(♪♪♪)
THE ANDEAN ALTIPLANO.
A RUGGED SKY-HIGH PLAIN
IN THE REMOTE HEART OF BOLIVIA.
FROM TOWERING VOLCANIC PEAKS...
...TO GLOWING,
MULTICOLORED LAKES.
IT IS ONE OF SOUTH AMERICA'S
LAST GREAT WILDLANDS.
HOME TO A VAST SALT DESERT,
SO OUTER-WORLDLY, IT HAS BEEN
DUBBED "HEAVEN ON EARTH".
A HOTBED OF VOLCANIC ENERGY
HARKING BACK
TO A PREHISTORIC AGE.
A HAVEN
FOR RARE ANDEAN WILDLIFE.
AND A NEVER-BEFORE SEEN VIEW OF
ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST-PRISTINE
WILDERNESS FRONTIERS.
(♪♪♪)
(♪♪♪)
THE BOLIVIAN ALTIPLANO.
A DESOLATE, HIGHLAND PLATEAU,
STRETCHING 500 MILES
BETWEEN THE EASTERN
AND WESTERN CHAINS OF THE ANDES.
(♪♪♪)
ALTIPLANO MEANS "HIGH PLAIN".
THE AVERAGE ALTITUDE OF
THIS BARREN, WINDSWEPT EXPANSE
IS A SKY-SCRAPING 12,300 FEET.
HIGHER THAN MANY PEAKS OF THE
ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
(♪♪♪)
THE LARGEST MOUNTAIN PLATEAU
OUTSIDE TIBET.
THE ALTIPLANO WAS FORMED
BY AN EARTH-SHATTERING COLLISION
BETWEEN THE PACIFIC OCEAN FLOOR
AND THE SOUTH AMERICAN MAINLAND
MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO.
TWO MOUNTAIN CHAINS,
ONCE PART OF THE OCEAN FLOOR,
WERE DRIVEN UPWARDS
FROM THE DEPTHS
FLANKING A HIGH AND LEVEL
PLATEAU.
IN THE SOUTHERN TIP
OF THE ALTIPLANO
NEAR THE CREST OF THE ANDES
LIES A SNOWY-WHITE PLAIN,
SO VAST, SO PERFECTLY LEVEL
THAT IT DEFIES BELIEF.
THE UYUNI SALT FLAT.
&amp;gt;&amp;gt; THE UYUNI SALT FLAT IS
MAGIC.
IT'S AMAZING.
SO IT'S A THOUSAND OF KILOMETERS
SQUARED OF SALT.
IT'S VOLCANO-SURROUNDED,
SO IT'S AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL.
(♪♪♪)
IT IS JANUARY.
THE RAINY SEASON IN UYUNI.
AND A THIN FILM OF RAIN WATER
POOLS ON PARTS OF THE SALT FLAT.
(♪♪♪)
AT MORE THAN
4,000 SQUARE MILES
THIS IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST
SALT FLAT.
LOCKED INSIDE THE THICK,
HARD CRUST UNDER THE RAIN WATER
ARE 10 BILLION TONS OF SALT.
(♪♪♪)
THE SALAR,
AS IT'S KNOWN IN SPANISH
IS SO FAR-REACHING,
SO BLINDINGLY WHITE,
THAT IT CAN BE SEEN FROM SPACE.
(♪♪♪)
IT WOULD TAKE A BACKHOE
DIGGING 24 HOURS A DAY,
SEVEN DAYS A WEEK,
40,000 YEARS
TO REMOVE THE ENTIRE SALT FLAT.
A HARD AND SPIKY LAYER OF SALT,
EIGHT INCHES THICK,
SHINES WHITE
UNDER A BURNING BOLIVIAN SUN.
(♪♪♪)
BENEATH THIS CRUST,
THE SALT IS SOAKED IN
BRINY WATER,
AND REACHES DEPTHS
OF 400 FEET.
BUT THE HARD AND DRY SURFACE
CONTRACTS IN THE BLISTERING SUN.
FORMING CRACKS
AND A SEEMINGLY ENDLESS PATTERN
OF HEXAGONAL PLATES
SHAPED BY ELEVATED SALT.
(♪♪♪)
FEW PLACES ON EARTH
ARE AS FLAT AS UYUNI.
OVER AN AREA OF MORE THAN
4,000 SQUARE MILES,
ITS ELEVATION VARIES
JUST THREE FEET.
