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The Many Uses of Salt

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The Salar de Uyuni

The largest salt flat in the world is the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, covering 4,086 square miles. This flat is located in the Altiplano (high plain) region, an elevated plateau that formed with the rise of the Andes Mountains. Around 30,000 to 40,000 years ago, much of this area was covered by the prehistoric Lake Minchin. Throughout the centuries, this lake began to evaporate, breaking up into smaller lakes and dry areas. Eventually, only the modern Poopó and Uru Uru lakes and the Salar de Uyuni and Salar de Coipasa salt flats were left. In 2016, scientists confirmed that Poopó, the country’s second-largest lake, had dried up due to climate change, the effects of the weather system El Niño, and poor management of water resources. Sadly, the drying of the lake has displaced people who lived nearby and depended on it for their livelihoods. Climate change scientists say that the same thing can happen to other lakes and reservoirs around the world as temperatures rise and more water evaporates than can be replaced.

▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲ Salar de Uyuni, in Bolivia.

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