Fred and Dustin Hurt decide to split up in their hunt for gold in the raging waters of Alaska's Chilkat Range; while Fred has an ideal spot picked out, Dustin has a big decision to make about his location.

Dustin's crew finds an ideal claim to mine, but to get down to the gold they have to make it through the waterfall's pound zone; Fred brings in a new miner, only to have his path to bedrock gold blocked by massive boulders.

Digging deeper than ever, the crew sees no sign of the promised bedrock gold; just when the crew starts to question Dustin's leadership, his determination pays off.

A flash flood racing down McKinley Creek threatens to kill the crew members and destroy their operation, but the Dakota Boys still manage to find more gold.

The Dakota Boys hit the biggest boulder of the season, forcing Dustin to rig a new mechanical solution known as The Graboid.

The Dakota Boys' desperate bid to hit bedrock gold is thwarted when 73-year-old Fred's heating system fails mid-dive and he is overcome by the glacial Alaskan water.

At 73-years-old, Dakota Fred gets married for the fourth time; a landslide threatens to unleash a wall of water that could destroy the dive site and kill the miners.

Fred's ex-boss, Todd Hoffman, has invested $50,000 in the Dakota Boy's operation and makes a surprise visit in a chopper.

In the Dakota Boys' second year dredging for gold in McKinley Creek, the father-and-son team face extreme conditions diving for a big payday; when Dustin finds a hot spot, it forces him to re-evaluate everything.

Dustin's crew is devastated after a landslide wipes out months of hard work in mere minutes; later, Dustin's perseverance is put to the test when his promising new site doesn't produce, causing his crew to question his leadership abilities.

With winter quickly approaching, the Dakota Boys take on a creek-mining operation hoping to strike a pile of bedrock that will change their lives forever; later, the crew decides whether it's worth their while to continue mining next season.

When the Dakota Boys dig down to bedrock, they hit the biggest boulder of the season; Dustin is forced to rig a new mechanical solution called the Graboid; a flash flood threatens to kill the crew and destroy their operation.

The first gold nugget promises a monster payday; Dustin dives into the danger zone, a torrent where the current moves rocks, and a rogue boulder almost costs him his life.

The Dakota Boys launch their gold dredge; Fred dives in the raging white water, and despite running out of air, succeeds in finding their first gold.

The crew cleans up and does a final gold weigh-in for the season; Dustin leads them to a new mine site he's had his eye on that proves to have massive gold potential.

The Dakota boys are dredging towards a nugget trap they believe holds a life-changing jackpot of gold; they dredge the width of the creek and bring up more gold than ever.

After being rescued from the water, Dustin is forced to look for a new mine site due to the flood, but he soon finds out that the McKinley site may not be a lost cause after all.

Finding their biggest gold nugget of the season is a great sign, but soon enough heavy rain means flooding, and, despite the danger, the Dakota Boys still go out and dive.

The Dakota Boys finally discover a rich nugget trap but inadvertently risk the life of a crew member.

The Dakota Boys move massive boulders with new equipment.

Fred and his crew return to the glory hole to complete unfinished business; Dustin's crew members strike gold, but they are blocked by massive boulders and must engineer an insane system of winches and pulleys to go deeper and get down to bedrock.

Although the state's mention in the title was dropped after the first season, Alaska still plays a major role in Discovery Channel's top-rated show. It follows gold miners, inexperienced as some may be, hoping to strike it rich in the wilds of The Last Frontier and beyond. For their first effort, a crew led by Todd Hoffman and his father, Jack, sunk $250,000 into their dream and came away with just $20,000 worth of gold. The dismal summer was filled with injuries, malfunctioning equipment and constant fighting among the greenhorn miners, yet their serious case of gold fever trumps any talk of giving up and leads to new operating plans in order to salvage their dream. The series also keeps tabs on the efforts of brash youngster Parker Schnabel, veteran Dakota Fred and longtime Yukon resident Tony Beets to hit the mother lode at separate sites.

