A major new BBC TV series is to reveal the story of planet Earth from its birth more than four billion years ago.
The Earth's forces, including volcanoes, will be explored
Earth: The Biography will be screened on BBC Two later in the year and presented by Dr Iain Stewart, host of Journeys From the Centre of the Earth.
Dr Stewart will visit some of the planet's most remote places to explain phenomena such as the meteorite thought to have wiped out dinosaurs.
BBC natural history series Planet Earth attracted up to nine million viewers.
The new series will highlight the delicate balance of life on the planet and how its history has lurched between disaster and recovery, the BBC said.
Each episode will focus on a different theme of the Earth's development, including volcanoes, the ocean and the atmosphere.
Dr Stewart's travels will enable him to explain how the Mediterranean Sea once dried up and how a rainstorm lasted for thousands of years, according to the corporation.
The programme's executive producer Phil Dalling said: "This is the story of the Earth and how, even if humankind may not last forever, our planet is a born survivor."