All this week the NGC Blog will be bringing you facts and figures from the upcoming three night HD event Earth the Biography. Filmed on all seven continents, this special will showcase all the powers and forces of nature that have shaped the Earth. State-of-the-art cinematography, breathtaking aerial footage, time-lapse sequences, satellite imaging, and insight from scientists and experts bring to life the history of our living Earth and its great forces as never before. Don't miss the beginning of Earth's story this Sunday, July 13th at 9p et/pt

Chapter One - Volcanoes
Volcanoes are one of nature’s most awesome and destructive forces, but they are also the life force and architect of our planet. They can raise up great mountains and create new land, or they can level cities and destroy entire civilizations. They provide a glimpse of the power of Earth’s internal heat source, without which it would have become a dead planet millions of years ago.

• Earth was formed by pieces of rock colliding as they circled the sun and formed a mass with a powerful heat source trapped in a huge, hot core. This core is what fuels volcanoes to this day.

• The center of our planet is about as hot as the surface of the sun – 7,200 degrees Fahrenheit. The average surface temperature of the planet is 59 degrees Fahrenheit.

• 600 million years ago, the planet may have completely frozen over – creating “Snowball Earth.” Volcanoes played a critical role in saving the planet from one of the greatest disasters it has ever faced by emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which keeps our planet at a comfortable temperature.

• Volcanic pools and hydrothermal vents in the deepest parts of the ocean may have provided a home for the emergence of the world’s first organisms.

• Erta Ale, or the “Smoking Mountain,” in Ethiopia is believed to be one of the longest continuously erupting volcanoes in the world. It is one of only a handful of lava lakes on Earth – a bubbling, seething cauldron of molten lava.

• The collision of Earth’s tectonic plates is responsible for the most spectacular mountain ranges on the planet, like the Southern Alps in New Zealand, which are around 5 million years old with peaks over 12,000 feet high.

• May 18, 1980: Mount St. Helens in Washington state was one of the most famous volcanic eruptions ever recorded. Within minutes, more than 100 billion cubic feet of the mountain slid down into the surrounding countryside. According to scientists, another eruption is likely within a few decades, or a century at most.

Ever seen a volcano? Tell us your story or submit your photos to comments@natgeochannel.com and we'll post them!

For more information and to see footage before it airs go here

Earth: The Biography begins Sunday July 19th at 9p et/pt