The Americas Highlights The Island-Living Horses of the Atlantic Coast's Barrier Islands
The Americas dives into the mystery of wild horses have been living on the Atlantic coast's barrier islands for 500 years.
In The Americas, narrator Tom Hanks takes us on an expansive adventure from the southern tip of Chile to the northern reaches of Alaska and Canada. From the western Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Coast, home to shallow seas and sprawling forests, untouched wilderness and natural stories unfolding in your own backyard.
The Atlantic Coast of North America is home to 100 million people and vast historic forests, trailing off into a unique hybrid landscape of shallow waters and barrier islands, populated by wild horses.
How the Atlantic coast’s horse-filled barrier islands formed
Off the coast of the Carolinas, feral horses trot along a series of shifting barrier islands, separated from the mainland by bays or lagoons. These islands are located all along the Atlantic coast, formed by the erosion of sea cliffs or changing sea levels.
RELATED: The Americas Explained: How Trees in the Amazon Can Control the Weather
As cliffs erode, the sediments are deposited in the form of sand, creating long and slender islands in the process. Some islands, by contrast, were created by changes in sea level following the last ice age. When the waters rise, previously inland dunes can suddenly become coastal islands.
Barrier islands are in a constant state of change, through a process known as longshore sediment transport, a fancy way of describing shifting coastal sands. Living there means enduring harsh weather and fierce battles as the ground shifts beneath your hooves.
How wild horses arrived on the Atlantic coast’s barrier islands
Legend has it that the wild horses of the Atlantic coast were stranded there when Spanish ships crashed against the shore hundreds of years ago. It’s a compelling story but one which can’t be confirmed one way or another. Their true origin is a bit of a mystery and likely to remain that way.
RELATED: The Americas: Diving Into How Rattlesnake Scales Help Them Gather Water
It’s true that the waters off the Carolinas are a perilous bit of coast, so much that the area has earned the nickname Graveyard of the Atlantic. It’s possible that horses on sinking ships swam to shore and set up shop on coastal islands. Instead, colonizers may have left horses on the islands intentionally, meaning to come back for them later.
The horses of the Atlantic coast are descended from domestic horses, but they’ve been living wild for the better part of 500 years. Over the centuries, they’ve learned to dig for fresh water and swim from island to island in search of grass to eat.
The island kingdoms of wild Atlantic coast horses
Each episode of The Americas focuses on a specific area of Earth’s largest supercontinent. In “The Atlantic Coast,” we visit the eastern edge of the continent where ocean currents and shifting sands create a series of constantly changing islands.
Many of these islands are uninhabited, but you’ll find herds of wild horses fighting deep waters, flowing tides, and strong currents. Allegedly the descendants of horses marooned there when Spanish conquistadors crashed their ships on the shore, these horses rule tiny equestrian fiefdoms, fighting for islands with freshwater springs and green grass to eat.
The Americas focuses on one aging horse, a 15-year-old stallion with his best years behind him. For the last decade, he’s defended a fresh water well and his terrain from other stallions. He’s covered in scars from a lifetime of battles and there are contenders to his claim. With the arrival of breeding season other stallions, younger and stronger, show up to take their shot at the throne. There are battles on the Atlantic coast’s barrier islands, a great hooved game of thrones for priceless coastal terrain.
Where to Watch The Americas
The Americas debuted with a special two-part premiere on Sunday February 23, at 7:00 p.m. ET. Viewers were treated to a documentary double feature two weeks in a row, following a schedule change. Future episodes will air Sunday nights on NBC and are available for streaming the following day.
