Page 56 - Super Earth Encyclopedia

SEA OF SALT

SALAR DE UYUNI

Covering an area ten times the size of the city
of Los Angeles in the US, Salar de Uyuni is a vast
expanse of gleaming crystalline salt. It was created
by the evaporation of an ancient salt lake in the dry
climate of the Bolivian Andes. As the water turned
to vapor it left the salt behind, along with other
minerals and elements such as the rare metal lithium.
The result is the largest salt flat on Earth. Its surface
is dotted with a few rocky islands—the peaks of
ancient volcanoes that were once submerged by
the lake, and now rise above a sea of salt.

FORMIDABLE FORMATIONS

AT A GLANCE

• LOCATION Bolivia, South America
• ALTITUDE 11,995 ft (3,656 m) above
sea level DAZZLING DECEPTION
• SIZE 4,086 sq miles (10,582 sq km) Each year, heavy rain makes
• FORMATION Made of salt crystals nearby lakes overflow and flood
formed by evaporation of a salt lake the salt flat with a shallow film of
water. This creates such perfect
reflections that the broad salt flat
seems to become part of the sky.

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