The largest saline in the world Bashny.Net

Salar de Uyuni (Spanish. Salar de Uyuni) - a dried-up salt lake in the south of the desert plains of the Altiplano in Bolivia, at an altitude of 3650 meters above sea level. It has an area of 10582 square kilometers and is the largest saline in the world. The main minerals - halite and gypsum. The inner part is covered with a layer of salt thickness of 2-8 meters. During the rainy season is covered with a thin layer of saline water and is transformed into the world's largest mirror surface.

About 40 thousand. Years ago, this area was part of Lake Minchin (which itself stood out from an ancient lake Ballivyan). After drying it remains two currently existing lakes Poopo and Uru Uru, and two major salt marsh: the Salar de Uyuni and Koypasa. Uyuni area of approximately 25 times the area of the dry lake Bonneville in the US.

In the midst of endless space it seems like the mirror was on another planet, or was the end of the world.

Due to the large size, flat surface and high albedo in the presence of a thin layer of water, and the minimum height deviation, Salar de Uyuni is the perfect tool for testing and calibration of remote sensing satellites in the orbit. Clear skies and dry air allow Uyuni calibrate satellites five times better than if it used the surface of the ocean.

After a trip solonchak car completely covered with salt and is subject to wash-out.

Due to its flat surface of Salar de Uyuni is the main transport route in the Altiplano. Near the saline is building an international airport capable of receiving long-haul aircraft. Its opening is planned in 2012.

In the center there are salt flats salt hotel, and next here is the construction of salt blocks, which come from all over the world tourists are placed the flags of their countries. KAKS you can see, there is the Russian flag.

Salar de Uyuni contains a supply of about 10 billion tons of salt, of which the annual production of less than 25 thousand. Tonnes.

Hotels here are built of salt, more precisely, from salt blocks. Tables, chairs, beds and other pieces of furniture, too, are made of salt. And on the walls with a polite request to the ad did not lick. To spend the night in a hotel is 20 dollars.

Salt restaurant. If suddenly the food will be salted insufficiently and salt shaker next to no, you can lick the table.

Salt sculptures.

Despite the harsh conditions in this saltmarsh grow several species of cacti, as well as live and breed rare species of hummingbirds, three species of flamingos, ostriches and other animals.

Every year in November at the Salar de Uyuni arrive on reproduction are three types of South American flamingos - Chilean flamingo, Andean flamingo and James flamingo.

Instead of sheep in these parts alpacas. From alpaca makes warm and soft blankets, rugs and clothing and fur items for the home. Alpaca wool has all the properties of the sheep, but weight much easier.

Ropes tied seems to have been visible from afar.

One of the attractions of the marsh, which also visited by tourists is the cemetery of steam locomotives, located near the tracks Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia in 3 km from the town of Uyuni. On the "graveyard" called resting railway locomotives, of delayed from the train service in the 1950s. When the mining of minerals in the surrounding mines plummeted. In 2006, the local government adopted a 15-year program of development of the region, one of the points which is the transformation of "cemetery" in the open-air museum.