing boats ever built to explore the story of our turbulent relationship with the wind.

4: Fire | How Earth Made Us

4: Fire | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'03''

Professor Iain Stewart explores man's relationship with fire. Along the way he dives in a mysterious lake in Oregon, climbs a glacier of salt and...

5: Human Planet | How Earth Made Us

5: Human Planet | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 58'16''

Series in which Professor Iain Stewart looks at how geology has shaped human history. He explores the newest force, humans, whose impact ...

Disruption to the ice age cycle | How Earth Made Us

Disruption to the ice age cycle | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 4'36''

Professor Iain Stewart explains how humans prevented the next stage of the ice age cycle.

Groundwater | How Earth Made Us

Groundwater | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 4'37''

Iain Stewart explores the natural phenomenon of groundwater.

Human interventions in the water cycle | How Earth Made Us

Human interventions in the water cycle | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 2'32''

Professor Iain Stewart investigates the ways that humans have intervened in the water cycle.

Ice | How Earth Made Us

Ice | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 1'50''

12,000 years ago, much of the northern hemisphere was covered in ice.

Monsoon | How Earth Made Us

Monsoon | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 1'15''

Iain Stewart investigates what causes monsoons.

Mud volcano, Indonesia | How Earth Made Us

Mud volcano, Indonesia | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 4'38''

Professor Iain Stewart investigates a mud volcano in Indonesia that was caused by human interactions with the earth.

Sediment and plastic | How Earth Made Us

Sediment and plastic | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 3'37''

Professor Iain Stewart explains how sediment becomes rock and thus how plastic waste will impact future rock.

Tar sands | How Earth Made Us

Tar sands | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 3'40''

Professor Iain Stewart discusses tar sands, one of the more complicated ways of extracting oil.

The River Nile and early agriculture | How Earth Made Us

The River Nile and early agriculture | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 5'15''

Iain Stewart explains the important role that the Nile played in early Egyptian agriculture.

The water cycle | How Earth Made Us

The water cycle | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 3'10''

Dr Iain Stewart explains the different stages of the water cycle.

More resources about Structure of the earth and plate boundaries

1: Indonesia | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

1: Indonesia | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

BBC One | 2006 | 59'16''

Iain Stewart tours the Pacific rim to discover how the rocks beneath our feet have shaped human history. He visits the world's ...

1: The Centre of the Planet | Richard Hammond's Journey To...

1: The Centre of the Planet | Richard Hammond's Journey To...

BBC One | 2011 | 58'03''

Richard Hammond uses a giant 3D virtual Earth, stunning CGI, the latest satellite imagery and beautiful locatio...

1: Volcano | Earth: The Power of the Planet

1: Volcano | Earth: The Power of the Planet

BBC Two | 2007 | 59'10''

Dr Iain Stewart tells the story of planet Earth. Although they appear to be destructive, volcanoes have been crucial to the devel...

A Day in the Life of Earth

A Day in the Life of Earth

BBC Four | 2018 | 57'59''

Presenter Hannah Fry reveals how much our planet can change in just a single day and how these daily changes are essential to our existence.

Africa | Rise of the Continents

Africa | Rise of the Continents

BBC Two | 2013 | 58'14''

Geologist Prof Iain Stewart shows how the continent of Africa was formed from the wreckage of a long lost supercontinent.

Australia | Rise of the Continents

Australia | Rise of the Continents

BBC Two | 2013 | 58'58''

Iain Stewart explores how the Earth's continents have transformed evolution. He shows how Australia's journey has affected everything from...

Eurasia | Rise of the Continents

Eurasia | Rise of the Continents

BBC Two | 2013 | 59'04''

Professor Iain Stewart shows that where the south of Eurasia is today there was once an ocean and how, in 250 million years, all of the cont...

Great Glen Fault | The Great British Countryside

Great Glen Fault | The Great British Countryside

BBC One | 2012 | 2'01''

Hugh Dennis and Julia Bradbury explain the movement of the Great Glen Fault in the Scottish Highlands.

Highland Boundary Fault Line | The Great British Countryside

Highland Boundary Fault Line | The Great British Countryside

BBC One | 2012 | 3'30''

Julia Bradbury explains the continental collision that produced the Scottish Highlands.

