Salar de Uyuni (or Salar de Tunupa) is
the world's largest salt flat at
10,582 square kilometers (4,086 sq mi). It is located in the Daniel Campos Province in Potosà in
southwest Bolivia,
near the crest of the Andes and is at an elevation of 3,656 meters
(11,995 ft) above mean sea level.[2]
The Salar was formed as a result
of transformations between several prehistoric lakes. It is covered by a few
meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness with the average
altitude variations within one meter over the entire area of the Salar. The
crust serves as a source of salt and covers a pool of brine, which is
exceptionally rich in lithium.
It contains 50 to 70% of the world's lithium reserves,[3] which is in the process of being
extracted. The large area, clear skies, and the exceptional flatness of the
surface make the Salar an ideal object for calibrating the altimeters of Earth observation satellites.
The Salar serves as the major
transport route (seen in an episode of Ice Road Truckers)
across the Bolivian Altiplano and is a major breeding ground for
several species of flamingos.
Salar de Uyuni is also a climatological transitional zone since the towering
tropicalcumulus congestus and cumulonimbus incus clouds that form in the eastern part
of the salt flat during the summer cannot permeate beyond its drier western
edges, near the Chilean border and the Atacama
Desert.
