Islands Etched in Stone: How Earth’s Forces Carved the Caribbean’s First Shores
The series begins with the early formation of the Caribbean, when volcanic arcs rose from a restless seafloor and shifting plates pushed new land upward. Chapter 1 reveals a world of molten rock, rising islands, collapsing peaks, and coastlines repeatedly reshaped by changing sea levels.
Chapter 2 shows how fire met water. Volcanoes cooled, coral reefs expanded across shallow seas, and limestone began to form. Scientists in the field demonstrate how reefs grew, died, and hardened into stone, creating broad platforms that mixed with volcanic centers to produce complex island shapes.
Chapter 3 brings all forces together. Final uplift phases created the mountains of the Greater Antilles, while erosion carved valleys, cliffs, and beaches. Limestone islands settled into smooth platforms. Volcanic islands reached their final rugged forms. Mixed islands developed both steep peaks and wide terraces. By the time humans arrived, the Caribbean was a fully shaped world, built across millions of years by the Earth alone.