Journeys Into the Ring of Fire - Season 1

Iain Stewart tours the perilous and spectacular landscape of the Pacific rim to discover how the rocks beneath our feet have shaped human history.

In this edition, he visits the world's most awesome volcanoes in Indonesia. One huge eruption may have wiped out up to three quarters of the world's population. Other mighty explosions caused famine in Europe and the US and influenced everything from the invention of the bicycle to art, religion and literature.

Iain Stewart tours the perilous and spectacular landscape of the Pacific Rim to discover how the rocks beneath our feet have shaped human history. He asks why Californians are prepared to live with potentiallydisastrous earthquakes, landslides and firestorms. Is their risk-taking culture a throwback to the days of the 19th century fortune seekers who came in search of gold?

Iain Stewart tours the perilous and spectacular landscape of the Pacific Rim to discover how the rocks beneath our feet have shaped human history. In Peru, he reveals how the Incas were able to build a huge and successful empire in some of the most hostile and unforgiving terrain on the planet. He climbs high into the Andes to reveal clues hidden in the landscape, which show how the Incas mastered their rocky world and fed their millions.

Iain Stewart tours the perilous and spectacular landscape of the Pacific Rim to discover how the rocks beneath our feet have shaped human history.

This edition finds him in Japan, a land of hostile mountain peaks which force the huge population onto a few overcrowded strips of coastal plain. This geological curse has affected everything from living space to etiquette and entertainment. Is the lack of space also behind the Japanese fascination for all things miniature?