Pictures from outer space reveal the extent of illegal gold mining in Peru

 In the Madre de Dios region of Peru, a human-made wasteland brushes up against the border of the Amazonian rainforest. Over the past decade, small-scale illegal gold miners have transformed the landscape from tree-covered marshlands to a desert pockmarked with polluted ponds, leaking mercury into the local food web.

read more... https://theconversation.com/pictures-from-outer-space-reveal-the-extent-of-illegal-gold-mining-in-peru-159416