Mighty, elemental forces – fiery eruptions, titanic floods, the grinding of great ice sheets, and massive impacts from space – molded North America over 3 billion years. Now, for the first time, NOVA presents a bold and sweeping profile of the North American continent and how it came to be. This epic story unfolds in a forgotten world that existed long before our own, crossed by long-lost mountain ranges, deserts the size of Africa, and vast inland seas spanning the length of the continent. Beloved landmarks like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and the Rockies are explored from the inside out as we witness the clash of nature’s creative and destructive forces—the uplifting of the earth’s crust and the violent eruptions, earthquakes, and impacts that destroyed it. Hosted by renowned paleontologist Kirk Johnson, this spectacular road trip through North America’s tumultuous deep past sets out to answer three fundamental questions: How was the continent built? How did life evolve here? And how has its spectacular landscape shaped human lives and destinies? Enhanced by dazzling, hyper-realistic CGI, immersive geological field missions, and the latest scientific research, Making North America reveals the incredible story of a majestic continent.