How Britain became an island | The Great British Countryside

How Britain became an island | The Great British Countryside

BBC One | 2012 | 1'23''

Hugh Dennis explains how Britain came to be separated from Europe.

Plates | World Physical

Plates | World Physical

BBC Two | 2008 | 25'02''

Vivid examples of how our land and atmosphere behave, with a look at earthquakes, glaciation, rivers, coasts and deserts.

S1E2: The Deep | Earth Story

S1E2: The Deep | Earth Story

BBC Two | 1998 | 48'01''

Aubrey Manning follows a submarine dive to the world's longest mountain range, a mile underwater, to see how volcanoes shape the continents.

S1E3: Ring of Fire | Earth Story

S1E3: Ring of Fire | Earth Story

BBC Two | 1998 | 47'58''

Billions of years ago Earth was covered by a single ocean. Today nearly a third of the land is dry. Aubrey Manning follows a trail of clues ...

S1E4: Journey to the Centre of the Earth | Earth Story

S1E4: Journey to the Centre of the Earth | Earth Story

BBC Two | 1998 | 57'04''

Among the active volcanos of Hawaii and Iceland, Aubrey Manning uncovers events deep within the planet that have resha...

S1E5: The Roof of the World | Earth Story

S1E5: The Roof of the World | Earth Story

BBC Two | 1998 | 49'11''

Mountains are among the most spectacular features of our planet. Aubrey Manning looks at an extraordinary theory about how they ris...

The Americas | Rise of the Continents

The Americas | Rise of the Continents

BBC Two | 2013 | 58'54''

Series in which geologist Iain Stewart explores how the Earth's continents have transformed evolution. In this edition, he reconstructs...

S1E2: You Could Dig Through the Earth? | Hey You, What If?

S1E2: You Could Dig Through the Earth? | Hey You, What If?

CBBC | 2020 | 5'00''

The deepest hole humankind ever dug only got one thousandth of the way through the earth. But what would happen if...

More from Iain Stewart

5: Human Planet | How Earth Made Us

5: Human Planet | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 58'16''

Series in which Professor Iain Stewart looks at how geology has shaped human history. He explores the newest force, humans, whose impact ...

4: Oceans | Earth: The Power of the Planet

4: Oceans | Earth: The Power of the Planet

BBC Two | 2007 | 58'42''

Iain travels to surfers' paradise Hawaii to learn more about oceans, explaining the difference between waves, tides and currents.

Episode 1 | Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered The World

Episode 1 | Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered The World

BBC Four | 2017 | 59'16''

From the moment we first drilled for oil, we opened a Pandora's box that changed the world forever. It transfor...

Australia | Rise of the Continents

Australia | Rise of the Continents

BBC Two | 2013 | 58'58''

Iain Stewart explores how the Earth's continents have transformed evolution. He shows how Australia's journey has affected everything from...

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami | Volcano Live

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami | Volcano Live

BBC Two | 2012 | 2'44''

Demonstrations of what happened to cause the earthquake and then tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004.

1: Life From Light | How to Grow a Planet

1: Life From Light | How to Grow a Planet

BBC One | 2012 | 59'29''

How plants have driven the greatest changes to the Earth. Prof Iain Stewart shows how they first harnessed light from the sun and c...

Trees and carbon dioxide | Making Scotland's Landscape

Trees and carbon dioxide | Making Scotland's Landscape

BBC One | 2010 | 2'35''

The important role that trees play in clearing carbon dioxide.

3: The Big Freeze | Men of Rock

3: The Big Freeze | Men of Rock

BBC Two | 2010 | 58'52''

In the final episode of the series, Iain Stewart finds out about daredevil scientist Louis Agassiz, who first imagined the world had been gri...

WW2 Tsunami Bomb | 10 Things You Didn't Know About…

WW2 Tsunami Bomb | 10 Things You Didn't Know About…

BBC Four | 2008 | 4'49''

In WW2 the allies tried to develop a bomb that could trigger an artificial tsunami.

Inca Earthquake proof buildings | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

Inca Earthquake proof buildings | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

BBC Four | 2006 | 1'10''

Iain Stewart visits the Inca ruins of Ollantaytambo, which was designed to resist earthquakes.