Untold Earth

Where typical ocean tides average about three feet, the Bay of Fundy's record-setting tides soar over 50. This means 160 billion tons of water rush through the bay twice every day, generating enough potential energy to power a small city. This singular phenomenon could revolutionize our approach to renewable energy, but harnessing the Bay of Fundy's tidal power is also extremely complicated.

The shimmering dunes of White Sands National Park harbor an extraordinary secret: fossilized human footprints that suggest human presence in the Americas as much as 10,000 years earlier than previously believed. How did these footprints in the sand manage to survive for so long? And why is their discovery changing everything we thought we knew about human history in the region?

With under 40 pupfish left in the wild, these are possibly the rarest fish on the planet. The Devils Hole pupfish have existed in isolation for thousands of years in an extreme environment where few species could survive. How did they end up in such an inhospitable place? And what makes their survival so important?

Lençóis Maranhenses sits at the intersection of three biomes—a rare overlap that supercharges biodiversity. Across 350 square miles of dunes, the rainy season brings thousands of crystal blue lagoons into view, many big enough to swim in. What makes this surreal environment possible? And why, even after 2 million years in existence, does it still feel so mysterious?