Join or Sign In
Sign in to customize your TV listings
By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.
3 Episodes 2019 - 2019
Episode 1
Wed, Jun 19, 201954 mins
The Nile is arguably best known as the longest river in the world at over 4,000 miles, but with that length comes much diversity especially in traveling south to north and thus over many latitudes. The highest known source is in the mountains of Equatorial Africa, many streams converging in the lowlands below. The largest body of water in the region is Lake Victoria, each molecule of water which will remain within its shores for approximately two decades. Resourceful fishers use natural bait of a specific variety of flies, which also do double duty in their short lives of being human food. With the volume of water rushing out of the lake, the rapids at the beginning of what is known as the White Nile offers a thrill seeking kayaker's paradise. Downriver, the fifty meter wide river narrows into a seven meter wide cavern creating Murchison Falls, one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world. It also marks the change in landscape to the African savanna, with the river the only water for miles and home to many of the most impressive animals size-wise. One of the more unique "wildlife" environments in the region is the former palatial home of dictator Idi Amin, the animals who have taken up residence in its ruins living a somewhat uneasy harmonious life together. Reaching South Sudan, the next landscape is reached, the sudd, a swampland due to the flat landscape allowing the water to sit uncontained. And just as the river is about to reach its most inhospitable region of the Sahara Desert where much of the water would just evaporate with the heat, the river is met with its most important tributary, the Blue Nile originating what is called the "water tower" in Ethiopia and which has significance within the Christian religion in the belief the water is holy. Once at the Sahara, the Nile is the only major water source, discounting camel dung which is prized by certain other creatures purely due to its moisture. Civilization in Egypt is tied to the river. As such, Cairo, at the mouth of the river, is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, a situation in today's society which seems unsustainable with the limited amount of water.
Episode 2
Wed, Jun 26, 201954 mins
Many aspects of life in and along the Amazon River are shown. This presentation also shows the extremes of the river, as well as its many superlatives, such as capturing the most fresh water of any river basin, one-fifth of the world's amount. Several species of wildlife unique to the basin and their distinctive characteristics are featured, including giant river otters, a recently discovered variety of cichlid, green-winged macaws, the pink river dolphin (arguably the most revered water creature in the Amazon), and the hoatzin. Human life along the river is shown, including an indigenous tribe in the upper basin, they who have learned to combine the unique aspects of their habitat for their own health, the residents of and surrounding the metropolis of Manaus whose economy is largely centered on aspects of river life, and the residents of river beach resorts in the lower basin. Peoples long having lived along the river have made accommodations for the extreme weather changes of the seasons, but climate change, which has made the dry season dryer and the rainy season wetter, is making life more difficult. The final chapter of the river is it emptying out into the Atlantic. The Pororoca, the tidal bore during the full moon, is as revered as it can be destructive. And the effects of the vast amounts of extremely fertile fresh water emptying out into the ocean - that amount covering the size of Texas - on the ocean itself is yet not fully known.
Episode 3
Wed, Jul 3, 201954 mins
Life along the Mississippi River is presented, it, covering thirty-one states, arguably the most storied waterway in the US. Much of life along the river ebbs and flows with the seasons. Covering a fifteen hundred mile wide expanse through the north of the country, most of the river's headwaters and that of its tributaries are frozen over in the winter. While it offers some recreational opportunities for humans, it creates a challenge for much wildlife who must try to fish for food in locating holes through the ice. An exception in that latter case is in the vicinity of Yellowstone Park, where hot springs keep the river surface in a liquid state regardless of how cold the air temperature is. For most wildlife who call the upper basin home, the spring thaw signals literal rebirth. While beavers build dams especially in the quieter sections of the waterway, human-built dams also dot the river, the resulting reservoirs which provide opportunities for other wildlife to thrive. While the mid-basin from Minneapolis to St. Louis is generally the section with the largest grade change, man has manipulated it to allow for transportation, with many cities, most significantly St. Louis, built to take advantage of such transportation opportunities. Other opportunities include agriculture, where ninety-two percent of the nation's agricultural exports are grown within what is considered the river basin, this area colloquially referred to as America's farming heartland. The much slower flowing lower basin in the American deep south is located on a floodplain, the water overflowing its banks which has created nutrient rich swamps. While humans have tried to mitigate the floods in part to protect settlements, most notably New Orleans, the last major city on the river before it empties into the Gulf of Mexico, it has also created the issue of the loss of land in islands no longer being created in the river's vast delta.