Why does this forest look like a fingerprint?

We set out to solve why a forest in the middle of Uruguay looked like that — and wound up finding something much bigger.

Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO

Deep in the geographic center of Uruguay, there’s a peculiar group of trees just a few kilometers down the road from the small town of San Gregorio de Polanco. From the ground, it's not particularly notable. But from above, the view is mind-boggling: Hundreds of trees are arranged in perfect concentric arcs, all spiraling toward the center. Together, they look remarkably like a human fingerprint.

When we first saw this forest in a Reddit post, we were fascinated. Why had the trees been arranged in this shape? Who planted them there? And why — when you zoom out on satellite view — was the entire country of Uruguay covered in similar-looking forests? To answer that question, we went straight to the source: interviewing locals, experts, and people whose lives have been shaped by a transformed landscape and economy.

Further reading:

Read the text of the original “forestry law”: https://www.impo.com.uy/bases/leyes/1...

Read some of Alexandra’s work on afforestation and wildlife: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...

Eilís O’Neill has a great feature in the Nation on Uruguay’s forestry industry: https://www.thenation.com/article/arc...

More stories about residents affected by the railway construction: https://yle.fi/a/3-11756418

Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com.

Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE
Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o
Or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H