(♪♪♪)
WHEN SKIES ARE CLEAR,
NASA BOUNCES SIGNALS
OFF THE SALAR'S FLAT SURFACE
TO CALIBRATE ITS SATELLITES
IN SPACE.
(♪♪♪)
MORE THAN 30,000 YEARS AGO,
THIS WAS THE BOTTOM
OF A DEEP INLAND SEA
THAT FLOODED
THE SOUTHERN ALTIPLANO.
DRIED BY THE ARID CLIMATE,
THE SEA EVAPORATED,
LEAVING BEHIND IMMENSE STORES
OF SALT,
DEPOSITED FROM THE ANDES
OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS.
OF UYUNI'S 10 BILLION TONS
OF SALT
JUST 25,000 ARE EXTRACTED
ANNUALLY.
LOCAL PEOPLE CREATE PILES
TO DRY THE SALT
FOR TRANSPORT
TO NEARBY COLCHANI,
WHERE IT IS MILLED WITH IODINE
AND SOLD AS TABLE SALT.
HARVESTING SALT IS ARDUOUS,
AT AN ALTITUDE OF 12,000 FEET,
THE OXYGEN LEVEL IN UYUNI
IS LOW.
THE THIN MOUNTAIN AIR
IS HEATED QUICKLY
BY AN UNFORGIVING SUN.
MAKING UV RADIATION MORE THAN
30% STRONGER THAN AT SEA LEVEL.
THE PEOPLE OF THE ALTIPLANO
HAVE ADAPTED
TO THESE EXTREME CONDITIONS
WITH LARGE LUNG VOLUME,
AND HIGH LEVELS OF
RED BLOOD CELLS IN THEIR SYSTEM.
&amp;gt;&amp;gt; THE PEOPLE ARE
STRONG HERE
BECAUSE WE ARE DESCENDANTS OF
DIFFERENT CULTURES -
QUECHUAS, AYMARAS, (UNCLEAR).
THEY FEEL HAPPY IN THE
HIGHEST PLACES,
NEXT TO THE MOUNTAINS,
NEXT TO THE VOLCANOES,
WHERE THE SKY IS BLUE,
WHERE THE STARS ARE SO CLEAR,
WHEN THE WINDS WHISTLE HERE
IN THE EVENING.
THE LIFE HERE
IS REALLY, REALLY HARD,
THE SUN, THE WIND,
WE ARE THE SPECIAL PEOPLE
OF THE ALTIPLANO.
&amp;gt;&amp;gt; BATTERED
BY WIND,
AND PARCHED BY SUN
THE SALAR IS DEVOID
OF VISIBLE SIGNS OF LIFE.
COAXING CROPS FROM THIS
HARSH LANDSCAPE IS NOT POSSIBLE,
AND THE SALT HARVEST HAS BECOME
KEY TO THE LOCAL ECONOMY.
BUT FAR GREATER RICHES
LIE IN THE BRINY WATER
BENEATH THESE SALT FLATS.
LITHIUM.
THE SOFT METAL USED IN BATTERIES
FOR COMPUTERS,
MOBILE PHONES,
AND ELECTRIC CARS.
UYUNI IS HOME TO MORE THAN
HALF THE WORLD'S KNOWN
LITHIUM RESERVES.
A NATURAL RESOURCE
THAT COULD BE WORTH MORE THAN
A TRILLION DOLLARS
TO THE BOLIVIAN ECONOMY.
THE GOVERNMENT OF BOLIVIA
IS INTENT ON DEVELOPING
THE LITHIUM INDUSTRY.
IN 2013,
BOLIVIA OPENED
A LITHIUM PRODUCTION PLANT
NEAR THE SALT FLAT.
(♪♪♪)
IN THE MIDDLE
OF THIS DESOLATE PLAIN,
A JAGGED OUTCROP OF LAND
RISES ABRUPTLY
ON THE BLEACHED HORIZON.
ISLA INCAHUASI,
INCA HOUSE ISLAND.
THIS IS THE PEAK OF
AN ANCIENT UNDERWATER VOLCANO.
DATING BACK SOME 40,000 YEARS,
WHEN UYUNI WAS A GIANT
PREHISTORIC LAKE.
(♪♪♪)
SOARING CACTI
STAND LIKE STONEHENGE MONUMENTS.
