Strange patterns on the world's largest salt flat

The Salar de Uyuni salt flats in southwestern Bolivia consist of extremely large honeycomb cells, resulting from the slow churning of salt water in the soil.

The world's largest salt flat changes when nearby overflowing lakes flood its surface under a thin layer of water, according to IFL Science . Salar de Uyuni is completely flat and spans about 10,582km ² , making it a reflective surface as large as the Big Island of Hawaii. From space, it can be seen that this is the larger of the two salt fields next to each other, followed by Salar de Coipasa located in the northwest.

Honeycomb pattern on the surface of the Salar de Uyuni salt fields. (Photo: iStock).

Salar de Uyuni is located in Daniel Campos province in the Potosí region of southwestern Bolivia and is less than a 10-minute drive from Uyuni airport. Salar de Uyuni is a desert of halite (natural salt mineral) and gypsum . Its salt-rich surface often has strange honeycomb patterns that puzzle scientists. They are not sure why the patterns are so geometrically perfect and the honeycomb cells are so large that the width is always about 1 - 2 meters.

In 2023, a research team found the answer. According to Dr. Lucas Goehring, associate professor of physics at Nottingham Trent University's School of Science and Technology, in the salt desert, the first and almost only thing visible are the endless and numerous hexagons. other shapes. "What we found is a possible and simple explanation that lies underground. The pattern on the surface reflects the slow churning of salt water in the soil , a phenomenon similar to convection cells that form on the surface of the soil. in a thin layer of water about to boil ," Goehring explained.

Salar de Uyuni is located in the large ancient Minchin Lake that covered the plateau thousands of years ago. According to the NASA Earth Observatory, the lake shrank significantly about 15,000 years ago, creating a pool of salt water that gradually diminished and eventually evaporated, leaving behind huge amounts of halite and gypsum.

The salt flats, which attract millions of visitors each year, can be up to 10 meters thick in some places, creating a backdrop for photographers to enjoy their perspective. During the short rainy season, from December to April, the salt fields receive only a few centimeters of rain each year. The water sits on top of the salt layer, forming a mirror that reflects the sky above.