Salt pan (geology)

Natural salt pans or salt flats are flat expanses of ground covered with salt and other minerals, usually shining white under the sun. They are found in deserts and are natural formations (unlike salt evaporation ponds, which are artificial).

A salt pan forms by evaporation of a

The Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, where many land speed records have been set, are a well-known salt pan in the arid regions of the western United States.

The

The Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia is the largest salt pan in the world. It contains 50% to 70% of the world's known lithium reserves.^[3] The large area, clear skies, and exceptional flatness of the surface make the Salar an ideal object for calibrating the altimeters of Earth observation satellites.^[4][5]

Parts of Rann of Kutch (India) are salt marsh in the wet season and salt pan in the dry season.^[6]

See also

• Chott – dry lake in the Saharan area of AfricaPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
• Dry lake – Area that contained a standing surface water body
• Sabkha – Salt lake above the tide line, where evaporite deposits accumulate
• Salt diapir
   – Structural dome formed of salt or halitePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Salt evaporation pond – Shallow artificial pond designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines,
• Salt lake – Landlocked body of water which has a high concentration of salts
• Salt tectonics – Geometries and processes associated with the presence of significant thicknesses of evaporites
• Sink
   – Closed drainage basin that has no outflowPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Solonchak – type of pale or grey soilPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
• Mudflat – Coastal wetlands where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers

References