The American Southwest

In the American Southwest, water defines life. The Colorado River connects mountains, canyons and deserts into a vast, living ecosystem filled with remarkable wildlife and habitats. Wildlife filmmaker Ben Masters follows its journey from the Never Summer Mountains to the dry lowlands.
 

Along the way, elk rut in the high peaks, beavers reshape the land with their dams, and trout migrate upstream to spawn. Giant salmonflies emerge in an ancient seasonal spectacle. Farther south, a young California condor grows up at the base of the Vermillion Cliffs.

Yet, the river is also under pressure: human intervention is steadily reshaping its course, revealing a quiet tension between wilderness and human demand.