Salar de Uyuni
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Salar de Uyuni (or: Salar de Tunupa) is with its 10,582 square km (4,085 square miles) [1] the world's largest salt flat. It is located in the Departmento of Potosí in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes, 3650 meters high. The major minerals found in the salar are halite and gypsum.
Some 40,000 years ago, the area was part of Lake Minchin, a giant prehistoric lake. When the lake dried, it left behind two modern lakes, Poopó and Uru Uru, and two major salt deserts, Salar de Coipasa and the larger Uyuni. Uyuni is roughly 25 times the size of the better-known Bonneville Salt Flats in the United States.
Salar de Uyuni is estimated to contain 10 billion tons of salt of which less than 25,000 tons is extracted annually. All miners working in the Salar belong to Colchani's cooperative. They work from dawn to dusk and most of them do not take a lunch break in order to take advantage of time, getting energy by chewing coca leaves. Every November, Salar de Uyuni is also the breeding grounds for three species of South American flamingos - Chilean, James's and Andean. It is also a significant tourist destination; highlights include a salt hotel and several so-called islands.
[edit] References
- General reference
- Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. NASA Earth Observatory. Retrieved on 2006-05-01.
[edit] External links
- Google Map of Salar de Uyuni with marks on the natural attractions.
- Salt minery in Salar de Uyuni Photographic work about salt minery in Salar de Uyuni.
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