AMID CORAL STRUCTURES
AND VOLCANIC ROCK,
ALONE, IN A SEA OF SALT.
(♪♪♪)
&amp;gt;&amp;gt; IT'S PRETTY AMAZING
TO SEE
VOLCANIC ROCKS IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE SALT FLAT WITH CACTUS.
IT'S VERY BEAUTIFUL.
&amp;gt;&amp;gt; AS THE LIGHT DIES
ON A WINTER'S NIGHT IN UYUNI,
RAIN WATER ON THE SALT FLAT
CREATES A DREAMLIKE LANDSCAPE,
THE WORLD'S LARGEST
NATURAL MIRROR.
(♪♪♪)
THE LOCAL QUECHUA PEOPLE SAY
THAT ON THE SALT FLAT
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL
WHERE THE EARTH ENDS
AND HEAVEN BEGINS.
(♪♪♪)
(♪♪♪)
ABOUT 150 MILES SOUTH
OF THE UYUNI SALT FLAT,
AN ANCIENT SALT LAKE
RINGED BY VOLCANOES
BLUSHES UNDER THE ALTIPLANO SKY,
LAGUNA COLORADA,
RED LAGOON.
(♪♪♪)
AT 14,000 FEET
ABOVE SEA LEVEL,
IT IS ONE OF THE
WORLD'S HIGHEST LAKES
AND ALSO
ONE OF ITS MOST UNUSUAL.
THE STRIKING COLOR
IS CAUSED BY RED SEDIMENT
AND THE PIGMENTATION OF ALGAE
STIRRED UP BY THE
ALTIPLANO WIND.
(♪♪♪)
&amp;gt;&amp;gt; I'M FEELING
LIKE
I'M IN ANOTHER WORLD,
THIS UNIQUE PLACE IS--
THE VISION AROUND HERE--
FEELING LIKE
YOU ARE SO CLOSE TO THE SKY
BECAUSE WE ARE
IN A HIGH PLACE, WE--
WE FEEL IN THE--
THE CLOUDS IS LOWER,
IT'S-- IT'S AMAZING,
I DON'T HAVE WORDS FOR EXPRESS
WHEN I COME TO HERE.
ISLANDS OF BORAX,
THE MINERAL USED
IN HOUSEHOLD DETERGENT,
DOT THE COLD, RED LAKE,
WHICH STRETCHES
23 SQUARE MILES
ACROSS THE DESERT.
(♪♪♪)
LAGUNA COLORADA
IS ONE OF THE LARGEST
OF THE ALTIPLANO'S MANY LAGOONS.
FORMED WHEN THE
WATER FROM MELTING GLACIERS
FLOODED ITS BASIN.
(♪♪♪)
&amp;gt;&amp;gt; IT'S MAGIC WHEN YOU
ARRIVE
THERE IT'S A PEACEFUL PLACE,
YOU CAN SEE THE COLOR RED
ON THE LAKE,
AT THE SAME TIME
THE COLOR WHITE ON THE BORAX,
AND THE MOUNTAINS THAT ARE--
TAKE CARE OF THIS PLACE.
IT'S BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE YOU CAN
SEE FLAMINGOS LIVING THERE,
IN A PEACEFUL PLACE.
(♪♪♪)
ON THE SOUTHERNMOST BORDER
WITH CHILE,
AT THE FOOT
OF A MAGNIFICENT VOLCANO,
THE BARREN ALTIPLANO
GIVES WAY
TO A SHIMMERING EMERALD
SALT LAKE.
LAGUNA VERDE, GREEN LAGOON.
A DENSE BREW OF ARSENIC
AND MAGNESIUM
RENDER THE LAKE
A VIBRANT TURQUOISE.
BITTER WINDS WHIP ACROSS
THIS REGION OF THE ALTIPLANO,
TEMPERATURES CAN REACH
A BONE-CHILLING -25°F.
ONLY LAGUNA VERDE'S
UNIQUE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
KEEPS IT FROM FREEZING
IN THE BITING COLD.
(♪♪♪)
SULFURIC SUDS
WHIPPED UP BY WIND
GATHER ON THE CRUSTED SHORE.
(♪♪♪)
DOMINATING THE LANDSCAPE,
A GIANT RISES
LIKE AN ANCIENT PYRAMID
AMONG THE CLOUDS.
LICANCABUR VOLCANO.
LICANCABUR MEANS
"MOUNTAIN OF THE PEOPLE"
IN THE LOCAL ATACAMEñO LANGUAGE.
