Stunning Nasa images reveal ‘rivers of gold’ in Amazon for the first time

The muddy pits stand out brilliantly as they are illuminated by the reflection of sun

This image of Peru’s Amazon rainforest was captured by an astronaut from the International Space Station (Nasa)

A stunning and rare picture of a “gold stream” running through the Amazon rainforest, shared by Nasa for the first time, has exposed the dark side of illegal mining of gold in Peru.

The picture that appears to be of “rivers of gold“ running through the Amazon rainforest in Peru’s Madre de Dios state is in fact numerous gold prospecting pits, likely dug by unlicensed miners, according to NASA's Earth Observatory.

The picture was taken by the space agency’s astronaut from the International Space Station (ISS) in December.

The pits are usually hidden from view of the astronauts in the space station due to cloud cover but were illuminated in the rare shot due to the reflected sunlight.

“In this very wet climate, the prospecting pits appear as hundreds of tightly packed water-filled basins,” NASA's Earth Observatory said. “Likely dug by garimperos (independent miners), each pit is surrounded by de-vegetated areas of muddy spoil’.

The images have highlighted the extent of mining in the region which is the major cause of deforestation and destructive mercury pollution due to gold-extraction process.

Peru is one of the leading producers of gold in the world and tens of thousands of people in Madre de Dios are dependent on unregistered gold mining for their living.

Despite dependency of its people on mining, the unregulated industry has led to extensive deforestation of the biodiversity hotspot and damage to its habitats.

The images also showed the Southern Interoceanic Highway, inaugurated in 2011, to connect Brazil and Peru to stimulate trade and tourism. The highway has caused expansion of gold prospecting in the region.

“Due to the great expansion of surface prospecting, deforestation may be the larger result of the highway,” Nasa added.

Madre de Dios is a part of Amazon which is home to thriving monkeys, jaguars and butterflies. Certain parts are protected from mining, such as the Tambopata National Reserve, Nasa explained, as some areas have been turned to treeless wasteland.