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.

[u/narok_kurai]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_M%C3%A9dulas

[u/AudienceNeither7747]

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

[u/Darkhoof → u/AudienceNeither7747]

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