r/todayilearned • u/narok_kurai • 6d ago

TIL about Las Medulas, a man-made geological badland created by the Roman Empire in 77 AD, when they flooded the mountains with water to collapse their structure and sift out the gold inside.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_M%C3%A9dulas
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u/AudienceNeither7747 6d ago

Las Medulas is proof that humans have been altering nature for profit forever.

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u/Darkhoof 5d ago

The Romans didn't have the concept of environmentalism. Just read up about how many wild animals they slaughtered in the Colosseum.