Uploaded November 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Many of our favorite stories feature valuable substances with some amazing qualities. Mithril, vibranium, unobtanium, while all fictional, there are similar substances being mined in one specific place on Earth; China. Here and only here ore rich in what are called "Rare Earth Elements," are extracted and used to made some of the most cutting edge technology on the planet. What's the story behind this real-life vibranium, and how has China come to control it's entire market?
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It makes more sense if you watch the video.
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Many of our favorite stories feature valuable substances with some amazing qualities. Mithril, vibranium, unobtanium, while all fictional, there are similar substances being mined in one specific place on Earth; China. Here and only here ore rich in what are called "Rare Earth Elements," are extracted and used to made some of the most cutting edge technology on the planet. What's the story behind this real-life vibranium, and how has China come to control it's entire market?
Find my EXTINCT BUTTERFLY POSTER here: store.nebula.tv/products/atlas-pro-extinct-butterfly-art-print
Buy the MARS MAP here: store.nebula.tv/products/atlas-pro-mars-surface-art-print
Check out my second channel ARCHIVE DIVE here: youtube.com @ArchiveDiveYoutube
Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: go.nebula.tv/atlaspro
It makes more sense if you watch the video.
Music provided by bensound.com





![Even MORE Islands That Arent Islands
Today we take another look at isolated environments to learn how islands can arise even when surrounded by vast seas of desert!
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Buy the MARS MAP here: https://store.nebula.tv/products/atlas-pro-mars-surface-art-print
Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/atlaspro
Sources / Further Reading:
Sierra de la Laguna
https://www.oneearth.org/ecoregions/sierra-de-la-laguna-pine-oak-forests/
https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/lac/sierra-la-laguna
https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/nt0227
https://tosea.net/the-sierra-de-la-laguna-biosphere-reserve-bajas-island-in-the-sky/
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41424739
https://bashanfoundation.org/contributions/Ortega-A/ortegaoakpine.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mbi-Honey-Escandon/publication/230709948_Phylogeographic_patterns_of_differentiation_in_the_Acorn_Woodpecker/links/563273e608ae242468d9f817/Phylogeographic-patterns-of-differentiation-in-the-Acorn-Woodpecker.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Cape-Region-vegetation-community-type-The-Sierra-La-Laguna-Biosphere-Reserve-SLLBR_fig1_342638855
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Distribution-of-forest-types-in-the-Sierra-de-la-Laguna-Biosphere-Reserve-in-the-southern_fig1_237151825
https://amphibian-reptile-conservation.org/pdfs/Volume/Vol_17_nos_1-2/ARC_17_1-2_[General_Section]_57-142_e326_high_res.pdf
https://lacgeo.com/sierra-laguna-biosphere-reserve
https://www.oneearth.org/ecoregions/sierra-de-la-laguna-dry-forests/
McMurdo Valleys
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2019JG005153
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00248-013-0296-y
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/3/3/466
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/abs/lithic-microbial-ecosystems-of-antarcticas-mcmurdo-dry-valleys/0EFA8DDEF1D10D6A0B3C87BD2537E31F
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Diatom-species-confirmed-from-the-McMurdo-Dry-Valleys-authorship-and-year-and_tbl1_237448827
https://ictar.aq/dry-valleys-biology/
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/10/506
https://mcm.lternet.edu/content/biogeography-and-genetic-diversity-terrestrial-mites-ross-sea-region-antarctica
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a162/8af6425c20e37b20d0137317c64b8c689b38.pdf
https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1995.tb02723.x
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/12/450
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/10/506
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/14/3/606
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/zsc.12490
https://communities.springernature.com/posts/when-were-the-mcmurdo-dry-valleys-of-antarctica-last-wet
https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/8cb497c6-7f74-4e4a-b048-8e9fa23695fe/content
https://glaciers.pdx.edu/fountain/MyPapers/FountainEtAl2014_LandscapeAtRisk_DryValleysAntarctica.pdf
https://journalofbiogeographynews.org/2021/06/30/history-and-genetic-diversity-of-the-most-common-antarctic-lichens/
https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/8cb497c6-7f74-4e4a-b048-8e9fa23695fe/content
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jbi.14101
https://asm2015.lternet.edu/content/taxonomic-and-ecological-diversity-mcmurdo-dry-valley-tardigrades/index.html
https://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/tough-tardigrades/journals/2017-01-09
https://www.sci.muni.cz/CPR/LP222012/LP-2_2-6.htm
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266651582200018X#:~:text=There%20are%2012%20species%20of,et%20al.%2C%202017).
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Breeding-distribution-of-brown-Stercorarius-lonnbergi-and-south-polar-skuas-S_fig1_284067959
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/McMurdo-Dry-Valleys-Antarctica-Labeled-areas-represent-study-locations-and-major_fig2_264038744
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-017-2127-y
https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Ent-Mitt-Zool-Mus-Hamburg_10_0043-0056.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10048765/
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/a-Distribution-of-springtail-species-shown-as-coloured-dots-with-ellipses-indicating_fig1_369438305
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Onyx-river-flowing-westward-between-the-Asgaard-and-Olympus-Ranges-from-the_fig2_276158257
https://environments.aq/publications/diversity-of-antarctic-lakes-ponds-and-streams/
SEE PINNED COMMENT FOR SOURCES BEHIND THE DHOFAR MOUNTAINS Even MORE Islands That Arent Islands](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/u-Qn1ThNv9o/mqdefault.jpg)




