The trees closer to the Gualaxo do Norte river that were not ripped out by the "mud tsunami" died - due to soil contamination or waterproofing, both caused by the mud coming from the Fundão mining tailings dam, in Mariana/MG. If the mud that broke was a train, Gualaxo do Norte worked as a railroad, leading it to the Doce river and, therefore, to the Atlantic Ocean, almost 400 km away. On Nov. 5th 2015, aprox. 40 billion liters of mining tailings contaminated mud broke from Samarco's (owned by Vale and BHP Blliton) Fundao dam, in the biggest enviromental disaster of Brazil's history. Mariana, Nov. 4th, 2016. (Photo by Gustavo Basso/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