AT 19,000 FEET,
IT IS ONE OF THE
TALLEST VOLCANOES IN THE ANDES.
HIDDEN INSIDE ITS
1,300-FOOT-WIDE CRATER
IS THE WORLD'S HIGHEST
VOLCANIC LAGOON,
LICANCABUR LAKE.
LICANCABUR MAY LOOK LIKE
A REMNANT
FROM A FORGOTTEN
PREHISTORIC WORLD
BUT IT IS FAR FROM EXTINCT.
DORMANT FOR AT LEAST 500 YEARS,
IT COULD ERUPT AT ANY TIME.
A FRIGHTENING COMBINATION
OF BEAUTY AND TERRIBLE POWER.
(♪♪♪)
IT IS A FIVE-HOUR CLIMB
OVER STEEP AND ROCKY SLOPES
TO REACH THE SUMMIT.
HIKERS WHO DO SO MUST FACE THE
PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
OF THIN MOUNTAIN AIR:
SHORTNESS OF BREATH AND FATIGUE,
AND THE BATTERING WIND
THAT WHIPS ACROSS THE ALTIPLANO.
CONNECTED TO LAGUNA VERDE
BY A SMALL STRAIT
ARE THE CHALKY WATERS
OF LAGUNA BLANCA, WHITE LAGOON.
(♪♪♪)
ON THE SHORES OF THE LAGOON,
LIE SCATTERINGS
OF BLACK VOLCANIC ROCK,
A REMINDER OF THE VIOLENT
GEOLOGICAL TURMOIL
THAT SHAPED THESE FOOTHILLS.
SOFT, POWDERY BORAX
CREATED BY THE REPEATED
EVAPORATION OF THE LAKE
IS SUSPENDED IN THE WATER
CREATING A GHOSTLY WHITE HUE
THAT REFLECTS
THE LOOMING VOLCANOES.
(♪♪♪)
THESE LAGOONS ARE RICH
WITH LIFE:
COLORFUL PLANKTON AND ALGAE
PROVIDE AN IDEAL FEEDING GROUND
FOR THE FLAMINGO
MAKING THE ALTIPLANO
THE NEST OF THE ANDES.
(♪♪♪)
BY THE END OF
EACH BREEDING SEASON
THERE ARE ABOUT
100,000 COLD-WEATHER FLAMINGOS
ON THESE LAGOONS.
THREE OF THE WORLD'S SIX SPECIES
FLOCK HERE:
JAMES'S, ANDEAN,
AND CHILEAN FLAMINGOS.
(♪♪♪)
HIDDEN BETWEEN MOUNTAIN PASSES,
16,000 FEET HIGH,
THESE RUGGED HABITATS
OFFER FLAMINGOS PROTECTION
FROM PREDATORS.
FEW CREATURES CAN SURVIVE
THE UNFORGIVING EXTREMES
OF THE ALTIPLANO.
THOSE THAT DO,
SUCH AS FOXES AND MOUNTAIN LIONS
ARE PREVENTED FROM FEEDING
ON THE BIRDS' EGGS
BY THE QUAGGY MUD PITS
THAT SURROUND THESE LAGOONS.
DESPITE THE
INHOSPITABLE CONDITIONS
FLAMINGOS THRIVE
ON THESE CAUSTIC LAKES,
SIFTING SHRIMP AND ALGAE
FROM THE SALT WATER
THROUGH HIGHLY ADAPTED BILLS.
TONGUES PUMP UP AND DOWN
SIX TIMES PER SECOND
PUSHING WATER
THROUGH THEIR BEAKS
ALLOWING THEM TO FILTER
THEIR FOOD.
(♪♪♪)
A CHILEAN FLAMINGO STAMPS
ITS WEBBED-FEET IN THE MUD
STIRRING UP ALGAE AND PLANKTON
FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE LAGOON.
EACH SPECIES OF FLAMINGO
FORAGES FROM DIFFERENT DEPTHS
TO AVOID COMPETITION.
ONLY IN THE ALTIPLANO
WILL ALL THREE SPECIES
OF FLAMINGO FEED SIDE BY SIDE.
20 MILES FROM THE TINTED
WATERS OF THE GREEN LAGOON
THE ALTIPLANO LAYS CLAIM
TO ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST
EXTRAORDINARY NATURAL WONDERS,
A PLACE WHERE DESOLATION
AND STRANGE BEAUTY COLLIDE.
