Natural Disasters & Environment
Natural disasters and changes in the environment—from the Krakatoa eruption to climate change—have profoundly shaped human history. Explore both the sudden and long-term impacts of natural and human-made disasters and phenomena.
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Carson's 1962 bestseller first warned the public about the devastating effects of chemical pesticides—and started a revolution.
These violent storms have had far-reaching consequences that altered the course of history in surprising ways.
The 2005 hurricane and subsequent levee failures led to death and destruction—and dealt a lasting blow to leadership and the Gulf region.
Railway tracks buckled, people slept in parks, hundreds died, while others tried to die as the heat and humidity became unbearable.
How a Camping Trip Created our National Parks
How a Camping Trip Created our National Parks
When John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt spent three nights in Yosemite, it would soon pave the way for a National Park Service.
3 Fires That Changed History
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A earthquake on March 11, 2011 triggered a tsunami...and then a devastating power plant failure.
The summer solstice falls in June in the Northern Hemisphere. The longest day of the year has inspired celebrations for millennia.
During the vernal equinox, the length of day and night is nearly the same. In the Northern Hemisphere, it signals the start of spring.
The fall equinox is the first day of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Arriving in September, the day has spawned rituals in many cultures.
Hippocrates described what sounds a lot like influenza in the fifth century B.C.
Explore some of the key developments in our love-hate history with the wonderful (awful) white stuff, snow.
On October 17, 1989, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit the San Francisco Bay Area, killing 67 people and causing more than $5 billion in damages.
On September 21, 1999, an earthquake in Taiwan killed more than 2,400 people, destroyed or damaged thousands of buildings and left an estimated 100,000 people homeless. It was the worst earthquake to hit Taiwan–where quakes are common due to its locatio...
In October 1780, a powerful storm slammed the islands of the Caribbean, killing more than 20,000 people. Known as the Great Hurricane of 1780, it is among the deadliest storms ever recorded. Specifics about the hurricane, such as its exact point of orig...
We trudge back in time to revisit some of the worst blizzards in U.S. history.
Meteors, comets and asteroids have slammed into the Earth with a force many times greater than the most powerful nuclear bombs.
The cause of the 1975 wreck remains shrouded in mystery.
From a climate-changing volcanic eruption to a mysterious explosion in Siberia, learn the stories behind six weird weather events that made their mark on history.
