Access to this video is a benefit for members through
Up Next
Back to Show
The Desert Speaks
Medieval Drought In The Southwest
Season 16
Episode 1611
Between roughly 900 and 1260 AD there was a massive drought that severely impacted the plants, animals and people of the Southwest. David Yetman observes how scientists use tree rings to gather evidence from thousands of years ago. Examine the ruins of some of the people most affected by the drought, the Anasazi Indians. Trek through a “ghost forest” for a first-hand look at “yoda” trees.
Support Provided By
Season
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:36
The geological and spiritual history of the Glen Canyon region.
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:36
Host David Yetman takes a trip to the pueblos of the Sierra Madre.
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:36
Trek through Utah’s Little Grand Canyon.
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:36
Host David Yetman and his brother take a geological road trip to Utah’s Colorado Plateau.
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:36
Host David Yetman travels to track jaguar movements through Eastern Sonora Mexico.
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:36
Join Herpatologists to learn more about venomous creatures of the Sonoran Desert.
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:36
Host David Yetman travels to quick trips off of the interstate.
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:36
Host David Yetman heads west of Tucson to visit some undiscovered places.
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:36
Travel through the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Quitobaquito Springs.
26:36
Travel along the eastern border of the Gadsden Purchase.
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:20
Travel around the Puna, the high-elevation plains of Chile’s Atacama Desert.
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:20
We trace the Atacama Desert Trade route from the Pacific coast to the Chilean Andes.