Posted: November 15th, 2022

Making North America is a Nova presentation

Introduction
Making North America is a Nova presentation that is narrated by Kirk Johnson who is a renowned paleontologist. Throughout the series, Johnson is able to go through a chain of events including swimming, hiking, rappelling across the North American continent speaking to various experts and using graphical special effects to narrate the American history. The documentary comes in three segments whereby the first hour tries to explain the 3 billion history of North America, the second hour looks at the Dinosaurs and the ancient life which the third hour focuses on the human life and the age of civilization.
Discussion
A number of important issues have been narrated in the geographical documentary. First, the narrator talks about the breathtaking landscapes of the Grand Canyon. This unique feature that was formed millions of years ago stands out in the Colorado basin with mystery surrounding its origin. Scientists have not yet come to an agreement on it’s the way it came to be but rather various theories have been developed to explain this.
Another interesting issue that is focused on in the narration is volcanic eruptions that occurred forming the current landscapes. There is approximately 300 miles of land covered by volcanic rocks which came up as a result of magma eruptions in the surface of the earth. The magma rose to spread across large areas cooling to form different types of rocks which are spread all across America.
During the ancient ages, paleontological evidence has indicated that North America was inhabited by dinosaurs. These were basically large reptiles that eventually became extinct and were wiped off from the face of the earth. What remains today are just skeletons of the large reptiles.
According to Johnson, North America was inhabited by large marine animals especially giant fishes which crisscrossed the country through the lakes that later became extinct as the various geological activities continued to take place. The documentary also focuses on the various landforms such as caverns which are available in the country including some very unique land forms which stand out from other countries in the world. These features make the geology of America stand out from among the other regions.
The first humans in America are said to have reached the area by walking across the icy landscapes that were very hostile at that time. The available evidence indicates that the first humans in the continents were mainly hunters and have grown to the current form today. Another issue focused on in the paper is the age of civilization. During this period, the inhabitants of the continent grew from the Stone Age man who used to make his tools to the current civilized man who uses sophisticated tools and has a very complicated way of life.
Another issue of interest in the documentary involves the movement of ice and its effects on the landforms. The ice age modified the face of the continent and wiped off some features while creating others. This is what defined the current face of the continent as we already know it. Johnson also talks about the veins that can be seen in ancient earthquake caverns. Miners find these veins very important because they are the main paths to volcanic gold which is found within these rocks.
Finally, the documentary focuses on the oil boom and the manner in which it has changed the face and economics of the continent. Oil mining and use has become of the main economic drivers and the continent is now fully dependent on oil to run its economy.

References
Making North America, Available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/making-north-america.html Accessed on 14th Dec 2015.

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