| [00:00.504] |
Across the South Pacific, |
| [00:02.037] |
time continues to work its magic on rock. |
| [00:05.740] |
Millions of years of erosion and sinking have reduced the volcanic mount of Maupiti |
| [00:11.828] |
to little more than a hill. |
| [00:13.858] |
Eventually, this hill will disappear too. |
| [00:16.729] |
And when it does, |
| [00:17.836] |
it will look like this - Mataiva, |
| [00:20.830] |
a coral atoll. |
| [00:22.610] |
Rising above the waves, |
| [00:24.103] |
a coral atoll's reef surrounds a shallow lagoon. |
| [00:27.806] |
Where there was once a mighty peak, |
| [00:30.560] |
now there is only water. |
| [00:33.162] |
There are thousands of atolls like Mataiva dotted around the South Pacific, |
| [00:38.091] |
their size and shape determined by the original volcano. |
| [00:42.762] |
Some atolls are round, their rings unbroken, |
| [00:46.570] |
while others have been bent out of shape by ocean currents and earthquakes. |
| [00:51.142] |
And a few span huge distances, |
| [00:54.233] |
a testament to volcanoes whose size and power were once truly colossal. |
| [01:00.109] |
Rangiroa in French Polynesia. |
| [01:02.771] |
Over 30 miles wide, |
| [01:04.607] |
its lagoon is so large that if you were floating in its centre, |
| [01:07.942] |
you wouldn't see land in any direction. |