THE DALI DESERT.
SO NAMED FOR ITS RESEMBLANCE
TO THE PAINTINGS
OF THE SURREALIST MASTER
SALVADOR DALí.
&amp;gt;&amp;gt; YOU CAN SEE
THE SAND
AND VOLCANIC ROCKS,
AND IT'S A PAINTING FROM
SALVADOR DALí.
AND THAT PAINTING,
WITH THIS LANDSCAPE, IS EXACTLY,
THAT IS THE REASON
THAT WE CAN CALL IT
A SURREALIST LANDSCAPE THERE,
BECAUSE IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL.
&amp;gt;&amp;gt; VOLCANIC ROCK
FORMATIONS,
SAND-BLASTED OVER THOUSANDS
OF YEARS BY SUB-ZERO WINDS,
POKE OUT OF A PARCHED
AND ASHEN WASTELAND
THAT STRETCHES MORE THAN
40 SQUARE MILES.
THESE SCULPTURES,
GOUGED AND SHAPED BY THE
RAVAGES OF TIME
HAUNT THE SURREAL LANDSCAPE.
(♪♪♪)
&amp;gt;&amp;gt; THE WEATHER IN THE
ALTIPLANO,
IN HIGHEST PLACES,
IT'S UNPREDICTABLE.
IT COULD BE RAIN, SNOW,
WINDY, CLOUDY.
&amp;gt;&amp;gt; THE ONLY APPARENT
LIFE FORMS
ON THIS ROCKY, MARTIAN TERRAIN
ARE SMALL TUFTS OF PAJA BRAVA,
THE TOUGH, PORCUPINE-LIKE
GRASS CLUMPS
THAT CLING TO LIFE ON THE
ALTIPLANO.
EVEN MORE ARID
THAN THE DALI DESERT
ARE THE STARK, HIGH-ALTITUDE
BADLANDS OF SILOLI
(♪♪♪)
THIS IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S
DRIEST REGIONS,
PART OF THE ATACAMA DESERT
IN NEIGHBORING CHILE.
THE ATACAMA IS ONE OF THE
DRIEST PLACES ON EARTH.
IN THE NORTHERN PARTS
OF ATACAMA,
WHERE RAINFALL IS MEASURED,
THE DESERT RECEIVES
AVERAGE ANNUAL PRECIPITATION
OF FEWER THAN FOUR-HUNDREDTHS
OF AN INCH,
LESS THAN THE THICKNESS
OF A SINGLE DIME.
THE ANDES ACT
LIKE A MASSIVE RAIN WALL,
MORE THAN 13,000 FEET HIGH,
BLOCKING MOIST EASTERLY WINDS
FROM WINDING DOWN TO THE DESERT.
(♪♪♪)
IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS HAUNTED,
FORSAKEN LAND.
A STARTLING ROCK FIGURE,
TWENTY FEET TALL,
BRACES ITSELF AGAINST THE WIND.
STONE TREE.
NAMED FOR ITS RESEMBLANCE
TO THE QUEñUA,
THE STUNTED TREE THAT GROWS
IN THE ANDEAN HIGHLANDS.
(♪♪♪)
WINDS THAT REACH SPEEDS
OF 40 MILES AN HOUR
CARRY COARSE BITS
OF SAND AND ROCK
THAT HAVE ERODED THE STONE
OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
(♪♪♪)
FARTHER ALONG THE DESERT,
THE PRIMITIVE BEAUTY OF THE
ALTIPLANO IS BROUGHT TO BEAR
AT A FAVORITE DESTINATION
FOR DARING ROCK CLIMBERS.
THE CRAGGY HILLS AND BOULDERS
OF ROCK VALLEY.
(♪♪♪)
JAGGED ROCK SCULPTURES,
SOME AS HIGH AS 150 FEET,
JUT RAGGEDLY
FROM THE MASSIVE DESERT PLAIN.
(♪♪♪)
CARVED AND CRACKED
BY CENTURIES OF WIND
SOME HAVE TAKEN THE SHAPE
OF FACES.
(♪♪♪)
OTHERS ARE POISED LIKE DINOSAURS
ON A PREHISTORIC LANDSCAPE.
