Coordinates: 20°08′01.59″S, 67°29′20.88″W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

Location of Salar de Uyuni

Salar de Uyuni from space, with Mount Tunupa in the middle. Relict shorelines visible in the surface salt deposits (lower right of the image) attest to the occasional presence of small amounts of water in the salar.

Piles of salt at Salar de Uyuni.

The Salar de Uyuni reflecting the sky.

Group of Backpackers at Salar de uyuni.

When it is covered with water the Salar de Uyuni reflects sun light. Here is what it looks like at sunset.

Salar de Uyuni (or Salar de Tunupa) is the world's largest salt flat at 10,582 km² (4,085 square miles)^[1]. It is located in the Potosí and Oruro departments in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes, 3,650 meters high. The major minerals found in the salar are halite and gypsum. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 530 pixelsFull resolution (3032 × 2008 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 530 pixelsFull resolution (3032 × 2008 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 528 pixel Image in higher resolution (2000 × 1320 pixel, file size: 892 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Tilt corrected (skewed vertically 12px, cropped) Background noise reduced (1px median, faded 40% normal with gradient tool) Green fringe removed File links The... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 528 pixel Image in higher resolution (2000 × 1320 pixel, file size: 892 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Tilt corrected (skewed vertically 12px, cropped) Background noise reduced (1px median, faded 40% normal with gradient tool) Green fringe removed File links The... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 688 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Salar de Uyuni. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 688 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Salar de Uyuni. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (2000 × 1333 pixel, file size: 912 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (2000 × 1333 pixel, file size: 912 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... The playa and shore of Lake Hart, an endorheic desert lake in South Australia An alkali flat (known in US and Mexico as a playa) is a dry lakebed, generally the shore of, or remnant of, an endorheic lake. ... The department of Potosí is in the southwest of Bolivia. ... Oruro is a department in Bolivia, with an area of 53,588 km2. ... Bolivia is divided into nine departments (Spanish: departamentos). ... This article is about the mountain system in South America. ... For Halite Bittorrent client , see Halite Client. ... It has been suggested that Selenite be merged into this article or section. ...

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 Lake and Uru Uru Lake, and two major salt deserts, Salar de Coipasa and the larger Uyuni. Uyuni is roughly 25 times the size of the Bonneville Salt Flats in the United States. The top photo shows the lake with low water levels, exposing large tracts of salt and mud flats. ... Bonneville Salt Flats The Bonneville Salt Flats are a 121 km² (47 mi²) salt flat in northwestern Utah. ...

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: the Chilean, James's and Andean flamingos. It is also a significant tourist destination; highlights include a salt hotel and several so-called islands. For other uses, see Salt (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Lam. ... Flamingos ( ) are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus and family Phoenicopteridae. ... Binomial name Phoenicopterus jamesi Sclater, 1886 The Jamess Flamingo (Phoenicopterus jamesi), also known as the Puna Flamingo, is a South American flamingo. ... Binomial name Phoenicopterus andinus Philippi, 1854 The Andean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus andinus) is a bird species in the Flamingo family restricted to the Chilean Andes. ...

References

1. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed 21 March 2007.

• Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. NASA Earth Observatory. Retrieved on 2007-08-28.

NASA Earth Observatory is an online publication of NASA where the public can access satellite imagery and scientific information about our planet for free. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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.
• Planet Salar: Biking the World's Largest Salt Flat UKULA Travel article about biking Salar de Uyuni.