The largest salt flat in the world, the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia is a natural wonder that still enthrals tourists with its unearthly beauty and amazing events. Covering more than 10,000 square kilometres, this ancient lake-turned-desert produces some of the most amazing natural shows on Earth. From the ideal mirror effect during the rainy season to the hypnotic geometric patterns in the dry season, this amazing scene presents singular sensations that appear to challenge reality. One of the most photographed and researched sites in South America, the salt flat’s severe conditions and unusual geological features mix to produce natural events that have both confused scientists and delighted visitors for decades.
1. The World’s Largest Natural Mirror
Usually from December to April, the most well-known phenomena of Salar de Uyuni is a thin layer of water turning the huge salt flat into the biggest natural mirror. By means of this remarkable metamorphosis, the horizon line is virtually eliminated and a limitless expanse of light and colour is produced, so reflecting the heavens. Usually only a few centimetres deep, the shallow water layer stays exceptionally calm because of the perfectly level surface of the salt flat, which produces very clear reflections. Professional photographers and painters from all around come especially to capture this occurrence, especially between sunrise and sunset when the sky bursts in bright colours. The high height of the salt flat—3,656 meters above sea level—where the thin air and clean atmosphere produce very brilliant reflections—helps to accentuate the mirror effect. With many visitors capturing bizarre photographs that play with perspective and scale against the unending reflecting surface, the phenomena also offers special chances for artistic photography.
2. Geometric Salt Hexagons
The salt flat shows one of nature’s most amazing geometric beauty during the dry season: large fields of hexagonal salt tiles reaching to the horizon. Under the strong high-altitude sun, the mineral-rich water evaporates and a complicated process of crystallisation produces these natural formations. As the salt crystals expand and shrink with temperature, the hexagonal patterns—each with around one metre in diameter—form. Raised edges produced by this procedure surround every hexagon to produce a honeycomb-like structure covering the whole salt flat. Because they offer important new perspectives on crystallisation processes and natural geometry, scientists have investigated these formations in great detail The hexagons show the mathematical ideas underlying natural events by their impressively homogeneous size and form. These patterns produce faint shadows that produce a three-dimensional effect during midday, when the sun is exactly overhead, giving the salt flat the impression of an alien landscape. These salt crystals have amazing strength that lets cars pass across the surface without destroying the beautiful designs.