(♪♪♪)
LAYERS OF IGNIMBRITE,
THE VOLCANIC ROCK SPREAD BY
ERUPTIONS MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO
STRETCH FOR DOZENS OF MILES
INTO THE DISTANCE.
THIS IS THE VALLEY OF CATAL.
(♪♪♪)
A PREHISTORIC LANDSCAPE,
STREWN WITH VOLCANIC ROCK,
REVEALS THE GEOLOGICAL UPHEAVAL
THAT SHAPED
THESE BATTERED PLAINS.
(♪♪♪)
HIDDEN WITHIN THE SCORCHED
AND BROKEN HILLS
IS A COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED FIND.
AN OASIS, AS VERDANT AND LUSH
AS AN ENGLISH LAWN
OFFERS GRAZING GROUND
FOR A HERD OF LLAMAS,
ONE OF THE OLDEST DOMESTICATED
ANIMALS IN THE AMERICAS.
(♪♪♪)
WETLANDS LIKE THESE ARE NATIVE
TO THE ANDES
AND CAN ONLY BE FOUND
ABOVE 12,000 FEET.
WATER FROM RAIN
AND MELTING GLACIERS
FEEDS THE LOW, SPONGY GRASSES,
WHICH FEED THE LLAMAS
AND PROVIDE A VIVID
TOUCH OF COLOR
TO THE BARREN STEPPE LAND.
MORE THAN 70% OF THE
WORLD'S LLAMAS ARE IN BOLIVIA.
RELATIVES OF THE CAMEL,
THEY HAVE EVOLVED PERFECTLY
FOR THE HIGH-ALTITUDE EXTREMES
OF THE ALTIPLANO.
HIGH AMOUNTS OF RED-BLOOD CELLS
COLLECT OXYGEN FROM THEIR LUNGS
AND CARRY IT
THROUGHOUT THE BODY.
ALLOWING THEM TO THRIVE
IN OXYGEN-DEPLETED AIR.
(♪♪♪)
IN HOSTILE, ARID STRETCHES
OF DESERT
THEY ARE ABLE TO GO DAYS
WITHOUT WATER
MAKING THEM AN IDEAL
PACK ANIMAL
FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
OF THE ALTIPLANO.
FOR CENTURIES,
THESE INTELLIGENT HERD ANIMALS
WERE KNOWN AS
"THE CARGO SHIPS OF THE ANDES."
(♪♪♪)
COLORFUL RIBBONS
ATTACHED TO THEIR EARS
DISTINGUISH ONE DOMESTIC HERD
FROM ANOTHER.
(♪♪♪)
TEETH AND GUMS
ARE FINELY DEVELOPED
FOR THE TOUGH ANDEAN VEGETATION.
(♪♪♪)
SHARP LOWER INCISORS
AND HARD UPPER GUMS,
CUT THE PLANTS
WHICH THEN PASS THROUGH
THE LLAMA'S THREE STOMACHS
TO AID DIGESTION.
(♪♪♪)
THE LLAMA IS COVERED
IN A DOUBLE COAT.
AN OUTER COAT
OF ROUGH HAIR PROTECTS IT
FROM HARSH WEATHER.
AN INNER COAT OF FINE HAIR
HELPS REGULATE HEAT
FROM THE BLAZING MIDDAY SUN.
LLAMAS REMAIN ALERT
AT ALL TIMES.
MOUNTAIN LIONS PROWL
THESE PEAKS
AND PREY ON YOUNG MEMBERS
OF THE HERD.
(♪♪♪)
IN THE GRASSLANDS
THAT RING THE VALLEY OF CATAL
ANOTHER FAVORITE PREY
OF THE MOUNTAIN LION
TREADS CAREFULLY
ACROSS THE TERRAIN.
THE RHEA.
(♪♪♪)
A RELATIVE OF THE OSTRICH
AND EMU,
THE RHEA IS SOUTH AMERICA'S
LARGEST FLIGHTLESS BIRD,
REACHING HEIGHTS OF ALMOST
SIX FEET.
THOUGH FLIGHTLESS,
THE RHEA HAS LONG, POWERFUL LEGS
AND IS ABLE TO MOVE SWIFTLY
TO AVOID POTENTIAL PREDATORS.
LONG WINGS ARE USED
TO MAINTAIN BALANCE
AS THE RHEA REACHES TOP SPEEDS
OF 35 MILES AN HOUR.
