Rivers of Life

The Mississippi reaches far beyond the Deep South; its fingers stretch into nearly half of the USA. From the frozen north – where coyotes learn to fish in icy water – down through the nation’s agricultural heart and then to the mysterious, steamy southern swamps where alligators still rule. The many faces of the Mississippi unite a nation.

The Mississippi River provides the perfect route for moving goods up and down the length of this country – often destined for export around the world. Much of it is transported in huge barges – each able to carry 1,500 tons. The barges are pushed up and down the river 24 hours a day, and the equivalent of 49 million truckloads of goods are transported on the river every year.

Each January, in the northern reaches of the the Mississippi River Basin, over 22,000 holes are drilled into the frozen surface of Gull Lake – through ice up to two feet thick. The following day, over 11,000 people arrive in this corner of Minnesota to take part in the largest charity ice-fishing contest in the world: the Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza.

Reddish Egrets were once pushed to the brink of extinction by hunting, but thanks to protection they are now found right across the wetlands of the Mississippi River Delta. Here in coastal Louisiana, they show off their extraordinary hunting style – running erratically through the shallows, scaring and chasing fish in the muddy water. But their bizarre strategy is surprisingly effective.

Each spring, Marsh Lake in Eastern Minnesota plays host to a huge migration. Over 22,000 American White Pelicans arrive here to breed on a few isolated islands. But they also come here to feed – and the outflow of a small dam provides the perfect site. When one pelican finds a shoal of suitably sized fish, it's the cue for over 100 of them to pile in. The fish don’t stand a chance.

Pink River Dolphins, known locally as “botos" are the largest species of river dolphin in the world and are some of the most specialized and strange of all Dolphins, with flexible necks and whiskers on their beaks. Thanks to their agility they can hunt in the Amazon’s legendary “flooded forests."

Dive into the transparent bubbling waters of the Amazon’s secret blue lagoon.

Every year the Amazon floods with the greatest annual flood on earth, transforming the landscape around it. Drone technology was used to reveal the transition from low to high water when sections of the river can rise by 30 feet.

Meet a newly discovered species of clever and cute fish who are new to science. They are cichlids and are as devoted to their young family as they are to each other. Watch as they defend their brood against the giant predatory fish lurking beyond the waterwall.

The Amazon, the greatest river system on Earth, amasses one-fifth of Earth’s freshwater as it flows east from the Andes to the Atlantic. Boiling streams, crystal clear lagoons, pink river dolphins and a strange new reef are some of its many secret and extreme worlds.

The 160-foot wide Nile is squeezed through a 23-foot chasm in the rocks, creating one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world. A gateway into an untamed savannah world below.

The River Nile is the only permanent river in the whole of Egypt, and its presence allowed an incredible civilization to rise out of the Sahara desert – the largest hot desert in the world. The Ancient Egyptians revered the Nile, even giving it its own God.