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Volcanic peaks soaring above the scorching plains of East Africa create cool islands of habitat where strange creatures have evolved in splendid isolation.

Visible from space, Africa's Great Rift Valley runs three thousand miles from the Red Sea to the mouth of the Zambezi. It's a diverse terrain of erupting volcanoes, forest-clad mountains, spectacular valleys, rolling grasslands, huge lakes and mighty rivers, and is home to crocodiles, hippos, lions, elephants, flocks of flamingos and a diversity of indigenous peoples.

Using state-of-the-art high-definition filming techniques, this series investigates the geological forces which shaped East Africa's Great Rift, and which make it one of the world's most wildlife-rich landscapes.

The valley is the product of deep-seated geological forces which have spewed out a line of cloud-wreathed volcanoes stretching from Ethiopia to Tanzania. Their peaks provide a refuge for East Africa's most extraordinary wildlife, including newly discovered and previously unfilmed species which have evolved surprising survival strategies to cope with their challenging mountain environment.

48 minutes

On TV

Thursday 14:45

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Credits

Role Contributor
Narrator Hugh Quarshie
Series Producer Phil Chapman
Executive Producer Michael Gunton

Broadcasts

  • Sun 24 Jan 2010 21:00
  • Tue 26 Jan 2010 19:00
  • Sat 30 Jan 2010 18:30
  • Thu 22 Apr 2010 19:30
  • Sat 10 Jul 2010 01:35
  • Mon 4 Apr 2011 19:00
  • Tue 5 Apr 2011 00:00
  • Sat 7 Jan 2012 20:00
  • Sun 7 Apr 2013 15:30
  • Fri 3 May 2013 12:00
  • Mon 12 Sep 2016 16:25
  • Mon 31 Jul 2017 14:45
  • Wed 18 Apr 2018 20:00
  • Thu 19 Apr 2018 01:50
  • Mon 8 Apr 2019 15:45
  • Mon 1 Mar 2021 15:30
  • Mon 3 Mar 2025 15:45
  • Thursday 14:45