(♪♪♪)
NORTH OF THE CATAL OASIS,
A MIGHTY CANYON PLUNGES DEEP
BELOW A NARROW ROCK PRECIPICE.
THE VALLEY OF THE HIDDEN CITY.
(♪♪♪)
THE CANYON IS AS OLD
AS THE ANDES THEMSELVES,
FORMED 65 MILLION YEARS AGO,
WHEN ANCIENT CONTINENTS
COLLIDED
DRIVING ROCK UPWARD
AS HIGH AS 23,000 FEET.
FRACTURES IN THE
SHEER VOLCANIC ROCK FACE
CREATE THE IMPRESSION OF
TINY BUILDINGS IN THE DISTANCE.
(♪♪♪)
THESE VALLEYS, RIPPLING
WITH FORMATIONS OF VOLCANIC ROCK
ARE EMBLEMATIC
OF THE BOLIVIAN ALTIPLANO.
DESPITE THEIR
GEOLOGIC SIGNIFICANCE
MANY ARE NOT CHARTED
ON MAPS.
BOLIVIA IS A COUNTRY
WITH AT LEAST 30 RECOGNIZED
ETHNIC GROUPS
AND MORE THAN
30 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES.
AS A RESULT, THE SAME VALLEY MAY
HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT NAMES.
(♪♪♪)
BEYOND THIS HIDDEN VALLEY,
ON THE EDGE OF THE ALTIPLANO,
BOLIVIA'S HIGHEST PEAK
PIERCES THE CLOUDS.
MOUNT SAJAMA.
AT AN ALTITUDE OF MORE THAN
21,000 FEET,
ITS SUMMIT REMAINS
CAPPED IN SNOW YEAR-ROUND.
FROM THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN,
AN ACCLIMATIZED TEAM CAN REACH
THE PEAK IN THREE DAYS.
(♪♪♪)
THE FOOTHILLS AROUND
MOUNT SAJAMA
SUSTAIN ONE OF THE
WORLD'S HIGHEST FORESTS
AT MORE THAN 16,000 FEET
ABOVE SEA LEVEL.
(♪♪♪)
LIKE CACTI,
THESE HARDY QUEñUA TREES
REQUIRE VERY LITTLE WATER.
SO CLOSE TO THE TOP OF
A SOARING VOLCANO
LITTLE ELSE CAN SURVIVE.
THESE WINDSWEPT PLAINS
ARE HOME
ONLY TO THOSE CREATURES
STRONG ENOUGH
TO ADAPT TO THE HIGH ALTITUDE
AND HARSH CLIMATE
THAT GRIPS THE ALTIPLANO.
(♪♪♪)
THE VICUñA,
THE WORLD'S SMALLEST CAMEL,
A WILD ANCESTOR OF THE ALPACA.
THE VICUñA'S THICK, SOFT COAT
TRAPS THE SUN'S HEAT
PROTECTING IT FROM
FRIGID NIGHT-TIME TEMPERATURES.
(♪♪♪)
BUT THE SAME COAT THAT PROTECTS
THE VICUñA FROM THE BITING COLD
NEARLY LED TO ITS EXTINCTION.
HIGHLY VALUED
FOR THEIR SOFT FUR
VICUñAS WERE NEARLY WIPED OUT
BY HUNTING
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
LAST CENTURY.
AT ONE POINT IN THE 1970S
JUST 6,000 REMAINED.
TODAY, VICUñAS ARE PROTECTED
IN BOLIVIA
AND IT IS ILLEGAL TO HUNT THEM.
POACHERS,
HOPING TO TRADE VICUñA FUR
ON THE LUCRATIVE BLACK MARKET
FACE STIFF FINES
AND EVEN JAIL TIME.
FORTUNATELY FOR THE VISCACHA
THEIR FUR IS IN A CONSTANT STATE
OF MOLTING
AND HAS NO VALUE IN THE
FUR TRADE.
STILL, THEIR COAT IS THICK
AND KEEPS THEM WARM,
ESPECIALLY WHILE SUNNING
IN THE ROCKY FOOTHILLS.
THOUGH THEY LOOK LIKE RABBITS,
VISCACHAS ARE ACTUALLY
CHINCHILLAS.
FLESHY PADS ON THEIR FEET
HELP THEM MOVE QUICKLY
ON THE ROCKY TERRAIN
TO EVADE PREDATORS.
