Northwest corner of NorthMet holding dam

This view of the northwest corner of the NorthMet holding dam shows how wet this part of the state is. If the tailings dam were to fail this would be the first area to be inundated with sulfuric mining waste. The pollution would then flow north into the Embarrass River, and from there into the St Louis River and finally on to Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota.

The tailings dam can be seen at the top-right of the picture.