The gold rush in Alaska isn't confined to the state's precious ground. It's taking place on the sea ... or more accurately, on the bottom of the frigid Bering Sea. This series, from the creators of the Emmy-winning "Deadliest Catch," follows four gold dredges and their eccentric and driven crews who risk their lives to find as much gold as possible before winter sets in and it's too dangerous to dive. The custom-built rigs, some barely seaworthy, include an 80-foot barge run by the most successful gold dredger in Nome, Alaska, and a modified skiff that seats only two people.

A fan favorite of Discovery's popular "Gold Rush" series sets out on a new adventure to continue his pursuit of the prized yellow stuff. Dave Turin spent years working alongside Todd Hoffman, earning the nickname "Dozer Dave" because of the many hours he spent bulldozing for gold. In his return, Dave is his own boss, and he's on a mission to find an abandoned mine to resurrect in the hope that old-timers left gold behind. He explores the history of each mine, a search that culminates in Dave picking the one that he can turn into newfound riches.

"Yukon Gold" follows four gold-mining crews who have merely four months in Canada's wild Yukon to earn a big payday. Fighting an impossibly short mining season and with their savings on the line, they work against difficulties to dig the precious ore out of the ground. The crews battle mechanical breakdowns, the elements and 18-hour days under the midnight sun -- all because of gold fever -- and it keeps them coming back year after year for another chance to wager it all.

Before complaining about the market price of Alaska king crab, check out this gripping documentary series, revealing the mortal perils and intense discomfort that fishing crews face on the Bering Sea to catch the delicacy. Those perils include 40-foot waves, 700-pound crab pots that can easily crush a careless crewman, and freezing temperatures around the clock.

Extreme survivalists go head to head in a race across the Alaska wild. Using ingenuity, experience and just the gear they can carry in their packs, the participants have 60 hours to reach the finish point of each leg of the adventure -- the series features 13 legs -- and in addition to navigating treacherous glaciated river valleys, barren ridgelines, and high mountain peaks, the challengers battle hunger, dangerous predators and unpredictable weather. There is no grand prize awaiting each leg's winner, other than the pride of accomplishing a grueling feat. For season three, the 12 competitors are divided equally into four teams -- Military, Endurance, Alaskans and Lower 48.

In Discovery Channel's top-rated show "Gold Rush," gold miners, inexperienced as some may be, hope to strike it rich in the wilds of Alaska and beyond. Some dismal summers result, filled with injuries, malfunctioning equipment and constant fighting among the greenhorn miners, yet serious cases of gold fever always trump any talk of giving up and sometimes leads to dreams being salvaged. The companions series "The Dirt" presents the inside scoop on behind-the-scenes relationships between such miners as brash youngster Parker Schnabel and longtime Yukon resident Tony Beets, as the quest to hit the mother lode never stops.

Tradition collides with transformation in McCarthy, Alaska. The isolated town -- once considered to be the state's version of "Sin City" -- flourished during the Gold Rush but is now home to roughly 40 people, a mix of mavericks, risk takers and rabble rousers willing to brave extreme conditions to live free. While some believe in continuing the town's frontier way of life, others feel the future of McCarthy depends on dragging it into the modern age. Long-standing resident Jeremy Keller fights to protect its roots, while Neil Darish has purchased multiple properties in town and plans to restore its vibrancy. "Edge of Alaska" tells the story of a hinterland at a crossroads.

"Alaskan Bush People" is a reality-documentary series that introduces the Brown family -- Billy, wife Ami and their seven grown children who -- according to Discovery -- are interesting because "they are unlike any other family in America." The channel says they are so far removed from civilization that they often go six to nine months each year without seeing an outsider. They refer to themselves as a "wolf pack" and, perhaps due to isolation, have their own accent and dialect. The Browns live in the Copper River Valley, where temperatures can drop to 60 degrees below zero, and the family recently relocated and built a cabin there because, they say, their former home of many years was seized and burned down for being in the wrong location on public land.

Each year adventurers make Alaska's mighty Yukon River their home for five weeks. They float downstream on homemade log rafts to sell firewood and other supplies to remote villages. The reality-documentary "Yukon River Run" presents hourlong episodes tracking the progress of various crews. As harsh winter months approach and threaten both safety and success, stakes are heightened as rafters endeavor to cash out and escape from the cold.