Welcome to the Largest Mirror on Earth

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made their historic walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969, one of the first things they saw when looking earthward was an immense white spot, which they first believed to be ice. However, it turned out that what they saw was a giant, mirror-like salt sheet in southwest Bolivia’s Altiplano called Salar De Uyuni.

Salar de Uyuni viewed from space, with Salar de Coipasa in the top left corner. Source

With a surface of 10,582 square kilometers (4,086 sq mi), Salar De Uyuni is the world’s largest and highest-lying salt flat, and probably one of the most surreal ones as well: as long as the eye can see, there is an empty white plain, but when the rainy season comes, with it comes optical illusion and a dazzling phenomenon: the wet salt table reflects the clouds, giving the impression that the sky has fallen on earth.

Image credit: Paul & Paveena McKensie at Wild Encounters

Although salt is produced in the area, about 25,000 tons annually is quite a small amount of the 64 billion tons of salt residing in the area. Extracting this much salt does not threaten the desert’s integrity. And, giving it another thought, it would be kind of funny funny if salt wasn’t mined in a salt desert.

But there is something else that draws the miners’ attention even more: lithium. And a lot, too. According Wikipedia, about 9 million tonnes, which means that 43% of the world’s total can be found here. Behind the wonderful vision of electric cars is the industry with an unquenchable hunger, and the future of the place depends on whether Li-ion remains the most efficient (highest energy density) battery in use.

.

Reflections in the Uyuni salt flat during sunrise. Image credit: Diego Delso

Satellite image of the Salar de Uyuni with the Mount Tunupa volcano. In the lower right part of the picture, earlier shorelines are made visible by the salt layers. Image credit: Image credit: NASA

.

Toyota Land Cruiser at the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. During the winter, the Salar de Uyuni is mostly dry but a small patch close to the city of Uyuni remains covered with water. This photo was taken at sunrise time. Image credit: Christopher Crouzet

 

Panoramic view of the Salar. Image credit: Martin St-Amant

In the Salar salt is harvested with the traditional method: the salt is scraped into small mounds for water evaporation and easier transportation, dried over fire, and finally enriched with iodine. Image credit: Luca Galuzzi

Traditional salt production at Salar. Such salt blocks are used for building salt hotels. Image credit: Steffen Sledz

.

Andean flamingos in the Laguna Colorada, south of the Salar. Image credit: Luca Galuzzi

.

Related Posts

Living Root Bridges Are Grown by an Indian Tribe

In the depths of North-Eastern India, in one of the wettest places on earth, bridges aren’t built – they’re grown.     The living bridges of Cherrapunji, India are grown…

The huge python completely ingested the Impala.

Pythoпs are beaυtifυl aпd deadly sпakes. They caп be foυпd iп the wild aloпg with the homes of thoυsaпds of people aroυпd the world. Althoυgh they may пot…

Our history book teach us the ancient civilizations were not technologically advanced, but here is the evidence

Let’s be honest: our culture is very innovative when it comes to finding new ways to communicate ourselves through our structures. With each passing day, it is…

63 Trees That Look Like Something Else And Will Make You Look Twice

Have you checked if you’re a pareidoliac yet? For all of you that enjoy seeing random objects in places where none exists, Bored Panda has prepared a special treat. We have…

Scary momeпt wheп a diver spotted a giaпt 23-foot pythoп iп the Braziliaп river

The most terrifyiпg momeпt is wheп two scυba divers come very close to aп eпormoυs acoda, the biggest fish iп the world. Bartolomeo Bove aпd his frieпd…

50 People Who Made Someone Laugh On Valentine’s Day With Their Gifts (New Pics)

For some people, Valentine’s Day is a serious occasion full of dreams about fairytale-like romance, receiving dozens of roses, and going on moonlit rides in horse-drawn carriages….

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *