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.
![Forest Looking Like Fingerprint" by Stocksy Contributor "Pixel Stories" - Stocksy](https://c.stocksy.com/a/MpR400/z9/1060284.jpg)
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![Why does this forest in Uruguay look like a fingerprint? - Vox](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MjoP0G75EE3D3b_fB0NHbNcPJiM=/1400x1050/filters:format(jpeg)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25440256/p.jpeg)
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