(♪♪♪)
MEANWHILE, FURTHER SOUTH
IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE ANDES
JETS OF STEAM ERUPT FROM
THE EARTH'S SUBTERRANEAN FIRES.
BOTH, A NATURAL SPECTACLE,
AND A POWERFUL INDICATION
OF THE INTENSE VOLCANIC ACTIVITY
THAT BEGAN TENS OF MILLIONS
OF YEARS AGO,
AND CONTINUES TO TRANSFORM
THE ALTIPLANO TODAY.
(♪♪♪)
MORE THAN A KILOMETER BELOW,
HOT MAGMA CHAMBERS
HEAT THE COOL GROUNDWATER
THAT FILTERS DOWN FROM VENTS
IN THE SURFACE.
(♪♪♪)
THESE RESERVOIRS OF
BOILING WATER CONVERT TO VAPOR
WHICH EXPLODES FROM THE EARTH
IN BILLOWS OF SULFUROUS STEAM.
(♪♪♪)
STEAM POOLS, FED BY
BUBBLING UNDERGROUND CAULDRONS,
BOIL AND HISS
IN THE COOL ALTIPLANO GROUND,
JUST AS THEY HAVE
FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS.
(♪♪♪)
HIGH ON THE DESERT PLAIN,
THE GEOTHERMAL FIELD
LEADS TO A FURTHER REMINDER
OF AN ANCIENT ERA, CHULLPAHS,
THE FUNERAL TOWERS BUILT BY THE
ABORIGINAL AYMARA PEOPLE.
FROM EARTH,
WATER AND ANDEAN GRASS,
AS LONG AGO
AS THE 13TH CENTURY.
THE AYMARA BELIEVED
IN REINCARNATION.
EACH OF THESE PROUD TOMBS
POINTS TO THE EAST,
WHERE LIGHT AND HEAT
FROM THE MORNING SUNRISE
NURTURE NEW LIFE.
A CHULLPAH FACING WEST,
IT WAS BELIEVED,
WOULD RESULT IN THE BURNING
OF THE SOUL.
(♪♪♪)
MUMMIES INSIDE THE TOMB WERE
PLACED IN THE FETAL POSITION
FOR REBIRTH,
THEN ENTOMBED WITH COCOA LEAVES,
GOLD AND SILVER.
GOLD TO REPRESENT THE SUN,
SILVER TO REPRESENT THE MOON:
THE TWO GODS OF THE ANCESTRAL
PEOPLE OF THE ALTIPLANO.
(♪♪♪)
WHEN THE AYMARA WERE CONQUERED
BY THE SPANISH
IN THE 16TH CENTURY,
CATHOLIC CHURCHES LIKE THIS WERE
BUILT ALL ALONG THE ALTIPLANO.
(♪♪♪)
IN SMALL HIGHLAND VILLAGES
MANY PEOPLE STILL SPEAK QUECHUA,
THE LANGUAGE OF THE INCAS.
AND HERD LLAMAS AND ALPACAS
AS THEIR ANCESTORS HAVE
FOR CENTURIES.
(♪♪♪)
SMALLER THAN LLAMAS,
ALPACAS ARE NOT USED
AS PACK ANIMALS.
BUT ARE BRED SPECIFICALLY
FOR THEIR FIBER,
WOVEN INTO SWEATERS
AND BLANKETS.
(♪♪♪)
THE ALPACA'S LONG NECK
HELPS IT SPOT PREDATORS.
ITS SPECIALIZED STOMACH
ALLOWS IT TO ABSORB
EXTRA NUTRIENTS,
ENABLING IT TO SURVIVE
ON TOUGH ALITPLANIC GRASS.
HERE, WHERE THE ANDES
ARE AT THEIR WILDEST.
(♪♪♪)
FROM TOWERING,
SNOW-CAPPED PEAKS...
...TO GLOWING LAKES.
THE BOLIVIAN ALTIPLANO
IS AN UNSPOILED NATURAL WONDER.
(♪♪♪)
A BREEDING GROUND FOR CREATURES
ADAPTED TO SOME OF THE MOST
BRUTAL HABITATS ON THE PLANET.
(♪♪♪)
A PLACE OF SURREAL DESERTS,
RESTLESS VOLCANOES,
AND VAST SEAS OF SALT
THAT HAVE REMAINED UNCHANGED
FOR MILLENNIA.
HERE, NEAR THE TOP OF THE EARTH.
(♪♪♪)
(♪♪♪)
