The Environmental Protection Agency has admitted to spilling a 1 million gallons of toxic waste into the Colorado River while attempting to clean the inactive Gold King Mine. Communities along the banks of the nearby Animus River have declared a state of emergency as their water turns orange with metal toxins, in a environmental catastrophe that lead New Mexico’s governor to declare: “The magnitude of it, you can’t even describe it.”
Vocativ used geo-location technology to find photos posted by locals on social media, revealing the extent of the contamination. The Animus River runs through the middle of a town called Durango, where the economy is largely reliant on tourism from the local rafting industry. They also rely on the Animus River for part of their drinking water and irrigation. Durango has been deeply impacted since the spill last Wednesday, when the river was declared a public health hazard and closed.
Here are some of the most shocking photos: